Not… whatever that was.
Not like something he wanted to check off the list so we could move on.
Everyone launches into questions at once.
“When’s the due date?” Eloise asks, clasping her hands together.
“Any cravings yet?” Lauren adds, eyes bright.
Harvey leans forward. “You guys finding out the gender?”
Zoey practically vibrates. “Youbetterfind out. I need to know whether I’m buying tiny boots or tiny bows.”
Lauren turns toward me, already planning. “I’d love to throw you a baby shower, Lorelie. Something classy. Modern. Maybe at my mom’s vineyard!”
I lift a shoulder, a small shrug. “This is our second. Everyone already gave us such beautiful stuff for Milo. I still have most of it.”
Lauren shakes her head. “Doesn’t matter. Second babies need celebrating too.”
Zoey nods vigorously. “Yeah! And I want to make a diaper cake. Or… whatever the hell Pinterest people make.”
They keep talking about ideas, themes, colors, dates and I smile through it, answering where I can, letting the excitement swirl around me.
Normally I’d be totally into it, throwing out suggestions for games, activities, maybe even the menu. This is my zone. I like planning. I like celebrating.
But my attention keeps drifting back to Patrick.
And I know exactly why Brick bothered him so much.
Patrick and I met when we were both just starting our careers. I was neck-deep in residency, drowning in overnight shifts and back-to-back rotations. I barely had time to eat, let alone be in a real relationship.
But the attraction between us was instant. Dangerously instant.
He’d come into the ER and… well. Even though I knew I shouldn’t, I’d said yes, when he asked me out.
It didn’t take long to realize Patrick was a traditional man. He wanted a wife and babies. He wanted a family.
And I wanted, needed, to be a doctor.
So, I tried to break things off. I told him I wasn’t ready for that level of commitment.
And he offered to make usnon-exclusive.
At the time, I honestly thought he was just trying to take the pressure off me.
Then I saw him out on a date with someone else… and realized it was exactly what it sounded like, him having his cake and eating it too.
So, I got drunk. And I hooked up with Brick.
Just my luck, Patrick asked me to be exclusive the very next day.
I justified it to myself, technically it wasn’t cheating. But I knew he wouldn’t understand.
So, I buried it.
Except things don’t stay buried when you’re married to a cop.
Especially not a man like Patrick.
