chapter1740

Miles Lopez stood there, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, secretly wishing his dad would just let him save a bit of dignity. But then again, he had to admit—he'd messed up. And owning up to your mistakes was better than

sweeping them under the rug.

Miles said, his voice steady, "Can you all just trust me one more time? I swear, what happened before will never happen again. Not a chance."

The consequences he'd faced for his screw-ups had only gotten tougher each time. The memory of them still made his stomach clench-there was no way he'd risk making the same mistake twice.

"Langston, even if no one else believes in you, I sure do!" Aunt Karen chirped, always the optimist. She waved a hand as if brushing away any worries. "But tell me are you really having the wedding on the beach? I need to know so I can find the perfect dress!"

Felicity Lopez just shook her head, half-smiling, half-exasperated. "Mom, aren't you at all worried about me getting bullied here?"

Karen rolled her eyes, moving to stand beside Dorothy with a grin. "You? Sweetheart, it's a miracle if you don't bully Langston! And anyway, I picked out your future mother-in-law decades ago-Dorothy's the best there is."

Dorothy burst out laughing. "Felicity, maybe your mom should host the ceremony! Otherwise, what's she going to do with all that charm?"

"I'm all for it!" someone chimed in, and everyone laughed.

Once the teasing died down, they got back to business. It was decided: the wedding would be a month from now. Felicity was adamant-she wasn't going to walk down the aisle with a baby bump, so time was of the essence.

Later that evening, Craig Cullen finally finished up all the wedding preparations. He felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest.

Aurora Lopez could tell he wasn't in the best mood, so she insisted on driving him home. As they waited at a red light, she glanced in the rearview mirror and caught a glimpse of Craig slumped against the window, his face ghostly pale.

"You okay back there?" Aurora called out.

Craig's lips moved, but he didn't really answer.

Something's not right, she thought, pulling over at the next corner. She jumped out, rushing to the back seat.

"Craig! Hey, Craig, wake up!"

She pressed her hand to his forehead. He was burning up-way hotter than normal.

There was no way she could support a six-foot three guy on her own. Instinctively, she grabbed her phone to call his family or friends for help. But as her finger hovered over the screen, her heart sank.

Craig only had one relative left: Elijah Cullen.

And as for her... well, she wasn't really family, not in any official way.

But her brother was with Felicity,

and Felicity had just found out she

was pregnant. Her dad had never

ly warmed up to Craig, either. else could she call?

After a moment's hesitation, she dialed.

"Quentin, you busy? Could you come help me, please?" she asked, her voice tight.

"Sure, what's up?" Quentin replied instantly.

"You're at the studio, right? I'm at the corner of Mineline Street and Cloud Avenue. Can you get here?"

"I'm on my way. Don't move."

After hanging up, Aurora called the hospital to give them a heads-up, just in case,

so there wouldn't be any delays when they arrived.

With everything arranged, she turned back to Craig. For a second, she just looked at him-really looked. He was barely forty, but up close she could see the streaks of gray in his hair. He suddenly looked so much older, and Aurora's heart ached for him.