Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
“And how do you propose I do that when she isn’t speaking to me?”
“Since when have you ever shied away from persistence?” Matt cajoled.
I shrugged. He did have a point there. Also, I’d been planning to chat with Nicole, anyway. But I didn’t want Matt to think I was doing it for him.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
He grinned, and I pointed at the door.
“Now get out of my office.”
Chapter Twenty
Brighton
“It’s so strange being back here.” Nicole furrowed her brow as she looked around the apartment.
“I know,” I agreed.
“Maybe we could redecorate,” she said thoughtfully. “Get ready for the baby.”
“Sure.” I slumped further into the couch.
I didn’t know how we were going to do that since Ryland had moved all of my stuff down here. He’d set up my sewing room in the spare bedroom, erasing all parts of me from his own apartment. I couldn’t even go in there. I didn’t know how I was supposed to set up a nursery.
“Brighton?” Nicole placed her hand on my arm. “Are you okay? I hate seeing you like this.”
“I’m fine.” I smiled weakly.
“You’re not fine,” she protested. “Please don’t be sad. What can I do to cheer you up?”
“You could call Matt and make up with him,” I teased.
Her face soured, and she shook her head.
“That’s what I thought.”
“Will you look at us?” she snorted. “A couple of sad sacks moping around because of the bastard men in our lives. We need to get a grip.”
“Fair point.” I laughed.
“We should do something fun today. Let’s go shopping for the baby. This is supposed to be a happy time for you.”
“I don’t have any money,” I argued.
“That isn’t true,” she smirked. “You have Ryland’s card. And I do remember him telling you to use it. C’mon, you could shop for years and still not even put a dent in his bank balance. This is for the baby. We need to get prepared. Do you even know how much stuff babies need?”
I shrugged because I knew she was right. I still hadn’t bought anything yet. And it did sound kind of fun.
“Alright,” I relented. “But let’s not go too crazy.”
Nicole was right. Babies needed a lot of stuff.
It was hard to tell what was actually necessary, and what wasn’t. But Nicole had no problem throwing whatever she thought might be slightly useful into our shopping cart.
“Have you thought of a theme yet?” she asked, staring at some different wallpaper trims in bright colors.
“No.” I shook my head. “I wanted to wait and see what I’m having first.”
She pouted. “That isn’t until next week, maybe. If they can tell.”
Next week. God, that was surreal. I couldn’t believe how fast it had gone. I wondered if Ryland would want to know. We hadn’t even discussed it. We hadn’t discussed much of anything since I’d moved back two weeks ago.
Every day, he sent me exactly one text to check in with me and see how I was doing. He told me if I needed anything at all, I was to contact him right away. But I hadn’t thought of anything that sounded like a good enough reason to bother him.
It hurt because as much as I loved Nicole, I wanted Ryland to be the one to do these things with me. It was silly and unrealistic, but suddenly my shopping trip didn’t seem all that fun anymore.
“Maybe we could just do something yellow,” Nicole continued.
“I’m really tired,” I blurted. “I think I’m all shopped out for one day.”
“Really?” she asked.
I nodded.
“Okay, I’m sorry Brighton. You’re right, we still have plenty of time. Let’s go home, and you can take a nap.”
***
I spent the entire weekend sewing while Nicole moped around the apartment and scrubbed every surface she could find. She was full of anxious energy again, and I didn’t know what had been going on with her.
I thought maybe she was nervous about looking for a new job, but it could also be because she and Matt still weren’t speaking. It was a subject I wanted to revisit, and tonight, I had every intention of doing just that.
I’d gone to her favorite bakery and bought her a dozen cupcakes, fully intending to do nothing but binge on sugar and make her pour her heart out. But when she breezed into the apartment looking relaxed and happy, I was a little surprised. She set to work, laying out a truck load of takeout food on the counter.
“I ordered just about everything on the menu,” she stated. “So help yourself to whatever you want.”
She wasn’t making eye contact with me, and I knew something was up.
“Nicole?”
“Yeah?” she asked absently, bending down to look through the cupboard as though she had lost something.
I walked around the counter and shut the cupboard, forcing her to look up at me as I crossed my arms.