“I’m not worried about me,” she hissed, pulling one hand free to wipe at the wetness on her lashes. “Or even the baby—if there is one. I mean, this could be anything, right?”
I shrugged, not sure what she expected me to say. I’d never missed a period in my life, and everyone I’d ever met who had always ended up either being pregnant or going through menopause. Cali was barely into her twenties, so the chances of her experiencing menopause this early were incredibly slim.
She muttered a curse and picked up her drink, gulping it down before slamming the glass back down onto the table enough to make the salt, pepper, and ketchup bottle rattle in their little basket. I sensed Pietro shifting, and I lifted my hand, telling him without looking at him that everything was okay. “Well, I’m not worried about me or the baby,” she repeated. “I can take care of both of us just fine on my own if I have to.”
“Then what are you afraid of?” I asked softly.
“Garret freaking out. He’s just now really getting his shit together. I know he’s been working hard, trying to show me he’s ready for a commitment, but that doesn’t mean he won’t spaz out if I tell him he’s going to be a daddy.” She folded her arm protectively over her stomach, but she turned her hand still in mine over, linking our fingers, unconsciously seeking comfort.
I was all too willing to give it. I understood why she would think my brother might react badly to impending fatherhood, but I had also seen how much he’d grown since she’d become a part of his life. He wasn’t the same asshole he’d been when he was a kid.
“Don’t worry about Garret,” I told her. “I think he might surprise you. But no matter what happens, you and that baby will be taken care of. Ryan and I will make sure of it. And if you don’t want to stick around the city, my parents would be all too happy to help you out with the baby.”
Her shoulders lost some of their tension. “I adore your parents. Jack and Gracie too. They helped me so much when I was at the shelter.” She grimaced. “I haven’t told them about my life here in the city, though. Especially Jack. He was so good to me while I was in Creswell Springs. That’s why I chickened out about going to your graduation. I didn’t want him to think I was playing Garret. And then there’s the whole keeping my identity from your brother…” Her voice trailed off, and she released a heavy exhale. “He’s going to blow up when I tell him who I really am, Nova.”
“If he hasn’t figured out who you are by now, then that’s his fault. He followed you on social media like a stalker. Every picture you ever posted, he saved to his own phone,” I confided, not sorry in the least that I was revealing so much about my brother’s obsession with her back then. “Either he’s a blind idiot, or he knows exactly who you are and is just waiting for you to confess to him.”
She bit her bottom lip, her eyes growing hopeful. “You think so?”
“Yes, of course I do.” I considered it from my brother’s point of view for a moment and laughed. “Actually, he was such an asshole to you back then, maybe he’s pretending not to know who you are because he thinks you don’t remember who he is. And he’s waiting until you fall in love with him before he confesses who he is. Perhaps he’s just as scared to lose you as you are of losing him.”
“I already love him,” Cali confessed unashamedly. “I tried not to, because I didn’t trust him, and I was worried he was like Manuel from what little I’d seen of him through social media. But he wore me down, and I started to see a different side to him. Garret is more like you than I realized. Sweet and kind. Even gentle at times. I haven’t told him yet, but I do love him.”
“So, tell him already,” I encouraged.
Her shoulders drooped. “I can’t. He’s been too busy lately. He comes home to shower and sleep, but then he’s right back out the door before I even get out of bed. We haven’t had sex once since he came back from your graduation weekend.”
“I didn’t need to know that part,” I muttered, making her grin.
“Sorry.”
“I haven’t seen Ryan since we got back either. All I get is the occasional text message reply. He hasn’t texted me first at all, and I’m trying not to be so needy, but I miss him.” I propped my chin in my free hand, feeling lonely and a little hurt that he’d been ignoring me. I didn’t want to be clingy like some girlfriends, but was it really asking too much to have him text me once?
This was so unlike Ryan, which was probably why it was bothering me so badly. He was normally so desperate to know how my days went that he texted me throughout the day and called me at least once. Now, I was getting nothing, not even scraps of his attention.
“That sucks. At least I get to see Garret.”
“Yeah, I’m kind of jealous of you for that.” The waitress placed our plates of food in front of us and asked if we needed anything else before moving on to the new customers who took a seat a few tables away from Pietro.
The burgers smelled amazing and tasted even better. Cali was right that they were the best burgers in the city. I would have to bring Ryan with me so he could try them out. Maybe he and I could double-date with my brother and Cali next time.
“I’m going to tell Garret when he gets home tonight,” my friend announced once our plates were nearly empty. “I’ll tell him everything.”
“Good. And if he acts stupid, let me know. I’ll kick his ass for you.”
Cali snickered. “I adore your feistiness, Nova.”
“It hurts me that you don’t think I could take him in a fight,” I pouted.
“He outweighs you by at least a hundred pounds,” she reminded me.
“True, but I’ve got skills he will never be lucky enough to have.” I said it teasingly, but the truth was, I did. No one but Anya knew that, though, so I kept my mouth shut and let her laugh.
When the waitress dropped off the bill, I grabbed it before Cali could and stood. Pietro’s bill was sitting on his table, and I grabbed it as I passed, giving him a smirk when he protested. “You snooze, you lose, big guy!” I singsonged on my way to the counter to pay.
Pulling out my replaced black credit card, I paid for both tickets and left the waitress a nice tip. Cali followed behind me, and I pulled out my phone. Tugging her in for a side hug, I snapped a few selfies of us before she had to rush off to get ready for work.
Pietro and I stepped outside, waiting for the driver to pick us up. When my phone chirped with a text message, I glanced down to find Ryan had finally gotten back to me.
Boyfriend: I miss you, my heart.
Seeing those words on the screen eased the ache in my chest, and I pressed my phone against me, trying to absorb his love. I didn’t know what was going on with work, but I did know he loved me.
And in the long run, that was all I needed to know.
35
Ryan
Sleep was a vital commodity that I’d been lacking since returning to New York. After Ramirez—or whoever the fuck it was—tried to take our supply from the warehouse on the docks, Garret had been all over finding him. But the bastard had gone to ground, completely disappeared, making us wonder if maybe we’d gotten it wrong, and it hadn’t been the Colombian after all.