Izzabella's yard was just about ready for our weekly family get-together. When my siblings started moving out, we started having family get-togethers once a week. Whoever can shows up, and we hang out, catch up, and basically have fun family time. Sometimes we end up staying the night.

The games were set out and stacked in the corner for us to choose from. Laughter filled the air as the children played by the play structure. Some adults were enjoying the perfect April sunny yet breeze weather in the chairs on the deck. It was the ideal weather to enjoy some time outside.

Looking over at the kids, I couldn't believe it's been a week already. Time sure was passing by fast. It only seemed like yesterday that we started a new year, and now it was already mid-April. We were already halfway through Spring, and Summer was around the corner. Before I knew it, November would be coming around again, which meant Melody would be three.

November didn't only mean Melody's birthday; according to Zeke, it was also Jason and Kelsie's wedding. I thought back to meeting with Zeke two days ago and his request. I haven't seen or talked to him since. I debated Zeke's request for a few moments.

I turned to see my little girl playing with her cousins, showing them how well she could hop on one foot. How she was able to learn something that was considered to be advanced is beyond me, but I was proud of her. She had only discovered her newly found skills a couple of days ago and had been practicing every chance she got.

Most of my siblings were already here, itching to play games and get some family time. Only Miguel, Smiley, and Javier were missing. They had promised to try their best but had yet to arrive.

Someone handed me a drink causing me to look up. Teagan sat next to me, "want to talk about it?"

I took a sip of the drink Teagan gave me. "I'm missing my siblings and the way we used to be able to hang out anytime we wanted. Getting together once a week just doesn't feel enough."

"But it's better than nothing." She gave me a warm, sympathetic smile, "I get it, though. Mattie and I used to see each other every day, even after he moved out. Then our lives got busier, and we would be lucky to see each other once a week. It must be much harder for you with Miguel in New York, Smiley in L.A., Javier living almost thirty minutes away without traffic, and your other siblings living so far apart."

I gave a small smile and nodded, "I feel like I don't get to see them nearly enough. I miss them."

Teagan was silent for a moment before she spoke, "well, since you have to move, why not move in with Javy or one of your siblings? That way, you can at least see one of your siblings more often."

Teagan's lips curved into a bright smile. Before I could ask her about it, a hand covered my eyes from behind. Turning around in confusion, I couldn't believe my eyes.

In front of me were Miguel, Smiley, and Javier.

"Daddy," Olyvya beeline for Miguel.

We were right behind her, greeting them as we pulled them into hugs. I didn't bother to hide my excitement. I was sure they'd be a no-show when Javier called earlier to inform us about a work emergency. Then Miguel called about practice running late. I hadn't expected to see Smiley much while she was in town, so she was more on the no-show end. Now that they were here, the afternoon was perfect.

"Pictures," Mom cried, rushing inside for the camera. "We need pictures."

We chuckled, seeing moms excited like a kid on Christmas day. This weekly get-together was one that we'd all remember.

Javier pulled me aside for a game of catch. "Can we talk," he asked, tossing the ball to me.

I raised my brow, trying to follow him through my confusion. "We are talking."

"I mean, have one of our world-famous talks," He had a serious look on his face.

I knew what he meant. Javier and I have been talking since before I could answer back. It's part of our special relationship and how we talk about everything. When either of us needs to talk about what's in our heart, we call it a world-famous talk.

I nodded for him to continue, "is everything OK?"

Javier turned to the kids. "A couple of weeks ago, when we had Melody for the afternoon, Rosie's sister came by with her son, Keagan. Melody wasn't too excited to have someone to play with. When they did play together, Keagan wouldn't let Melody do stuff that she could do on her own, and she didn't protest at all."

I wasn't liking what I was hearing, "I'm guessing development-wise that's bad," I guessed, taking in what Javier told me.

He shrugged, "well, the terrible two's are called that for a reason. Children Melody's age starts testing boundaries, protesting when they are told no-especially if they can do something for themselves, and interacting with other children more. Have you noticed a lack of any of those things from Melody lately?"

I looked over at my little girl playing with her cousins. She didn't seem to be having any trouble socially now. She was a social butterfly laughing and coping with her cousins. Has she always been like that lately? Or was Javier noticing something that happened before, and I just brushed it off?

I thought hard about the last couple of weeks. At Blakely's wedding, Melody only played with her cousins. She didn't even try to play with any other children her age. We went to the park several times over the last couple of weeks, and she didn't show interest in playing with any of the kids.

Javier was right. Socially Melody wasn't really like other two years old.

I blew out a breath, "how can we help her?"

"Honestly, I would say lead by example and keep an eye on her for now." I didn't bother to hide my confusion, so Javier continued, "If you want Melody to have a voice, then you need to show her she can have one."

I knew Javier had a point. Whether or not I want to admit it, I haven't been Melody's best example frowned, hating myself for not being a better example for my daughter. The last thing I wanted for Melody was for her to feel like she couldn't achieve what she dreamed of for any reason.

Mom returned with a young woman and two children I've seen a few times. "Mija, this young woman is here to talk to you. She said her name is Luna."

She reached out her hand. "Hi, I'm Luna-Trey's sister. Well, one of them."

I remember seeing her pictures before the second she told me who she was. I approached her, cautious of her moves. I shook her outstretched hand, greeting her, "hi, I'm Gabriella. I've seen your picture at Trey's place before. You have two kids, right?"

"Yeah, Mason, four, and Wyatt, seven," She confirmed, gesturing to her boys, "sorry for just dropping by, but there's something about my family I think you should know; mind if we sat and talked?"

I shook my head and led her over to a table, "we're having a family get-together; you actually came at the perfect time since you're going to be family. Why don't your boys join the other kids while we talk."

Mason and Wyatt's faces glowed with excitement, "can we?"

Wyatt dragged his brother off as soon as Luna gave the OK. We watched the kids for a minute before Luna said anything, "Trey told me you have a little one too."

I nodded toward Melody with a smile, "yes, Melody, she's two and the light of my life."

Luna's smile fell a little when she spoke again. "Must be great, having that mother-daughter relationship with your mom and now your little girl."

"It is," I agreed, picking up on the sadness in her voice, "you don't have a good relationship with your mom?"

She slowly shook her head, "I wasn't lucky enough to have that special mother-daughter relationship with my mom."

"Mind if I asked why," I asked, handing her a lemonade.

She took it, thanking me. "Not at all. To put it simply, the key to any good relationship is that both parties need to be present."

I put my drink down, not bothering to hide my confusion, "the key to any good relationship…." I started repeating more to myself, and it clicked. "Your mom was never around," I wasn't sure if I was asking her or if I was stating a fact.

She took a sip of her drink and shook her head, "Our mom made for the hills long ago, and we've never heard from her since."

My smile fell, remembering what Trey had told me about his family. Trey never actually told me much about his parents-especially his mom. He had no problem talking about his siblings, though. I never actually questioned why thought, much less considered that it could be caused by his mom not being around. My heart ached at the idea; I couldn't imagine not having my parents around.

I gave her a sympathetic smile, "I'm sorry to hear that. It must have been hard."

"It was easier when we still had our dad around," she said in all honesty, "after we lost both our parents, we were put into the system, and things got really rough. It was especially hard for Trey."

I was positive I'd heard her wrong. "I'm sorry; I thought you said you lost your parents and were put in the system."

She nodded, "that's right; Trey had just turned three, and I was six when it happened. We didn't have any other family willing to take us in, so the five of us were put in the system."

"Five," I asked, not sure I should be asking.

"My sisters, Britton and Chloe, and my brothers, Zayne, Trey, and me." She elaborated. "We were all put in the system."

This was the first time I'd heard any of this. Trey had talked about his siblings before when I asked about them, but that wasn't often. I've asked his parents even less. Now I was feeling like I should've asked more and feeling bad that I didn't.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your dad?"

"He had T.A." Air left my lungs, and I forgot how to breath. The bad news kept coming, though. "After T.A. took dad's life, and we were put in the system, we were separated into four different homes. Chloe and Zayne stayed together in one home, and the rest of us were put in separate homes."

I shut my eyes, needing a minute, "Trey never mention any of this to me."

Luna dropped her head with a guilty look on her face, "that's probably my fault," she whispered, fidgetting with something in her hands.

I frowned, narrowing my brow, "what do you mean?"

She remained quiet, and I got the feeling that maybe I shouldn't have asked. "I'm sorry if I overstepped; I didn't mean to…."

"You didn't," She picked her head up and placed something on the table.

A heart-shaped locket.

It was simply decorated in gold with the letter L on it. A simple golden bead chain matching the locket hung from the locket.

Luna must have sensed my curiosity and hesitation since she permitted me to see it. Slowly I picked it up and paused for a moment before opening it. The second I saw the picture, a gasp escaped me.

It was Trey and Luna, but who was the girl to the left of him?

"The young woman…." I started to ask.

"Her name was Cynthia; we called her Cindy for short."

My stomach dropped, and I had a feeling this was something else I should have been talking to Trey about. "Is she Trey's friend?"

"She was my friend and Trey's fiancée." Luna corrected, "They were inseparable from the moment they met. They connected like no one else and never failed to make each other laugh. They were perfect for each other."

I felt like I was slapped in the face. I could feel the anger boiling in me. Trey had never mentioned to me a girl named Cynthia, much less that he was engaged.

"Why didn't he tell me he was engaged?" I wondered aloud.

"He probably didn't want to mention that she passed four years ago or that she was my heart transplant donor." She explained.

Another slap in the face.

This time it was harder.

The anger I felt was replaced by guilt for feeling angry and sympathy. I couldn't even begin to imagine how Trey was feeling. The only thing I knew was that it couldn't have been easy.

"Poor Trey," I didn't know what else to say.

I questioned how well I knew Trey. Right now, I felt like I didn't know him at all.

All along, I always felt like Trey and my inability to communicate was his fault because he wasn't listening to me. But now I wasn't so sure I didn't have a part in our lack of communication. After all, Trey can't tell me what I couldn't even bother to ask him about.

But maybe it's also a sign if I didn't even have the good sense to ask him about his past. We watched the children in silence for a minute. I could feel a nagging feeling in my chest as I fidgeted with my engagement ring. Tracing my finger over the heart-shaped diamond, I wondered again if I was making the right choice.

"My brother, he puts up a brave front, but I know he's still petrified." Luna reasoned, "After we were split, he bounced from home to home until he outgrew the system. I ran back into him by chance after he outgrew the system, only for him to see me nearly losing my battle to T.A. For Trey, it was one loved one for another. Something inside him changed after Cindy passed away."

"Losing Cindy was Trey's breaking point," I concluded, starting to see the bigger picture.

Luna agreed, "I believe so, but you changed him back."

I turned my attention to Luna, "I changed him?"

I wasn't sure she had her facts straight on that one. I didn't see how I could change anyone's life unless my goals were to make it worse.

Luna confirmed with a nod and chuckled, "belief or not, he used to be worse. He would call to check on me every day, several times a day. At least four times a week, he stopped by to make sure I was OK, and that's just the mini highlights. You're the reason he's been trying to change."

I shook my head, "I always thought that he just doesn't hear me when I'm talking to him."

"He hears you, and he wants to be there. He wants to be the guy he knows you deserve," Luna assures me, "he just doesn't know how to let go and not worry so much about losing someone else he loves."

I was feeling pretty rotten. Trey has told me countless times how much Melody and I both mean to him. I couldn't help but feel like I was not truly hearing him, either. If I had, maybe I would have asked him about his fears earlier, and today wouldn't be the first time I'm hearing any of this.

Taking another look at my little girl, I decided to take matters into my own hands. And I had the perfect way to do it. I joined Teagan, Matthew, Javier, and Summer at the table for goldfish after Luna left with her boys.

"So, Teagan, you have officially fired your boss, right?" I asked, picking a card from the deck.

Teagan looked up from her cards, "Yes," She answered with caution n her voice. "Why?"

"I was hoping you'd be willing to reconsider joining me at Fantasy Event Planning."

Teagan called goldfish on Matthew and gave me her attention, "I fired my boss because he's a creep, and that's putting it nicely. How is working for a clueless boss going to be any better?"

Javier called goldfish on me, and I drew from the deck. "Because you won't be working for him. You'd be my assistant."

Teagan raised a brow, "your assistant, I'm listening."

"OK, so you know how Ray Fisher is threatening to bring his business elsewhere if I don't plan his gala?"

Teagan nodded, "right?"

"Well, Trey is worried I will be overworked, but if I had an assistant, that would lessen my load. So we can take on Ray and other clients too. It's a win-win for everybody."

"That's not a bad idea," Teagan acknowledged, but will Trey agree?"

"He's been bugging me to find an assistant or someone to help me so that I could relax more," I answered with a smile. "So, I'm pretty sure it's a yes, and it could be a project-based, so it'll only be until you find a new job."

Teagan chuckled, "OK, sold. You have yourself an assistant."

I squealed, hugging her. Part one of my plan was perfect. Now for phase two. I forgot about the game and quickly left to make two phone calls.

Once I found a quiet place in the house, I quickly called Ray Fisher. He was delighted that I had agreed to plan his event and had no problems agreeing to give the work credit to Fantasy Event Planning to help with publicity. After we made plans to meet in three days to start the planning, I had another party I needed to agree to help plan.

I texted Zeke, letting him know I'll help him and asking to talk face-to-face. This time I was feeling pretty good. There wasn't the usual worry or self debating.

The only thing I had left to do was talk to Trey, and I knew where to find him. I found mom and dad in the kitchen getting food ready for grilling. "I need to step out for a quick minute. I promise I won't be long."

"Be careful," they warned simultaneously as I swiped the keys from the counter. "We'll keep an eye on Melody."

I kissed them both on the cheek, "love you, bye."

I pulled up to the parking lot of the local Aquarium of the Bay. The place wasn't too packed, so I could easily see that Trey's car wasn't there. It made me wonder if I could be wrong and that maybe he wasn't at the Aquarium. Not knowing where else to try, I pushed the doubts from my mind and grabbed my purse from the backseat before making my way inside the Aquarium.

There was a decent amount of people there, so it took me a minute to figure out where to go. I finally found him at the Under the Bay Gallery, sitting on one of the benches in the corner with his head buried in his laptop. He didn't notice me at all.

"Mine if I grab a seat," I asked, sitting next to him. "I think we need to talk."

He jumped, letting out a gasp of surprise, causing me to chuckle a little. He smiled as he closed his laptop.

"I'm glad you're here," He slipped his hand into mine, "I'm sorry I took off like that. I really needed some time, and the longer I was away, the harder it got to return."

We were both silent for a moment before turning our attention to the sea creatures swimming in the giant tanks. A calm washed over me as I watched the creatures swim around.

I knew I couldn't avoid talking to him forever, eventually tearing my attention away from the aquariums. Clearing my throat, I started slowly, "So, your sister, Luna came by…..she uuuhhhh…she told me some stuff I think we need to talk about."

Trey's expression immediately fell, like he was facing his worse nightmare. The terrier was in his eyes, and his face turned a bit pale.

"What, uuuhhhhh, what did she tell you?" He stuttered out when he found his voice.

I blew out a raspberry, "she mentioned your parents, being in the system was brought up, and Cindy, to name a few things."

He hung his head. "So everything."

"My question is, why didn't you tell me?" I asked, pulling my hand away.

He shrugged, "None of what I went through was anything to brag about. Plus, I didn't want you to pity me or see me differently."

It looked like he and I had some similarities. His feelings were ones I was all too familiar with. I can't say I was mad at him.

"Was that something that happened a lot to you?" I asked.

He gently bobbed his head. "I never really had a place to call home after I lost my dad. Going from home to home made it harder to make friends. When I did stay long enough to make a friend or two, those friendships lasted as long as they didn't know I was a foster kid. Once they knew, they either started pitying me or avoiding me, like being in the system is contagious."

My heart went out to him. "Are you mad at your parents? You know, for leaving you and all?"

Trey glanced over at some children in their parent's arms. I could see the longing in his eyes. Eventually, he shook his head, "no. I wish I had more memories with them, but I can't say I'm angry."

I can't say that I was surprised by Trey's answer. Trey worried about Melody and me, and he could get pretty angry sometimes, but he wasn't someone who held a grudge. If he did get mad for any reason, it blew over as quickly as it started. The most minor things lift his spirits and put a smile on his face. So, nothing kept him angry for long.

"I take it you aren't Luna either," I stated knowingly.

He shook his head, "not for a second."

I had a feeling it didn't make things easier for him. "Still must be hard, though."

He nodded with a faraway look in his eyes. "Cindy was the first real friend I got. It didn't matter to her that I was in the system; she saw me for me."

"And you see me for me." I shut my eyes, realizing just how similar we were. I almost felt like I was looking in the mirror.

"Course," He frowned, " I've always known you're capable."

"But you worry about us like you worry about your family." I pointed out.

He nodded his agreement, "Every day. I've been through the worse, and I know better. I don't have the easiest time letting go, and even when we compromise, I worry."

I could understand, but it still left us where we were before. "So, where do we going from here?"

"I definitely want it to work and be a family," He paused, and I noticed a spark of fear in his eyes. "But is it what you want?"

I played with my ring, wondering if we could make this relationship work. I wasn't only doubting our relationship, but I was feeling more and more conflicted. I wanted it to work, but at the same time, I didn't.

I didn't want to give up. When Troy and I were together, I gave up before I was sure it was over. To this day, part of me still wonders how different my life would be. Many people were hurt because of my decision, including myself. That's not something I could put myself or Melody through again unless I knew for sure. And I just didn't.

Blowing out a shaky breath, I made my decision. "If we are to make this work, we really need to communicate better. You have to know you're not alone in this, so when you get scared talk to my family or me. Don't just shut us out and mother hen us."

He didn't hesitate to reach his hand out to shake on our deal, and hesitantly I reached out my hand to shake his. The second we shook on it, I got a sick feeling in my stomach.

Did I make the right choice, I thought.

In the back of my mind, I felt I had just made the wrong choice.