“Oh...yes.” She did remember, and remembering made her smile. “And your great-aunt Lucy giving that spontaneous speech.”

“Wasn’t it awful?” He shuddered. “At least it was after the wedding and not before. Otherwise you might have run.”

“I would never have run.” She wrapped her arms around him. “You’re right. It was fun. It was a wonderful day, and I have so many happy memories. And yes, Alix’s words did simmer in the back of my mind, but she didn’t spoil the day. Nothing could have spoiled it.” She groaned and buried her head in his chest. “So why did I say those horrible, hurtful words to her?”

“Because you let this thing heat up in your head until it boiled over. You should have talked to her sooner.”

“I know. I’ve been a terrible friend. I try so hard to be perfect, and I couldn’t be further from perfect.”

“And I can’t tell you how relieved I am about that.”

She looked up at him. “What?”

“Think about it. You being perfect puts a ton of pressure on me. It’s actually a relief to me to know you can screw up, too, because that gives me permission to screw up without feeling I’m failing you and falling short the whole time.”

“I... Oh.”

“And the fact that you couldn’t get Alix’s words out of your mind—something you didn’t share with me, by the way—explains why you thought I was having a hot date with Mandy, who, incidentally, is sixty and has three adorable grandchildren.”

She gave a choked laugh. “I still feel bad about that, too.”

“Don’t.” He hugged her tightly. “I should have told you that I lost my job on the day it happened. That was my big screwup. I should have called you the moment I walked out of that damn room instead of panicking, but I was afraid it would break what we had. I guess neither of us knew the other as well as we should have done.”

“Nothing’s going to break what we have.”

“And nothing is going to break your friendship with Alix. She said those things at the wedding because she loves you and cares about you. She wanted you to be sure. That’s what good friends do. I’m not going to pretend it didn’t upset me at the time. I’m human. Also, I was a little afraid she might be right.”

She was appalled. “Why would you have thought that?”

“She tapped into my own fears.” He paused. “I’d never met anyone like you. You were amazing. Fun. Vibrant. I don’t know... I find it hard to put into words. You had everything. Your home life was normal, unlike mine, which was a mess. You had a great job. I wasn’t sure what I could give you that you didn’t already have. She made me wonder if I could be what you needed me to be.”

“I needed you to be you, that’s all. You gave me a different life. The opportunity to be a different person. I was trapped in a cycle of trying to be perfect, trying to organize every aspect of my life. I didn’t even question how I got there until recently.” She’d told him about her conversation with Robyn and what she’d learned about her mother. And she actually felt a little guilty telling him before she’d told Alix, but it had felt like the right thing to do. Robyn was family. And hearing the whole story had enabled her to make sense of many things. She’d decided Seb needed to hear it, too.