It doesn’t.
My phone buzzes on the counter.
Kristy:Still on for dinner and drinks tonight?
A small smile tugs at my mouth.
I text back:Wouldn’t miss it.
Declan’s staying in with Sophie tonight, and after the morning we’ve had, the timing couldn’t be better. A quiet night with my best friend, a chance to finally tell her everything.
Kristy picks the place. It’s a small bar that’s half-sports-pub, half-wine-lounge. It’s loud enough that no one cares what we’re saying but quiet enough that we don’t have to shout. She’s already at a table when I walk in, two drinks waiting, that grin that never changes lighting up her face.
“Okay,” she says the second I sit. “Finally. Tell me thisBIGnews you’ve been holding hostage since Vegas.”
I laugh, dropping my bag onto the seat beside me. “You’re not even going to ask how I am first?”
“Icanask,” she says, eyes narrowing. “But you look wiped, so maybe the news will wake you up. Start talking.”
I lean back, the exhaustion pressing heavier than I want to admit. “We said it,” I tell her quietly.
She blinks. “Said it?”
“‘I love you,’” I say, and the words still feel new, fragile, a little unreal on my tongue.
Kristy squeals, nearly spilling her drink. “Wait—you both already said it?Wow.That was fast.”
I laugh, cheeks warming. “I know. It just… happened. And it felt right.”
She grins, eyes softening. “I’m really happy for you, Char. You deserve this.” She lifts her glass. “To no more secrets.”
We clink, and for a second, everything feels light—easy in a way it hasn’t in months.
I tell her about Dr. Patel clearing Declan this morning, about the HR plan, about how surreal it feels that we finally get to just… exist. By the time I finish, my face aches from smiling.
Kristy leans in, studying me. “You sound happy, but you don’tlookit. You’re pale.”
“I’m fine,” I say automatically. “Just tired. My body hasn’t caught up to the rest of me yet.”
She tilts her head, frowning. “You sure that’s all it is? You’ve been dragging for days. You’re not sick, are you?”
I shake my head. “No fever. No sore throat. Just… tired.”
Her eyes narrow, teasing but curious. “You sure it’s not something else? You’ve got that weird combination of exhausted and kind of glowy.”
I laugh, rolling my eyes. “Kristy—”
She grins. “I’m just saying. Stranger things have happened.”
“You think I’m pregnant?” I ask, half laughing.
“Hey, I’m not saying you are,” she says, raising her hands. “I’m just saying it wouldn’t beimpossible.”
I open my mouth to argue, but she arches a brow. “When was your last period?”
I frown, thinking. “It's always all over the place because of my birth control.”
Kristy studies me for a long moment.
