“Keep talking shit,” I threatened but didn’t push past Preston. I knew Nate’s type. He had a massive ego, and the thought of losing face in front of his security guard and that wannabe rapper was enough to get him to talk shit.
As long as he kept his mouth shut about Lena, I’d let him keep his life.
“Let’s go,” I told Preston. This visit was over. I wasn’t concerned with his stupid ass.
Chapter 28
Lena
A month after Gabe’s trip to Los Angeles, I stood in the middle of The Rustic, surveying the crowd around me. I wanted everything to go perfectly for his surprise birthday party.
I made sure every detail of this party was planned down to the T. All of his closest family and friends were present, including his brothers, father, Preston, and most of the athletes they worked with. Even Eli had come out, taking the night off from taking care of his mother, since he now had more help.
The sounds of an Alice in Chains’ “Man in the Box” played from the rock n’ roll playlist I curated, especially for the party.
“You’re looking like a real cowgirl or something,” Jodi said as she waddled over to me, holding her belly. I would never tell her out loud that she was waddling but at almost nine months pregnant, she was there.
I flared out the bottom of my red, floral-print dress and kicked out one of my legs, showing the brown leather cowboy boots I’d chosen to wear for the evening.
“Everyone is here, right?” I asked, looking around the room. I scanned the crowd again, counting heads to make sure no one was missing. I even invited Gabe’s tattoo artist. The one who’d done such an impressive job on his wolf. And the friend that owned Skins in New York had stopped by since he was in town.
“Do you think he’s going to hate me for this?” I asked Jodi, taking her hand into mine, needing comfort.
“Girl, that man is obsessed with you.” She laughed. “He’s going to love it. Even if he doesn't, he'll pretend he does just to make you happy.” She rolled her eyes and smiled.
“But I don’t want him to pretend. I want him to love it.” Gabe had told me about the big birthday celebrations his mother used to throw for him when he was a young boy. After she died, his birthdays were never quite the same.
“He deserves to be celebrated,” I said out loud before I could catch myself.
“Hmm.”
“What?” I asked Jodi.
She whistled low and chuckled. Jodi rubbed her belly. “You better watch out. You’ll end up with one of these soon.” She pointed to her stomach.
My chest almost cracked open at the thought of being pregnant with Gabe’s baby. I felt warm all over at the idea. Not for the first time, I let myself picture what it would be like to be a mom. With Gabriel as the father. The fact that the thought alone didn’t have me running for the hills indicated where my true emotions were on the matter.
“You used to get wide-eyed and verklempt whenever someone mentioned the idea of getting pregnant by Nate.”
I groaned. “You had to bring that name up?”
She held up her hands. “My bad. I just found the difference in reactions telling.”
Pushing out a breath, I nodded. The truth was, after our first few years together, Nate had started dropping hints that he wanted to have a baby. I may have given into his bullshit on every other subject matter, including my career, but that was one area where I remained resolute. Though, I never told him the whole truth.
I never wanted to bring a baby into our mess.
“He’s on his way,” Micah said as he approached Jodi and me. “He’ll be here in ten minutes.”
I became flustered and bounced around the room, notifying all of the guests that Gabe was on his way and to keep quiet.
“This will mean a lot to him,” Preston said, giving me a half smile.
“You think so?” I asked. Jodi had said about the same thing, but Preston knew Gabe better than just about anyone.
“Not something I would bullshit you about.” He nodded before sauntering off.
The first few times I met Preston, I thought that he didn’t think too highly of me. He was never disrespectful or anything, but he barely said two words, and his demeanor was less than friendly.
