I smiled. No one had a heart as sweet and genuine as the woman sitting beside me. “What do you think Willa and Aiden will have? A boy or a girl?”
She giggled. “I think it’s a girl.”
I glanced her way quickly before looking back at the road. “Really? What makes you say that?”
“Willa was really sick with morning sickness this time around, she said. Plus, she said the baby was super active. More so than Ben. My mom said that means she’s carrying a girl.”
“I’m pretty sure Aiden is hoping for a girl. He won’t come out and say it, but I can tell.”
“Really?” Bella asked as she turned her body more to face me. “You think he wants a girl?”
I nodded and smiled. “Yeah, I do.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw her staring at me. I would have given anything to know what she was thinking.
“What day works for you this week for coffee?” I asked, trying to keep my tone light and carefree. When in truth, I was nearly going mad having her so close to me. I wanted desperately to reach out and take her hand, if only to see if she’d let me.
“Oh, um…Thursday? The store won’t be open, so I’ll be free the whole day, and you’re off, right?”
How in the hell did she know I was off unless she’d been paying attention to my work schedule? I worked a compressed shift, and clearly Bella knew that. Christ, my heart was racing so fast it felt like I had just run a freaking marathon. A woman didn’t memorize a guy’s work schedule for no reason, right?
“Yeah, I’m off. Thursday works for me.”
“Okay. Do you want to meet at The Coffee Pot for lunch?”
So, our coffee date was being changed to a lunch date. I’d take it. “That works for me. Does 11:30 sound okay?”
“It sounds perfect.”
I turned and pulled into the hospital parking lot.
Once I parked and turned off the truck, I jumped out and met Bella on her side. We walked into the hospital together, and it took everything I had not to reach for her hand. I just wanted to touch her. Hold her in my arms. Beg her to tell me why in the hell she’d left me. But I wouldn’t do any of it, because the fact that she was finally letting me get closer to her had to be good enough. For now.
The waiting room was full. Nearly everyone was there. The only people I didn’t see were Abby and Bishop. And Brighton. She was Willa’s best friend from high school and a lawyer in Boston now. She had been coming back to Boggy Creek more and more after representing Willa in her divorce. The fling that she and I had last year was nothing but another poor attempt on my part to try and get over Bella—which hadn’t worked in the least, even though I’d tried to like Brighton, whom my sister and the girls called Bree for short, more than I did. It was nothing more than a physical attraction for both of us and hadn’t lasted long.
Candace jumped up, made her way over to Bella, and engulfed her in a hug. “I had the best idea for expanding on the lavender cookies.”
Bella glanced back over her shoulder at me and offered a sympathetic smile. I grinned and winked to let her know it was okay.
Greer and Hudson both walked over, each giving me a smile that said they wanted to know the details about me and Bella showing up together. Greer spoke first in a hushed voice. “So, you picked up Arabella, huh?”
I nodded. “I did.”
“And?” she asked.
“And what?”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t play dumb with me, Hunter Turner. What did you guys talk about?”
I shrugged. “Bees. Our lunch plans for Thursday.”
Greer gasped, and Hudson sighed as he said, “Oh Lord, you’ve gone and done it now, Hunter.”
“Lunch plans?” she asked in a whisper. “You have a date with her?”
“No, we’re meeting for lunch,” I replied.
Greer silently clapped her hands, clearly trying not to jump around. “OH my GAWD…you have a date with her!”
I turned to Hudson and gave him a confused look. He held up his hands. “Don’t look at me. I’ve yet to figure out the workings of a woman’s mind.”
The elevator dinged, and Bishop and Abby got off and headed toward us. A loud commotion happened down another hallway, and Brighton suddenly came flying around the corner.
“Did I miss it?” she asked as she bent over, holding her stomach and trying to catch her breath.
Laughing, I said, “Jesus, Brighton, how fast did you drive to get here? You nearly beat Bishop and Abby.”
Standing up, Brighton hugged me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Bella watching us. Bishop had told me—via Abby—that Brighton and Bella had become good friends and talked things out regarding our little fling. Whatever the hell that meant. I was positive they hadn’t compared notes.
“I was already on my way home for the weekend. She hasn’t had the baby yet?” Brighton asked.
After she stepped away from me and continued to hug and say hi to everyone else, I stole a glance over at Bella. She was looking down at the floor. Her shoulders seemed to hang lower, and I fucking hated that it hurt her to see me with Brighton…but at the same time, she was the one who’d pushed me away.
There were so many times I’d wondered if she’d hooked up with anyone. If she had, she’d never made it known. I’d been with Brighton longer than I had any other woman since Arabella. I’d dated other women, don’t get me wrong. But it usually ended rather quickly, since I tended to compare everyone to Bella. Brighton and I had had a good time together. She’d made me laugh. She’d also made it clear she wanted nothing more than sex. It hadn’t taken us long to realize we were better off as friends. I still couldn’t help but feel guilty, for some reason. Every time I went on a date, it felt like I was doing something wrong.
After the fling with Brighton last year, I hadn’t been with anyone. Mostly because Bella seemed to finally be coming out of her shell, and that little spark of hope inside of me was starting to catch fire once again.
Greer’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. “Nope, no baby yet.”
Everyone started to sit. There was a chair next to Brighton open, and one next to Bella. I made my way over to Bella. “Mind if I sit next to you?”
Her blue eyes lifted, and I could see them sparkle as she replied, “I don’t mind at all.”
I took the seat and started bouncing my leg. Bella reached over and placed her hand on my knee, causing me to instantly stop. The feel of her hand on my body sent a rush of heat through every inch of me, and I tried like hell not to think about how my dick jumped in my pants.
“She’s going to be fine. Take a few deep breaths.”
Of course, I was worried about my sister, but that wasn’t why I was nervous. I didn’t want to do anything to push Bella away from me again, and it drove me fucking mad that I still didn’t know the reason why it happened the first time. I glanced over at Bishop. I knew he was the only person who knew exactly what I was going through. A few years ago, Abby had lost their baby, and she’d ended up leaving Bishop—with no real explanation at all. They’d gotten divorced, but last fall Abby had moved back to Boggy Creek, and they were now married once again. I was truly happy for them…and a bit jealous, truth be told.