“It really does,” Breeze answers, and I feel like a fool for apparently being the only person who has no clue why we’re here. I don’t want to point out my ignorance by asking. Instead, I stand there, quietly sipping on the soda that Keir passes me. Thankfully, nobody asks why I skipped the wine that’s on offer.
I'm cradling the cool glass in my hands when I’m pushed from behind. A curvy bottle-blonde is too busy talking to her equally blonde friend to notice she just barged into me. They’ve got their heads close together as they giggle over something. “He’s taking me home tonight for sure,” blondie number one drawls. Good for her; at least someone is getting lucky.
“We’re all so proud of him,” Breeze continues, her words catching my attention. Awareness starts to prickle at my senses. I hope to god I’m wrong, but I’m starting to get the feeling that I know who we’re here for. “Asa and the guys have put so much work into this place.”
And there it is. I’m standing in Asa’s tattoo studio.
My gut instinct is to make an excuse and leave. I don’t think I can be around him while all my friends are here too. We can’t seem to manage a civil conversation on our own, let alone when we have an audience. I should leave before he sees me. I’m wracking my brain, trying to think of a reason for me to leave when I see him at the other end of the room, standing in a quiet corner. He’s wearing jeans that look like they’ve been washed a million times. The soft material is worn through in places. His white t-shirt highlights his tanned skin, and the sleeves hug his tattooed arms perfectly. He’s shaved. The beard is gone, replaced with what looks like a few days' worth of stubble lining his jaw. But none of that is what my eyes are fixated on.
It’s the petite blonde standing close to his side that has me glued in place. I only see the back of her, but I recognize her from a few minutes ago. I can tell she’s stunning, even if I hadn’t seen her earlier. The dress she’s wearing hugs all of her generous curves. Her head barely reaches Asa’s shoulder, but there isn’t an inch of space between them. I keep staring, transfixed as Asa leans down to speak closer to her ear. I didn’t think it’s¹ possible, but her body actually moves even closer to his. She tilts her head back to look up at him and nods, and he obviously likes that because he smirks at her, his dimples popping out before putting his hand on the small of her back and walking her over to another group of people. It’s not one of his rare smiles, but it’s a million miles away from the scowls that I only seem to get from him lately.
Jealousy. Ugly, twisted jealousy snakes up my spine.
I can’t do this. A rush of saliva hits my throat, and I’m going to throw up. Ripping my eyes off them, I turn back to my friends, ready to tell them I need to go. TJ is staring at me, a look of confused concern on his face, and I get the feeling he’s been doing it for a while. Hard eyes bounce between me and where Asa and the blonde were just standing.
“I need to go.” I force the words out, but an unwanted swell of emotion makes them sound more like a pained rasp. But TJ must get it, the desperation I’m feeling, because he gently cups my elbow and leads me outside.
“I’m sorry,” I gasp as soon as we make it past the front doors. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me tonight.” I try to speak past the burning in my throat. “I think I need to get home; I must be coming down with something.”
“I’ll take you,” he says, digging in his pocket for his keys.
“Don’t be stupid. I’ll call an Uber,” I say, pulling my phone out of my bag and opening the app.
“We’ve got her,” Keir says, plucking the phone out of my hand before I have the chance to stop him. Poppy stands at his side, and the concern on her face stabs at me. I can feel the walls I’ve been building around myself crumble in the face of my friend’s kindness.
“Please, Luce. Let us take you home.”
***
“I’m pregnant,” I blurt it out, causing Poppy to choke on the big gulp of wine she’s just taken.
After I agreed to let them bring me home, Poppy stayed here with me while we sent Keir out to get some food. I’m not remotely hungry, but I think he sensed that I needed a minute alone with my friend.
“What?” she gasps as soon as she’s stopped coughing. “How?”
“Remember I told you about that guy I met, but it didn’t work out. The one I was pretty bummed about?”
“A few months back? I remember. You never did tell me what happened with him.”
“It was over before it started, and the reasons don’t even matter anymore,” I tell her. “I found out I was pregnant a few weeks later. We’re still trying to work out how to navigate the situation.” I hope that’s enough information to sate her for the time being. I have no idea what to do about sharing the fact that Asa is my baby’s dad. I can’t think about him right now.
“So you must be...” Her voice trails off as she tries to do the math.
“Almost fourteen weeks,” I finish for her.
“And you didn’t tell me 'til now?” There’s no mistaking the hurt in her voice. It cuts me to know I've upset her, but I'm hoping she gets past it.
“I’m sorry. It was a lot to take in, and to be honest, I haven't been ready to talk about it.”
“Is everything okay?” There it is, her concern for me outweighs her annoyance.
“Everything is perfect. The sickness and feeling like I could sleep for a week have taken some getting used to, but I’m good. The baby is good.”
Poppy is happy for me, even if she’s a little shocked. She knows this is something I’ve always wanted. “I’m going to be an aunty?” she asks, awe in her voice.
We spend the next little while talking about when I’m due and my next appointments. Anything that doesn’t involve talking about who the father is. Keir comes back with bags of food, and for once, I manage to eat a meal without feeling like I'm about to throw it straight back up.
I get into bed that night feeling like a bit of the weight I've been laden with has lifted from my shoulders. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to stop me from having another sleepless night.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ASA
We’re just about done cleaning up last night’s mess when there’s a rap of knuckles on the front window. We don’t officially open for appointments until later today, so I open the door ready to tell whoever it is that they’ll have to come back.
I barely get the door open an inch when I’m shoved back from the force of it being pushed inward. I’m not a small guy, but between having a raging hangover and being caught off guard, I have no chance of keeping whoever this is out.
“What the fuck?” I ask when I see that it’s TJ, my brother-in-law. “What’s with the excessive force?”
“I think we need to talk,” he growls at me. My first thought is Breeze, that something is wrong with her.
“Is Bree okay?”
“Wanna tell me why Lucy looked like she was about to throw up when she saw you standing across this very room last night?” he asks, squaring his shoulders and using his half inch height advantage to try to look down at me. That’s the wrong move on his part. He’s pissing me off. Because of that, it takes a minute for my head to catch up with what he’s saying. Last night was crazy, and I barely had time to speak to Bree or any of her friends. I had no clue Lucy was even here.