The Billionaire's Best Friend(63)

“It’s beautiful. I won’t tell anyone.” She released Sara’s hand.

“I know. I trust you, Lauren. Congrats, yourself. Callie told me about your wedding next month.”

“You and . . .” Charlie paused, her forehead creased as she thought. “Kevin, right? Callie thought you two weren’t that serious.”

“Who’s Kevin? Callie said your fiancé’s name was Nate. Someone you grew up with.”

Obviously Callie talked about her with her family. But then again, Lauren sometimes did the same. Still, this time she wished her friend had kept her mouth closed.

“Kevin asked me, but I said no. And as of right now, I’m not marrying anyone. I canceled the wedding.” Or at least she planned to. She still needed to drop the news on Callie.

Three identical expressions of shock stared back at her.

Sara put down the tablet in her hands, a clear sign that thoughts of the baby shower were gone. “Why? Callie told me the whole story. It sounded as if you were meant for each other.”

“When he asked me to marry him, he left out a few details, including that we’d have to move to Virginia if he makes the FBI’s HRT.”

“What exactly is that?” Allison asked.

“According to Nate, it’s the FBI equivalent to the military’s special forces,” Lauren answered. “Anyway, he made all these decisions before he asked me and now expects me to just go along with them. I can’t be with someone who calls all the shots without considering how it will affect me. He did it once before. I’m not letting him do it again.”

Sara slipped an arm around her shoulders. “Men are idiots sometimes.”

“I heard that.” Jake walked out onto the veranda, followed by his best friend and future brother-in-law Christopher.

“It’s the truth,” Charlie added when Jake placed a kiss on her cheek.

“If women were in charge, the world would run much smoother,” Allison said, adding her two cents to the discussion.

Christopher held up his hands in mock surrender. “Jake, I think that’s our cue to leave.” He leaned toward Sara and kissed her. “Your brother says his golf game has improved. I’ll be back after I prove him wrong.”

Lauren watched with envy. Both couples exhibited utter love and happiness. Sure, they probably had disagreements. What couple didn’t? But they loved each other. Worked together to keep their relationship on track. At least from where she sat, neither Jake nor Christopher called all the shots, and from what she knew of Sara and Charlie, they’d never let their partners make all the decisions. Was it too much to ask for the same thing with Nate?

“Christopher’s in for a big surprise. Jake’s game really has improved,” Charlie said once the two men departed. “He hired some former PGA golfer to coach him.”

“Couldn’t take losing to Christopher anymore?” Sara asked.

“Nope. You know your brother.”

Sara laughed. “At least they’re gone for now.” Her smile faded. “Are you sure about canceling the wedding? Maybe you can work things out. And moving might be fun. I worried about moving to California, but now I love it.”

“Virginia is beautiful, very similar to Massachusetts, and Quantico isn’t that far from us,” Charlie added.

Lauren traced a path through the condensation on her water glass. The other women’s concern touched her, but weren’t they supposed to be planning a baby shower? “It’s not only the move. He never once mentioned his plans to me. He assumed I’d just go along with them. That he knew best.” She took a sip of water, hoping the lump in her throat would disappear. “When we broke up after high school he did the same thing. He assumed life as a military wife would be too hard on me.”

“On that one, I think he was thinking of how hard it would be on him, too. Trust me, I’ve seen it firsthand. It’s just as hard on the husbands and boyfriends when they get deployed as the woman they leave behind,” Charlie said.

As a former doctor in the Navy, Lauren trusted Charlie’s insight, but that didn’t change the past. Before he left for Annapolis all those years ago, they could have discussed it. He could have shared his worries with her.

“From what Callie told me about you two, it sounds like he’s the one. Okay, he left after high school. Everyone does stupid things when they’re eighteen. He came back to fix his mistake. And if he didn’t mention the possibility of a move, he probably just forgot about it. Or assumed you expected a move at some point. Doesn’t the FBI move agents all the time?”