Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
My kid is dressed better than me.
Aviva’s brows knit tighter as she looks between us. Before either of us can confirm what she is suspecting, people start to gather. My name is called over and over as I hug Jaylin Litman, who is married to Kirby Litman. And of course, even with a huge pregnant belly, she’s an absolute stunner. She has always been such a chic lady, and I fully believe it has to be because she’s a ballbusting lawyer. Next, I’m wrapped up in Angie Adler’s arms, her belly poking into mine as she gives me a hard, warm hug. I love her hugs; they’re so tight and so real. She’s a shy girl, doesn’t really let anyone in, but when she does, man, it’s like the sun is shining on your face.
When Amelia Moon tackles me, I laugh as she kisses me loudly on the cheek and then scowls at me. “How dare you ghost us, asshole? My babysitter disappeared without a trace!” I snicker as she kisses me again. “I’ve missed you,” she tells me softly, and all of a sudden, I’m breathing again.
“I’ve missed you. Where are the kids?”
“Running amok somewhere,” she says with a wave of her hand. “They don’t know how to stay still.”
I grin as Chandler, her husband, hugs me next, and then I’m being passed around by all of Thatcher’s teammates. I tense up, hoping it doesn’t piss him off, but when I chance a glance, he’s only grinning as Aviva and Jaylin gush over Arwen. She has her ears on today, and I know she missed them. Things are so much clearer for her, and I know she’s eating up the attention. When Aviva and Jaylin turn to look at me with shock in their gazes, I know that Thatcher must have told them she is ours.
“What’s wrong?” Angie asks me, her eyes searching mine, and I clear my throat as my gaze stays locked with theirs. She follows my gaze and then looks back at me, confused. “Drina?”
She’s the only one to call me that. I don’t hate it, but it’s not my favorite.
It’s not dushen’ka.
Though, it would be weird if my friend called me that.
I take a deep breath. “The little girl Thatcher is holding,” I say, jerking my chin toward Arwen, who is now laughing as Thatcher tickles her under her chin. “That’s our daughter.”
Angie takes in a sharp breath and then looks back to me. “She’s gorgeous and, God, Thatcher’s twin.”
I snort at that. “For sure. Kinda unfair. Go through all that pain and carry her for so long just for her to come out looking like her daddy.”
“But she has your freckles,” Angie comments, and she brings her hands up to rub her growing belly. She then looks at me, sadness in her green eyes. “So that’s why you ghosted everyone?”
I shake my head. “Not the reason I left, but the reason I stayed away.”
She nods, her eyes searching mine. “It’s because of what happened with Thatcher?”
“Yeah,” I agree in almost a whisper.
“Owen told me about it,” she says, reaching out her hand to hold mine. I thread my fingers with hers, and her voice is so low and soothing. “It was bad, and I tried reaching out.”
I fight back the tears. I have missed her so much. “I know, but I was too embarrassed.”
Her face scrunches up. “Embarrassed? You did nothing wrong. He was the jackoff. He’s the one who was embarrassed.”
I hold her gaze. “I had my faults.”
She shrugs. “I don’t know them.”
“How do you know he was embarrassed?”
She gives me a knowing grin. “Come on, Drina. Surely you know he’s been in love with you since forever?” She says it like everyone but I knew. “He came to the house after you ran off and spent hours helping me clean out my plant room. He was distraught, and all I could do was tell him he was an idiot.”
I smile since you don’t go to Angie’s without helping with the plant room. Thatcher knows that and he hates her plants, yet he went to my best female friend and confided in her. Quietly, I say, “I was an idiot for running.”
She shrugs. “Eh, I don’t think I’ll agree with you on that. I ran when life got hard for me.”
“You had reasons to run.” After being sexually assaulted, Angie left home for the solace of South Carolina. She rebuilt her whole life, and now she is insanely in love with her childhood crush, Owen Adler, and having his baby.
“As did you,” she tells me, her eyes never leaving mine. “Everything happens for a reason. If I hadn’t ended up here, I wouldn’t have linked back up with Owen, and my happily-ever-after wouldn’t be happy.”
I swallow past the lump in the throat because our stories as so different, but to her, anything is possible. I blink back the tears as I whisper, “I’m sorry for cutting you off.”