Page 116 of Heartbeats & Highways

“Tell me.”

“Well, I finally met Cozy and we’re friends now. She’s even giving me driving lessons in her car.”

“I’m glad you guys are friends, but why are you driving her car? What’s wrong with yours?”

“The battery is dead.”

“What the fuck? It’s brand new.”

“I’m saying.”

“I’ll text a prospect to get it taken care of, but the minute it’s fixed, I want you practicing in that car. It’s a fucking tank and I know you’ll be safe on the road.”

“Okay. But there’s more.”

“More? What else is there?”

“We’re moving into Brooklyn’s apartment over the bakery. It’s perfect for us, Savage. It’s homey and quaint, and Jazz and Brielle will be right downstairs most mornings, which I love. And Brooklyn said she won’t charge us rent, if I bake sourdough on site so she can sell it.”

“I told you not to worry about rent,” he said.

“Please, Savage. I need this.” My tone was soft, pleading. “I need to know I can take care of myself. I need you to know that too.”

He sighed. “If I gain twenty pounds because we live above a bakery and we’ve got a steady supply of baked goods, you can’t get mad at me.”

I giggled. “We can call it sympathy weight. Because I’m going to gain twenty pounds easy. Probably fifty.”

“You’ll be beautiful,” he assured me.

“You say the perfect things,” I sighed. “I wish you weren’t missing our baby class. I don’t want to go without you. Maybe I’ll take Cozy.”

“I got the class postponed.”

“You what?”

“Yeah, I called and asked if she could push it back.”

“How did you make that happen?” I demanded.

“Magic,” he joked. “I threw myself on her mercy and said I was a first-time dad and that I didn’t want to miss anything. I must’ve said the right thing, because she delayed the class.”

“Savage . . .”

“Evie, I gotta get back on the road. I’ll call you tonight from the motel, and babe . . .”

“Yeah?”

“Be naked. We’re going to have some fun together.”

Chapter 30

“Shouldn’t you be leaving?”Virgil asked.

“Leaving?” I looked up from the computer. “Leaving where?”

“Your baby class. I know Savage is out of town, but I’ll go with you if you want.”

My lip wobbled.

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