Page 68

Charlie forced herself to concentrate on her cooking; she wanted to offer her sisters a good meal before they murdered her.She split open a baguette, slathered it with garlic, butter, and parmesan cheese, then put it in the oven and made a salad.When everything was ready, she called Morgan and Abby to the table.

“Everything smells good,” Abby said, as they all sat down.

Morgan and Abby dug into the meal, but Charlie didn’t lift her fork.

“I hope the reason you aren’t eating isn’t because you’re trying to poison us,” Morgan smirked.

“Wait, what?”Abby said with her mouth full.

“I’m not trying to poison you.Although, depending on how you react to what I’m about to say, you may have given me a good idea.”

“Just say it,” Morgan said.

Charlie cleared her throat.“I’m trying to figure out how to tell you something and not get blasted for it.”She took a bite of garlic bread.

“Well, swallow first,” Abby said.

“Rick wants to get married.”

“To whom?”Morgan said.

“To me, you idiot.”Charlie’s leg bounced nervously under the table.

“After all these years?”Abby said, her eyes wide.

“You can’t marry him,” Morgan said.“Tell me you aren’t considering it.”

Charlie put her garlic bread down.“I’m not… I won’t… but I have to think about it.”

“Did you just hear yourself?”Abby asked.

“I’m trying not to listen,” Charlie said.

“You have to break up with him,” Morgan said meeting Charlie’s eyes.“You’ve known that for a long time.”

“We’ve been together for eleven years and I’ve been waiting for him to propose,” Charlie said.

“Did he take you someplace romantic and get down on one?Did he say he can’t live without you and wants to be with you forever?”Abby asked.

“Or did he propose in a text with the hug emoji,” Morgan said.

“Alex proposed to me in a cabin in front of a roaring fire, with snow falling quietly from the heavens.He gave me one red rose and he had champagne on ice,” Abby said.

Charlie began scratching her arm.A tic she picked up in middle school when she knew she was about to do something wrong.When it got really bad, Carla would wrap Charlie’s arm with gauze so no one would think she’d gotten in a fight with a feral cat.

Morgan got up from the table and crossed over to Charlie.

“Look what you’re doing,” Morgan said.She gently pried Charlie’s fingers off her arm so she’d have to stop scratching.As soon as Morgan returned to her seat, Charlie unconsciously began to scratch again.

“Drawing blood is not a sign that you want to get married to the love of your life,” Abby said.

“Okay, so it wasn’t a romantic proposal, but does that matter?”

“Yes,” Abby and Morgan said simultaneously.

“Think hard.Do youwantto marry him?”Abby asked.“If the answer is a definite yes, then we’ll try to support you.”

“If the answer is no, we’ll throw a party,” Morgan said.