Our Finest Hour (The Time #1)(25)

Saying it out loud makes it sound even crazier. “Apparently he specializes in pediatric orthopedic surgery. I didn’t know it was a thing, but it is. Not all surgeons will work on children. But he does. So…yeah.”

“So he showed up and you guys were like, hey I know you? Does he know about Claire?” Her voice turns lower, like it’s a secret from the people around us.

“We recognized each other right away. He looks just like he did that night.” Maybe even better. “And, yes, he knows Claire is his. He figured it out on his own.” I recount the story of Isaac showing up at my house Saturday night, and his visit yesterday, all to the gasps and head-shakes of my best friend.

“Ho-ly shit.” Britt tips her head to the ceiling and takes a deep breath.

“I know.”

She levels her gaze back onto me. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. Go along with it. I’m sure he wants custody. Shared, probably. He’s super into the idea of being a dad. He wants her.” It was clearly visible on his face the day before. The way his eyes softened when he looked at her, the words he spoke to me when he left. She’s the best person I’ve ever met. “Part of me feels bad, you know, because he missed out on the last four years. But I tried. I tried to find him. I just…it’s not like there was much to go on.”

“And how do you feel about all this?”

“Scared. Nervous.” I stir the straw in my drink. “She’s my everything. And I’ve never had to share her.”

“Do you want to know what I think?”

“Sure.”

Britt pushes aside her empty drink and levels her serious gaze on me. “You’re an incredible mom. Even better than my own. And she’s amazing. I know you’re going to figure this out.”

I give her a lopsided grin. “That’s sweet but do you have anything more impactful? Like a how-to book?”

“I don’t think there are instruction manuals on how to manage your baby daddy who didn’t know he was one.”

I groan. “Don’t say baby daddy. It sounds vulgar. And Isaac is the opposite of the image those words conjure.”

“Really?” Britt wiggles her eyebrows. “Do tell.”

Images of Isaac in scrubs comes first, closely followed by the white T-shirt he wore yesterday. “If it’s possible, he looks better. Aging five years agreed with him.”

“It’s hard to imagine Isaac looking better. He was delicious back then. Are you three going to become a happy little family?” She claps her hands together excitedly.

I shake my head. “He’s getting married next year. June.” The thought makes me sad, even though I have no right to be.

“That’s a long time from now.” She counts quickly on her fingers. “Fourteen months, to be exact. What did his fiancée have to say when she learned about you and Claire?”

“He didn’t say. I don’t know if he’s told her yet. It’s kind of a lot to tell a person.”

“True. Do you know when you’re going to see him again?”

“Tomorrow night. Claire asked to see him.” Just the thought of having dinner with Isaac sends my stomach into a tightly wound ball of nerves.

Britt taps her index finger on the center of her bottom lip. “Don’t lose sight of your dream just yet, Aubrey. You may get that happily ever after.”

“I don’t dream of happily ever after, Britt. You know that. It’s not in the cards for me. It never has been.” Yearning for something impossible is foolish.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m realistic.”

“Is this where I’m supposed to say something like ‘Open yourself up to love’s possibilities’?”

“Please don’t.”

Britt studies me. Her lips pull and twitch like she wants to say something.

“What?”

“Of all the hospitals in all the towns, you walk into his…”

I throw up my hands. “No more Casablanca for you. And no more romanticizing this. It’s coincidence. That’s all. Make it into a math problem.” I hold out my hands, gesturing with my left first. “In Phoenix there are x-number of orthopedic surgeons who do pediatrics and y-number of children who need surgery. Your answer is the likelihood each child has of ending up with each surgeon. Done.”

“Call it a math problem if it helps you make sense of everything.” She pats my shoulder. “Do what Aubrey needs to do to get through it.”

“I need a subject change, please. This development in my life has been stuck on a loop in my mind, and I need to talk about something else.”

We discuss Britt’s parents and their move to a new house better suited for being empty nesters, but I’m only partially listening. Britt’s words struck a nerve. Do what Aubrey needs to do to get through it.

Is there something else I’m supposed to be doing?



The butterflies in my stomach have increased throughout the day, growing and stretching, until I wonder if their wings are made of acid.

Work was hell. I sat at my desk and pictured all the disastrous endings this dinner will probably have.

I’m sure he’s bringing his fiancée. He didn’t mention it, but why wouldn’t he? It has to happen one day.