Page 144 of Unexpected Forever
Standing, I grab my lower back which seems to protest twenty-four seven these days.
A sudden pain in my chest grips me. “Nugget, you can stop kicking my ribs any time now.”
As though protesting, the baby gets one last solid thump in before settling down. “Always gotta have the last word already. You’re definitely a Reynolds.”
I turn at the soft rapping of knuckles on my door and smile when I see Emma. “Hey. I just finished up and was going to come look for you.”
“Hey,” she says, with a smile, walking farther into my office. “Get everything wrapped up?”
“Yep.” I put a hand on a stack of file folders. “These are the upcoming events while I’m out. I’ve scanned all the paperwork to the share drive, and all the budgeting is on there as well. But these files have the initial questionnaire and a printout of the summary and timeline of each event.”
She nods. “Got it. Efficient as always, Charley. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I sigh and look around. “I guess that’s it.”
“Before you go,”—Emma walks back to the door and gives the “come here” gesture to someone before turning back to me—“you’ve got some visitors.”
My heart beats hard against my chest, wondering if one of them is Nate.
I want it to be and yet I don’t. I’m not strong enough to face him, but I also miss the hell out of him.
So when Darcy walks through the door with Megan behind her, I’m devastated, relieved, and shocked.
“Darcy? What are you doing here?”
She smiles and comes around the desk to hug me. “I had some time off and wanted to see how you were doing. And since you can’t travel, here I am.”
She pulls back and looks down at my belly. “You look like you’re about to pop.”
“Yeah, I seem to have exploded in the last three weeks.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Mostly just tired. My back aches like a bitch. And I have to pee every five minutes. At my last appointment, the doctor said it could be any day now.” I gesture to the chairs, as I sit down gingerly. “Y’all have a seat.”
Darcy and Megan take the seats in front of my desk, while Emma remains standing. I glance around the room, puzzled.
Why do I feel an intervention is about to take place?
“I can tell by the look on your face you don’t buy I’m just here to visit,” Darcy says, leaning back in her chair.
I tilt my head. “As much as I love seeing you, why are you here?”
Megan speaks up. “What’s stopping you from being with Nate? Is it because you think all men leave you? I know you love him.”
I rear back, anger coursing through me. “Of course I love him, but he pushed me away, Megan.”
She nods. “Oh, I know he did. But I also know you, Charley. Between what you and Aidan have told me, you did your fair share of pushing away too. Or at least keeping him at arm’s length.”
I keep my face passive, not wanting to acknowledge what she’s saying. And trying desperately to keep my blood pressure down and not lose my shit with my best friend.
“I know he’s your brother and you love him, but you don’t get to bring my past up, Megan. You don’t know what you’re talking about. You weren’t there.”
“No, but Aidan was.”
“And so was I,” Emma says.
My eyes bulge as I look back and forth between them, my heart pounding. “No. This is not on me.” My words are laced with all the hurt and anger coursing through me. “Nate made a major decision without even factoring me or the baby into it.”
