Page 71 of The Model

Before I could say goodbye, the line was dead. I wanted to cry, but I didn’t have time for that. I needed to go through all the photos I’d taken earlier before Ryder got home. I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could before our daughter was born, and our time was limited. Soon we’d be sleep deprived with poopy diapers all over the place. At least the apartment was finished. I wasn’t sure if I could handle it if the place was torn apart any longer. We ended up having to live downstairs for two months, so I wasn’t breathing in all the dust and fumes.

“Hey,” Raine came to stand in front of me on the couch. “What do you say we go get a late lunch and then you can work? It will make you feel better.”

Looking down at my swollen belly, I had no desire to move. I groaned while wiggling one swollen foot in the air. “Why don’t you go pick us up something? Maybe tacos?”

“Are you sure you don’t want to get out?”

“I’m more than sure. It’s a feat to get out of the car right now.” I placed my hands on my stomach. “Maybe I’ll get some work done in the meantime.”

“How many more days until your hubby comes home?” She smiled down at me.

“Two very long days.” It would probably seem like a week.

Her hands went to her hips. “And then you’re going on maternity leave, right?”

Leaning back, I put my feet up on the ottoman. “I don’t think I have the energy to do more jobs, and I’m not willing to kill your back by having you pushing me around.”

She laughed her tinkly laugh. “That was not in the job description.”

“I know. You’re going above and beyond. I want you to remember that if you have any questions, you can call me. I’ll let offers dictate when we get back to work.”

“But nothing too soon. You deserve a break and time to spend with Ryder and then your baby.”

“I can’t believe this is my life now. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d have a good guy with a baby on the way.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Did you think you’d always have shitty guys?”

I shrugged because I thought I’d probably end up alone, and I was fine with that. I’d rather be alone than with a man who treated me like shit or cheated on me.

“You’re being crazy with your pregnancy brain. Maybe food will help. I’m going to go get those tacos that you love, and then we’ll get down to work and finish season five of Friends.”

“Sounds good.” Raine had never watched Friends, and when I found out, we started watching it while working. It had slowed down our productivity some, but it was worth it to witness her falling in love with the characters as much as I had when it was on the air.

“Do you need anything before I go?”

I shook my head. I should probably drink some more water, but I didn’t want to have to get up and pee ten times while she was gone.

“Cool. I’ll be back in thirty. Call me if you need anything.”

Pulling my laptop onto my legs, I loaded the photos from that day’s photo shoot. I needed to get the proofs ready for my client and had about two hundred pictures to pick through and touch up.

The baby kicked, causing my laptop to move a little, and an intense craving for ice cream came over me. “Hey Raine,” I called out, hoping to catch her before she left.

“Yeah?” she yelled. It sounded like she was by the front door.

“Can you pick me up some pistachio ice cream while you’re out?”

I heard her laugh before she answered. “Sure, text me if you need anything else.”

“Thank you,” I called back. She really was the best. I didn’t know what I’d do without her.

Slipping my headphones on, I turned on Halsey to listen to while I worked through the pictures. First, I needed to pick my favorites and which ones I thought the client would want. I was on the third picture when movement caught my eye. Either I was slow, or Raine was fast. It felt like no time at all had passed since she’d left, and I knew she had to hit a certain store to pick me up my ice cream. Luckily, it was on the way from where she was picking up lunch.

“I can’t believe you’re back already.”

When she didn’t answer, I assumed she was putting away the ice cream so it wouldn’t melt, but as seconds ticked by, I started to think maybe I’d just imagined seeing something. Raine would have answered me.

I fumbled around my body, trying to find my phone. It was always somewhere close, but now with my big belly, I could never find it, and that annoyed the shit out of me. Giving up, I hit the phone locator on my watch, only for it to beep behind me. I had no idea how it got there, but that always seemed to be the case. I decided to send Raine a quick text.

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