Page 64 of Wish You Would

“Then I’ll meet her. I told you, Bee. Whatever you need, I’m here.”

She nods and we drive the rest of the way in silence until we arrive at a small Italian restaurant away from the bustle of the beach and Main Street. I know we can have dinner here without running into anyone we know.

Afterwards, we decide to go for a drive, neither of us ready to go back to Haven Harbor. Living in this little bubble we’ve been in all day, just the two of us, not having to deal with the outside world has felt good. I sense that she feels that way too. Just her and I… happy. Afraid, but definitely happy. Briar and I are in a good place; we’re getting along, and we both seem to have accepted the fact that we’re having a baby together. I’m not ready to have anyone burst our happy bubble.

“Are you blind?That is a plane, not a shooting star, Holden!” Briar smacks my thigh with the back of her hand where she’s lying next to me in the bed of my pick-up truck. “And you don’t make wishes on an airplane.”

“It’s definitely a shooting star. I don’t care what you say, Bee.”

She drapes her arm over her eyes, shaking her head. The sun set an hour ago, and the moon is high above us, casting a silvery glow over her face. A million stars light up the sky overhead.

After dinner, we drove north along the highway—stopping at a gas station so Briar could pee and we could load up on candy and chips—until we got to Lookout Point. Luckily, I had a blanket in the back of my truck and now Briar and I are lying side-by-side gazing at the stars. And possibly an airplane, but I’m not about to admit she’s right.

“You are ridiculous,” she says, lowering her arm to stare up at the sky again.

“Or maybe it’s a sign.”

She’s silent for a moment as her hand flattens over her belly. I’m pretty sure it’s a subconscious movement. “Yeah, I like that. Maybe it’s a sign. Let’s go with that, Holden.”

We both turn to look at one another. Her eyes, bright green oceans, are wide as they stare back at me. There’s a thick tension in the air between us, and the way her lips part as my eyes dip down to her mouth makes it harder and harder not to seal my lips to hers.

There’s nothing I want more than to kiss her. I want to roll her onto my chest, kiss the life out of her and make her fucking mine. Baby or not, that has nothing to do with it. My pulse races under my skin at the thought of being inside her again.

I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from pullingher to me; crossing that line will only make things more confusing. We just found out we’re having a baby together, we share a friend group, our lives are intertwined. Right now, things are good, we don’t need another reason to avoid each other. But still…

“Briar…” I say softly, hearing the frustration in my tone. “I want to kiss you right now more than I want air to breathe, but…”

“Holden…” she nods, scraping her teeth over her bottom lip. “I know. I just think we need to be careful. It’s not just us we have to think about now.”

I know that she’s right. The stakes are too high to risk messing this up. We’re finally talking again, we’re connecting. That will have to be enough. For now.

I reach across the bed of the truck and squeeze her hand. “Whatever you want, Bee.”

“It’s not what I want.”

“It isn’t?”

Wordless, she turns her head to look at me, leaving her hand in mine.

“Let’s take our time,” I say. “Get to know each other. For Slugger.”

Her gaze turns back to the sky, but my eyes never leave her. There are so many questions that I’m dying to know the answers to. The most important being … does she want more from me than just being her baby daddy?

All that will have to wait. For now, I stay lost in Briar Moore, on top of a bluff, in the back of my truck, until she’s asleep next to me, pressed into my side.

SEVENTEEN

KEEPING SECRETS

Briar

“Are you almost ready?” Holden hollers at me from the living room. “Not trying to rush you, but we need to get going.”

I’m in my bedroom, reapplying my lip gloss for the tenth time telling myself it’s going to be fine. In other words, I’m stalling. Tonight, we are going next door for dinner. It will be Jake and Ev, Grayson and Sierra, Tucker and Daisy, and Holden and me, and all of the kids. As excited as I am to be hanging out with friends, I’m worried that one of them will figure out that I am pregnant.

I don’t look pregnant; my body hasn’t changed a bit. But I’m nervous that I’ll have to explain why I’m not drinking, or why I’m yawning at 8:30 p.m. I’ve never been any good at keeping secrets.

I realize that it’s foolish to think we’ll be able to keep the pregnancy news from our friends for much longer, but I’m not ready just yet. Besides, Holden and I made a promise to one another that we would tell our parents before we tell anyone else. We’ve been dragging our feet on having thatconversation knowing that once we do, life as we know it will never be the same.

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