Page 38 of Never Stop

My eyes widened. “We?”

“You’re my maid of honor, duh.”

I gasped. “When?”

“As soon as possible. Unless it interferes with your wedding.”

“We haven’t set a date,” I admitted.

“Why not? You’ve been engaged longer than I have.”

Here it was.Time to tell her about FAP.

I took another sip of my coffee, trying to decide how to tell her. “I’ve been going through some shit.”

“With Easton?” she questioned.

I shook my head, staring out the window for a beat. “I had to get a colonoscopy yesterday.” I frowned.

Her eyebrows scrunched. “Why?”

“Have you ever heard of FAP?” I was hoping she had heard of it since she was in the medical field.

“No?”

I sighed. “I can’t pronounce what it’s called, but it’s familial something or other. Basically colon cancer.”

“What?” she screeched. “You have colon cancer?”

I shook my head again. “No, but I can still carry the gene. I’m waiting for the genetic testing to come back.” I took a deep breath and explained how FAP was connected to desmoid tumors.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” she inquired.

“Nic, you were going through so much. I didn’t want to burden you.”

“I’m your best friend.”

“That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. I was letting you get your life back before I threw my shit into the mix.”

We sat in silence for a few beats, each staring out the window as we processed the conversation.

“I wish you would have told me sooner. I would have been there for you.”

“Easton took care of me.” I smiled. I didn’t want to remind her how she had shut me out right after she lost her baby.

She smiled back. “God, I’m such an idiot. How did I almost let Avery go? Our guys are the greatest.”

“Totally,” I agreed. “And webothhave weddings to plan.”

Her eyes brightened. “How did this happen?”

“You booked us on a singles cruise.” I laughed.

“Damn,” she dragged out the word, “crazy how things turn out.”

“I know.” I smiled, thinking of Easton and Cheyenne and how I was engaged and was going to be a step-mom.

“Well, you need to pick a date and I need to look into venues in Vegas. Then it’s operation wedding planning.”

“OWP, huh?”

“OWP,” she confirmed. “This is going to be so much fun!”

I couldn’t have agreed more.