Chapter Seven
Zoey
Sitting there at lunch gives me the good kind of preview of what our lives are poised to become.
The only one missing right now is Katie. I’m about to note that when Nolan’s phone rings.
Jerilyn’s ring tone.
Fuck.
That’s damned spooky.
I’m trying to stay hopeful that it’s Katie calling to talk to Nolan, and not that bitch’s Spidey senses tingling because Nolan’s having a good day and finally about to start moving in with us, so she has to ruin it for him.
Wouldn’t be the first time since their divorce that Jerilyn knows Nolan is spending time with us and deliberately tries to start shit with him to sabotage his mood. She used to do it all the time when they were together.
I wonder if Nolan even realizes he’s wincing as he answers his phone. “Hello?”
From the way his face relaxes almost immediately, I can tell it’s a Katie check-in. His smile beams. “Hi, sweetheart. How are you?”
I watch him during the call because I love seeing the joy in his eyes as he talks to his daughter. Fortunately, I think she looks more like her daddy than her mother. She’s definitely a daddy’s girl, and Arlo and I absolutely adore her.
If Lucas and I hadn’t nearly died during his birth, I would have loved to have tried for a girl with Arlo.
Or Nolan.
No way in hell would I have had a second child with Bill, even if I hadn’t had such a horrible pregnancy and delivery. I already knew three months into being pregnant with Lucas that I’d made a mistake, because Bill wasn’t enjoying the fact that my attention wasn’t focused on him anymore. That I had to focus on me and my baby.
But I wanted Lucas. Abortion wasn’t an option for me personally, even though I struggled to stay hydrated and keep food down for most of the time, and had to be hospitalized several times for both nausea and premature contractions.
Bill was less than helpful throughout the process. The only time he was a “good” husband was when there were witnesses around for him to put on an act for to make himself look like he was a doting father-to-be.
Once I married Arlo, I could have my tubal ligation reversed, or tried something else, but you know what? I’mfinallyat a point in my life where I can appreciate what the hell Idohave. I don’t need another baby to feel complete.
Katie is our bonus daughter, the way Caine’s quickly becoming a bonus son.
If Caine’s parents are stupid enough to discard him when he finally comes out to them, he’ll be welcomed in our home. The time I’ve spent with him today is proof to me he loves Lucas and has a good head on his shoulder. Several times at Bill’s house, when Lucas was close to tears, Caine would hug him and whisper to him, calming him and getting him refocused and back to work.
I can picture Nolan and Arlo together at that age.
Nolan spends a few minutes talking to Katie, not in any hurry to get her off the phone. Finally, she ends the call, and I don’t know whether it’s because she wants to or because Jerilyn’s giving her some cue to end it. When he puts his phone away, he’s still smiling.
“Won’t be much longer,” Arlo says.
Nolan nods. “I know. Keep reminding me, if Jeri starts pulling any shit, that this is the best thing for all of us.”
“Oh, we will,” I tell him. “Believe me.”
Talk about someone I wish I could punch. If anyone has a right to punch someone, I want to punch that bitch for the way she played Nolan and strung him along for years. He will fight to the death for people he loves, and not nearly hard enough for himself. He’s too damn nice, in some ways.
Lucky for me and Arlo, he’s also not-so-nice in all the good ways.
Like in bed.
* * * *
After lunch, we stop for more boxes before we head to Nolan’s apartment. Arlo and I are no strangers here, although Nolan prefers to come to our house if it’s going to be an overnight.
