This had to be done. I didn’t want to leave Scarlett at all while she was still at the hospital, but I needed to.

Abigail was there, waiting for me at my apartment, just as she’d said when she called me away from Scarlett and my baby. I sighed as I let us inside. I regretted bringing her here when we arrived back in the States, but there was nothing I could do about it right then, so I let it go.

“You know, if her mom hadn’t been there, I would have ignored you even if you broke into my apartment and stole everything,” I told her over my shoulder.

It had been two days already, and it would be New Year’s Eve soon. Our little break from work would be coming to an end, and I had plans to make. I had no intention of leaving Scarlett and our baby, especially now I’d admitted to her and myself, and to our friends and family, that I loved them both.

“Everything went well, then?” she said blandly.

I spun on my heel and stared her down as she closed the door and turned to face me. Before meeting my eyes, she looked around the room as if trying to memorize it.

“Yeah,” I said quietly. I reminded myself to be a little more sensitive. Abigail wasn’t the bad guy in any of this—I was, and I was damn lucky that Scarlett was so quick to forgive me. “Look, about leaving you at the restaurant—”

“It’s fine,” she said, cutting off my apology. “No explanations are needed. I was there for the whole argument.”

I sighed, feeling part embarrassed and part grateful I didn’t have to explain things to her. I was still trying to take it all in myself.

“So,” she said, “what happens now?”

I shrugged. “So, I stay here and raise a baby with Scarlett.” It was pretty much a foregone conclusion in my mind. Even if I didn’t love her as much as I did, or didn’t love my son as much as I did already, I would have done it anyway, because it was the responsible thing to do.

Abigail looked so surprised and I wondered if I should be insulted. “Really?”

“Yes, Abigail. What else did you think was going to happen?” I realized I wasn’t being fair and made an effort to regulate my tone. “I know this is out of the blue, and I’m so sorry about this. But you and I are over, Abigail. I would say there was nothing between us to begin with, but that would be rude.”

She rearranged her expression and looked away from me to try and retain her cool.

“It’s not rude if it’s true.” She laughed darkly and met my eyes with a smirk on her lips. “I was wondering when you’d realize Scarlett wasn’t just another notch on a bedpost for you, that you felt more for her than friends with benefits.”

“Of course, you noticed,” I muttered with a sigh.

She shrugged. “It was obvious, Zach. Probably from the moment you turned me down when I offered you sex and then kept doing it over and over, even when you said we were dating.”

I frowned, confused. “But if you knew, then why did you...”

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I wanted to try and get you to change your mind,” she said and smirked. “It would have been a nice conquest, but you would have been a pain to work with afterward when you freaked out.”

I opened my mouth to protest, then snapped my mouth closed. I wasn’t sure if I’d have freaked out or not, but I definitely would have regretted it if I’d slept with Abigail only to realize later that I loved Scarlett.

“So,” she went on, “what are you going to do about work?” Her eyebrows shot up. “You realize we’re still stationed in Tokyo for the foreseeable future, don’t you?”

I arched an eyebrow right back wondering how simple-minded she thought I was as if that hadn’t occurred to me first.

“The break is until the fifth, but the office will be open on the third, and I’ll go and let my boss know then. They can’t make me go back there, and I was only there to replace someone anyway. I’ve done my work the past several months. I’m sure they can find someone else to take over.”

She looked shocked again. “Are you seriously giving up on your job for—”

I held up a hand, and immediately she went silent. It was getting annoying, how insistent she was on this.

She tightened her lips, looking a little upset, then defeated, and finally understanding.

“You’re hooked on the life of fatherhood after seeing your baby?” A smile played around her lips. “Was it love at first sight?”

I didn't know whether she was joking or not, but I sighed, and a smile spread on my lips. “I guess it was,” I murmured, then laughed. “Although, it should probably be love at first wail because I heard him crying before I saw him properly for the first time.” I aimed a smile at her. “He’s adorable.”

“A boy, huh?” she murmured to herself.

She was staring at me with pursed lips like she was trying to see through me.

After a moment of silence, she smiled, and it was one of acceptance. I was wary when she suddenly closed the space between us, but the sharp look she aimed at me told me not to move away like I normally did every time she came this close. She went onto her tiptoes and pecked a kiss on my cheek. Then she patted my chest, gave me another smile, and turned to leave the apartment.

“Congrats on your new family, Zach,” she said warmly as she closed the door behind her, leaving me alone. I felt a shiver down my spine because I’d led her on. Maybe she knew she couldn’t compete. Either way, I had a family to get to and for once in my life, I’d told not only one girl how I felt about her, but two. I didn’t text or even do it via social media. I’d let Abigail know that I wasn’t interested and told Scarlett I wasn’t going to let her go.

Epilogue

Scarlett

I sat in one of the back rooms of my mom’s church. I was decked in an off-white wedding gown with a ribbon of dark red around the top of the sleeveless dress and around my waist, tying off in a large bow at the back.

I’d refused to wear stark white, insistent that I wouldn’t look good in it, and we compromised. Just as well that it wasn’t pure white, anyway.

“Oh, honey, you look so amazing,” Mom cooed from behind me.

Sasha finished my makeup, then fixed the combs in my hair to hold my veil. Quickly, I picked up a small mirror and checked my face. We’d been running a little late, so Mom and Olivia had insisted we leave the makeup until after we got to the church. I wouldn’t be able to see the full effect of how I looked, but I would get to see Zach’s reaction to it in just a little bit.

I turned to Sasha giddily and pulled her into a careful hug. “Thank you so much.”

She hugged me back tightly, being just as careful. “You’re welcome. What are friends for?”

I winced remembering what I’d been like at her wedding. At least, the reception part of it. I felt like I owed her an apology, but knowing her, she’d just wave it off because she was a good friend like that.

Then I turned to the other two women in the room.

“Mom’s already told me her opinion, but what do you think?” I struck a little pose for Olivia.

She laughed and bounced my son in her arms. “You’re as amazing as I knew you would be,” she teased. “Zach should consider himself a very lucky man.”

I gave both women a smile and went to give them quick hugs, before reaching for my son. Zach and I had both thought up names and come up with votes for each, before finally agreeing on Matthew, after Zach’s father.

Olivia pouted a little but relinquished him. As if my thoughts had called them, Zach’s parents were suddenly in the room, led by my father.

“Oh, honey, you look so beautiful,” Zach’s mom said with a bright smile, crossing the floor quickly.

She stopped herself last minute from pecking my cheek, in case her lipstick stuck on my skin.

“Is everyone ready in here?” my dad asked.

Zach’s dad laughed. “My son is getting a little impatient. I think I saw him sweating just now.”

There was a round of laughs in the room. Then I pecked on Matt’s cheek, ignoring his reaching out for me with difficulty as I handed him to my mom.

Sasha sighed as she and Olivia looked at him longingly. “Well, the two of us should probably head out and get the crowd ready for you.”

Olivia winked at me as they both left the room. She and Sasha, and several of our friends were acting as my bridesmaids. I'd been to each of their weddings, and I was grateful to them for stepping up for me, with their husbands moving to Zach’s side to act as the groomsmen.

“We should probably get seated as well,” Zach’s mom said, taking his dad’s hand and leading him out. “We’ll see you later, Scarlett!”

They both waved and left the room.

I was left alone with my parents. Suddenly I felt the onset of nerves. I hadn’t told my parents exactly what had happened between Zach and me, but I’d told them just enough for them to understand the situation. I very much wanted them to approve of Zach and, as if they knew, they both reached out, on either side of me with their arms, and brought me into a hug.

“I am so proud of you, Scarlett,” Mom whispered wetly, and when I met her eyes, they shone with tears. “You have a beautiful baby, and Zach is one gorgeous man. I’m so happy for you.”

I grinned, giving her a squeeze, then turned to my dad. He smiled warmly down at me.

“Are you happy?” he asked bluntly.

I blinked blurry tears out of my own eyes and nodded.

He smiled wider. “Then I’m happy for you,” he said simply.

That sparked another series of blinks as I tried to hold the tears back. I was sure Sasha would have used waterproof mascara, but I was still paranoid about ruining my makeup.

“I love you both,” I said simply, and we shared a moment, all three of us smiling at each other.

Matt’s fussing brought us out of it a few seconds later, and I touched my baby’s cheek before watching Mom leave with him. Dad held an arm out to me and arched an eyebrow, silently asking me if I was ready. I nodded, and with the last sniffle, I linked my arm with his, held the bouquet of flowers between my hands, and let my father lead me out.

We stopped at the entrance, and as the music shifted to the wedding march, everyone stood, and all eyes were suddenly on me. My heart sped up in my chest, but I ignored every face in the room, instead focusing on the one right at the top of the aisle.

My dad led me slowly down, and the closer we got, the better I could read Zach’s expression. He smiled crookedly at me, eyes shining with love and approval, and I felt my face shift to match his own. When we got to the front my dad took my hand and set it in Zach’s. He slowly backed away, but I barely noticed, all eyes for the handsome man in front of me that would be mine.

And I would be his.

With a last glance at each other and a squeeze of our hands, we turned to face front as we embraced our future with our new-found family. For just a moment, Zach leaned forward to move my veil and he whispered to me.

“I told you you would look exceptional in a wedding dress.” He kissed my cheek and moved away, ready, at last, for a real marriage. Our marriage.