Jordan sighed. “Noah’s heart makes mine whole.”
Maggie smiled. “Yeah. Griffin makes mine whole, too.”
Miles groaned. “Then why are you two here and your You complete mes down the hall?”
“Because Griffin broke my trust in him. And he’s leaving for a year,” Maggie told him.
“And Noah asked me to marry him in front of everybody only after Duncan spilled the beans and congratulated me on the engagement that hadn’t happened yet. And you know what? It was beautiful and perfect…until he told me he wished it hadn’t happened. That it wasn’t supposed to be like that.”
Miles whacked his head against the headboard.
“Mags…go with him. You have nothing keeping you in Minneapolis.” Maggie opened her mouth to protest, but Miles held up his hand. “And Jordan, did he rescind his offer?” Jordan shook her head. “Then maybe he had something else planned that he didn’t get to do. Maybe he thinks he could have done better. You guys are traveling after this, right? Maybe he wanted to do it where you first met, with the perfect words in the most perfect moment. Like, what if he had some amazing speech, where he planned to tell you how you’re the wind beneath his wings, that you complete him, and that his heart cannot go on without you?”
Jordan snorted. “Did you just sum up our relationship with Beaches, Jerry Maguire, and Titanic?”
Miles shrugged. “Who am I to deny the power of Bette Midler, Tom Cruise, and Celine Dion? Take it from a guy who, for a long time, thought he was responsible for his own broken heart. The fear of losing someone is a very powerful thing. If Noah blames himself for any pitfalls in your past, he probably saw this as his one chance to get it right, and Duncan kind of took that away from him.”
Jordan pulled her knees to her chest. “He’s not going to lose me,” she argued.
Miles shrugged. “Maybe he doesn’t get that yet. Give him the chance to show you in his way that you’re his eternal flame, that every little thing you do is magic.”
“Stop it,” Jordan said, but she was laughing.
“I’m sure he’s hopelessly devoted to you.”
Jordan kicked him playfully. “Enough. I get it. He loves me but needs to prove something to himself, even if I don’t need him to prove it to me.”
Miles laughed. “If you need a wedding playlist, I’m your guy.”
Maggie narrowed her eyes at him. “If you think it’s so easy for us, why can’t it be easy for you?” she asked.
He crossed his arms. “First of all, I wasn’t supposed to even be here. I’m an add-on to this whole wedding shindig. An afterthought. I wasn’t supposed to fucking fall for someone in the midst of all this.” He let out a long breath. “Do either of your men live more than an ocean away? Who falls in love and commits to something like that? I…I have a thesis to finish and defend.”
Maggie nudged his foot with hers. “And after that? You don’t have anyone or anything tying to you Minneapolis after May. You could risk your heart and be in love anywhere.”
Both girls nodded at him, and Maggie was grateful for Jordan’s solidarity. But she also knew that Miles’s own words, the ones she was echoing to him now, had a lot of merit.
The only people Maggie had in Minneapolis were Griffin and Miles. She’d always just assumed that the safe little bubble she’d let these two men into would never burst. But after tonight, it was starting to leak. Eventually it would deflate, and she would have to step outside the safety zone—but not at the expense of Griffin’s peace of mind. This fellowship in D.C. was an amazing opportunity for him. How would he be able to enjoy it, to put the work into it that would make him successful, if he was always worrying about her? That was the part she couldn’t let go of.
Miles brushed the powdered sugar from the bedspread and made sure the cookies were carefully stowed on the night table. Then he hopped off the bed and patted the spot where he’d just been.
“How about you ladies spoon it out?”
Maggie’s brows drew together. “Where are you going?”
He put on that patented Miles grin, the one that told her he was up to no good but would enjoy every second of being bad.
“I told Alex I was coming back for my bag and to have a quick shower. He’s probably already thinking I decided to cut and run—which, to be honest, was exactly what I was doing here.”
Maggie stood as well, wrapping her arms around her friend in a tight embrace.
“Open yourself up to possibility, sweetie,” she whispered in his ear. “Don’t let someone who couldn’t love you like you deserve keep you from someone who can.”
He squeezed her back, and she felt his heart hammering against her.
“Don’t tell anyone, Mags,” he whispered back to her, “but I’m scared.”
“We all are,” she assured him before pulling away and kissing him on the forehead. “Text me when you get there so I know you made it safe. I don’t like you walking back there alone so late.”
Miles winked. “You got it, darling.” He turned to Jordan, and Maggie followed his gaze. “Good night—” He stopped before uttering her name, and Maggie giggled as they both found Jordan passed out on top of the bedspread, head on a pillow and a smudge of powdered sugar on her nose.
“She’s going to be okay, right? I mean, her and Noah?” Maggie asked.
Miles nodded. “So are you and Griffin,” he said. “It’s okay to be scared, but it’s not okay to let fear take the wheel.”
“Wise words from a man who let fear drive him all the way to my room tonight.”
Miles chuckled. “Touché. I’m taking the wheel now. Maybe you should, too.”
And then he kissed her on the cheek and was out the door before she could respond.
Maggie crawled into bed next to Jordan. She had to tug, jostling her bedmate, to loosen the linens enough so she could climb under the sheets. It didn’t matter. Jordan was out cold.
But Maggie lay awake for a while longer, trying to convince herself that her reasons for not wanting to go to Washington were rational and not born of her own fear. Because Miles was right. There was nothing holding her in Minneapolis except for the safety of routine.
What if she had to learn a new routine? Would she be able to adapt, or would it set her back the three years it had taken her to get where she was now?
Maggie wanted to know the answer, but right now she was losing the battle. Sheer will was nothing against a monster case of jet lag, and as elusive as it had been before Miles and Jordan showed up, sleep finally came. Her last thought was a projection into her near future—rolling over in the bed she shared with Griffin to find his side empty, his nightstand devoid of his glasses and whatever book he was reading.
And that? Well, that was the scariest thought of all.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Duncan
Duncan’s fist pounded against Noah’s door, but there was no answer. He checked his phone again. Seven o’clock. Fucking hell, what was he doing awake at a time such as this? Oh, right.
“I’m getting married today, ya bastard! Wake up and have a pint with me, aye? I’ll just go call on Griffin and be right back.” He turned to make his way farther down the hall to Griffin’s room when he remembered his slight oversight.
He knocked again.
“And mornin’ to ya, too, Jordan. I’m sorry if I woke—”
Before he could finish, the door swung open to reveal Griffin standing in nothing but his jeans. Duncan didn’t have time to process what he was seeing because he was more concerned with the brain malfunction that had led him to believe he was at one location when really he was at another. He hadn’t had that much to drink last night, and even if he had, his talk with Elaina helped fast-forward him to complete and total sobriety.