Page 155 of Pucking Rebound

“Talk?”

“Yes,” I confirm.

A shadow of annoyance crosses his face at the same time he drops his hands from my jaw as if he’s upset that I’m suggesting all I want is for us to have a chat when, in fact, what I want is so much more.

“I get it. You won’t reply to my texts. You’ve barely spoken to me today and you’ve been actively avoiding me, and now you want to meet up totalk.” Fingers up, he wraps air quotes around his last word. “When you’ve had plenty of opportunities to talk to me today.” Stepping back, I can feel the irritation bouncing off of him. “I tell you what, let’s not do this. And don’t worry, I won’t make a scene, because I know you don’t want anyone knowing about us. Trust me, I got the fucking memo.”

“Jordy.” Unwelcomed tension coils in my gut when I reach for him, but he pulls away.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been patient, understanding, all while I’ve been so fucking desperate to see you, to make sure you’re okay, but you’ve had this fortress around you that is impenetrable. You let me inside briefly, and you shared things with me, and now you’ve kicked me out of it and, fuck it… whatever.” Trailing off, he doesn’t finish what he is about to say. “Have a nice night, Lola.” He storms away, not giving me a second glance.

I throw my hands to my chest and turn to face the wall. Oh my God, I can’t cry here. Not now. I’ve done enough of that already.

Running my hand across my brow, I suddenly feel faint and have to make my way to the wall so I can lean against it.

That’s not how I intended for that to go.

Why didn’t I tell him I miss him?

Why didn’t I tell him that I've been building my fortress higher to protect him from me, the drama of being Wade’s sister, Miranda’s daughter, and the paparazzi circus that came to town? Most of all, protect him from Wade, who doesn’t know I’m having a baby with his best friend.

Wade needs time to adjust to my news. I’m not sure if he can take any more emotional drama.

“Lola, what’s wrong? Are you okay? What happened? Are you crying?” Piper appears in front of me. Daryl invited her as his plus one, and I’m so relieved she’s here today because I need her.

“I’m pregnant,” I blurt out.

Piper goes as still as a statue then asks, “Really?”

“Yes.” I dart my gaze around the dance floor to ensure we are far enough away from everyone.

“Can they call me Aunty?” Piper points at her chest. The air that was thick with sadness is now replaced with her excitement.

“Shhhh.” I place my pointer finger over my lips.

“And?”

We often have this weird way of knowing what we are asking without asking the actual question. “It’s Jordy’s.”

“And he just walked away?” She looks back over her shoulder.

“I didn’t tell him. I was waiting until I had the ultrasound next week to show him a photo, and today is not the best time to tell him.” I hold my arms out to the side and gesture to the wedding day celebrations.

“You have to tell him, Lola.”

“He thinks I don’t like him. When that couldn’t be further from the truth because… I think…” I can’t get the words out as my chest closes in.

“You love him.” Piper finishes the words I can’t.

“I do, but it’s complicated with Wade and stuff.” It feels good to finally confess how I feel to someone. Saying it out loudconfirms I am so in love with him, but like Jordy said, all I’ve done is push him away and I bet he hates me now. He sure sounded like he did.

“I don’t think any of that matters now.” Piper claps her hands together in excitement, unable to contain herself as she bundles me in her arms and tells me in my ear, “You’re going to be a brilliant mom.”

“Thanks, Piper.” That means a lot.

“And I agree. Wait until you have the ultrasound, then tell him. Give him time to cool off tonight, then we can figure out how to tell Wade.”

“Hide all the knives.” I chuckle.

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