“You’re going to be his family,” I told her. “That witch should be thrilled she’s getting you as a daughter-in-law. I wish I had a brother so that you could marry him and we’d always be related.”

Her crying started to subside, and I asked, “What does Allan say?”

“He said he loves me, he chooses me. But I don’t want him to have to give up his family.” Her voice wobbled and broke, like she was going to start sobbing again.

“So he wants to be with you and you’re going to run away? That doesn’t seem right. It’s not your fault Harmony’s a psycho. And I’m sorry you’re going through this, but I think pushing the man you love away is probably the worst thing you can do. And take that from someone who is slowly learning that avoiding things isn’t the answer. If you love him, which you do, and he loves you, which he does, and you want a life together, then that’s what you should do.”

“You’re right. But this is going to cause him so much pain. And I don’t want to be the reason he’s in all that pain.” She reached for the extra roll of toilet paper we kept on the coffee table because neither one of us ever remembered to buy Kleenex. She blew her nose and then put her face in her hands while I rubbed her back.

I kept trying to make her feel better. “You aren’t the reason he’s in pain. His mom did that, not you. And think about how much worse it would be if you broke up with him. I’m pretty sure that would destroy him. You’re his entire world.”

She nodded. “I can’t even imagine my life without him. But I would give him up so that he could be happy.”

“Which is why you’re the one he deserves to be with. The person who puts his happiness above their own.” Unlike his stupid mother, but I refrained from adding the last part on.

“Okay!” She straightened back up. “I’ll call him after this movie’s over and talk it out with him. But thank you, Juliet. You’re the best friend a girl could ask for.” She hugged me tightly. “Let’s finish this and then I’m going to have a difficult conversation.”

She pushed play and the movie started up again. After a minute or two, she said, “I wonder if Noah Douglas kisses like that in real life. If he’d be all aggressive and take charge.”

Without thinking, I said, “He’s actually very sweet and gentle.” I immediately realized my mistake, and it was like time came to a complete stop.