“Gosh, I hope so, Tommy, because I wouldn’t want you to get hurt…”
Her voice fades into the background as my attention wanders to the two people behind her. Angie whispers inScott’s ear, and the smile he gives in return says it all. I’m certain I've never looked at any woman the way he looks at her. He’s besotted, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to the pang of jealousy stabbing my chest.
“Look how happy they are.” I raise my chin towards them.
“Who’s that now?” Mrs C follows my eyeline. “Angie and Scott?”
“Yeah. They’re pretty cool.”
“They are. Who'd have thought, eh?”
I smile. “Not me.”
When Angie walked out my door five years ago, I acted like a dick and thought she’d come running back. It took me a while to realise that wasn’t the way Angie operated. She was strong, feisty, and didn’t have any intention of being a pushover. Once I got my head around that, I realised I’d made a mistake.
“We’re back.” I didn’t expect Angie to appear so soon.
“Hey,” I reply.
“Tommy, do you want another drink?” Scott motions towards the bar.
I hold up my glass. “I’m good, man.” This guy is never anything but decent to me when he probably should have knocked me out for hurting his girl in the past. We haven’t told a soul, but Scott knows everything because we talked about it once. We had to before it became an elephant in the room.
Angie beams as Calla rocks up from behind, placing her arms around her and Scott. “How are my favourite people?”
“Hello, you,” Angie says, giving Calla a peck on the cheek. “You’re just in time. We were about to share the news about our new home.”
“You're moving?” Mrs C asks with wide eyes.
“We are. We need a bigger place now—” Angie stops mid-sentence.
Calla raises a brow. “And?”
“And what?” Angie smirks.
Calla huffs towards her brother. “Come on, Scott. You said it was safe to tell everyone now.”
He shrugs. “Not up to me.” Scott’s eyes light up towards his wife, but Angie stands firm.
“We agreed to wait until after the wedding. This is Ash and Calla’s day.”
“Oh my God, you two. Don't give it a second thought. I'm so delighted to be an auntie—” Calla must realise she’s just let the cat out of the bag. Closing her eyes, she scrunches up her face and steps away from the happy couple while Mrs C’s eyes focus on Scott, then on Angie’s stomach.
“Oh, my goodness. You’re not?—”
Scott wraps his arms around his wife as Angie blushes. “Yes, we are. We're expecting our first baby.”
An icy shiver runs down my spine as shit becomes real. Perhaps, on some level, I thought Scott was second best and she was waiting for me to take her back all along. What a conceited arse-wipe I am.
This is the wake-up call I didn’t know I needed. A new baby means they’ve made it. They’re a family now and their world is complete.
“Oh, my loves. I’m so pleased for you both.” Mrs C dives in, giving Scott and Angie a hug. “Congratulations, you two.”
“Thank you,” Angie says, looking up into Scott’s eyes.
“Sorry. The auntie thing slipped out.” Calla blushes.
“Not a problem.” Scott grins, turning to give his sister a hug while Angie glances my way. I’m standing here like an idiot and I’m unsure how to react.
