The thought of it made my stomach twist painfully. I barely managed to sit on the edge of the bed, breathing deeply to keep from spiraling. My chest felt tight, my emotions threatening to overflow.
After rinsing my mouth and splashing cold water on my face, I stepped into the shower, letting the hot water pound against my shoulders. The steam wrapped around me, and for a moment, I let myself believe it might loosen the tightness in my chest. But no matter how long I stood there, the heaviness remained, weighing me down like the water pooling at my feet.
I toweled off slowly, dragging myself back to my bedroom. As I sat on the edge of the bed, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, unable to resist checking for a message from Will. Still nothing. We hadn’t spoken since I left his house, and the silence stung more than I wanted to admit.
When I finally opened my bedroom door, the smell of coffee and eggs greeted me, along with Meredith’s upbeat voice from downstairs.
“Morning, sunshine,” she said as I stepped into the kitchen. “I made you a very strong coffee and a protein breakfast. You’re welcome.”
“Thanks, Mere.” My gratitude was genuine, even if my voice came out tinged with sorrow. “I think we should cancel today,” I said quietly, sitting at the counter. “I feel guilty.”
Meredith turned to me, her expression both stern and soft. “We will not. You promised me British accents and a chef-prepared meal. Will is being a jealous baby, and that’s on him.”
“It’s not just Will,” I admitted, rubbing my temples. “It’s the fact that today my children are meetingher.”
Meredith reached out and squeezed my hand. “I know, sweetie, but you need a distraction. Will is going to come around, and no one can take your place—not even if Jason marries this Brooke girl.”
“Please don’t say the word ‘marriage,’” I groaned. “I can only handle so much in one day.”
“All right, fine. But first, we need to tackle the pie,” Meredith said, planting her hands on her hips with a determined smile.
I raised an eyebrow. “You do realize that ‘we’ includes you, right? And I’ve seen your attempts at baking.”
“Rude,” she shot back, already rummaging through the pantry. “I’ve watched ‘Great British Bake Off’. How hard can it be?”
We spent the next hour proving just how hard it could be. Normally, I could follow a recipe well enough to produce something decent, but my head wasn’t in it today. Meredith, for all her confidence, wasn’t much of a chef either. Flour dusted the counters, sticky filling splattered onto the floor, and at one point, she managed to crack an egg directly onto the stovetop burner.
“Why is it so… gooey?” she asked, holding up her egg-covered hand like it was evidence in a crime scene.
“It’s an egg,” I said, biting back a laugh.
“Well, I don’t like it,” she declared, grabbing a paper towel.
“Maybe we should just forget the pie,” I said, dropping the spoon into the sticky dough with a sigh. “We’ll grab something from the store on the way.”
Meredith gasped dramatically, clutching her chest like I’d insulted her entire persona. “Natalie Bradford, you take that back right now.”
“I’m serious,” I said, waving at the mess on the counter. “This isn’t a pie—it’s a crime scene.”
She shook her head, picking up the dough like it wasn’t falling apart in her hands. “Nope. We’re too far in to back out now. Look at this masterpiece.”
“Masterpiece?” I raised an eyebrow. “It’s barely dough. And is that… eggshell in there?”
Meredith shrugged. “Protein.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re ridiculous.”
“That’s why you love me,” she said, tossing a pinch of flour in my direction. “Now stop being a quitter and roll this thing out like the domestic goddess I know you are deep down.”
“I hate you a little bit right now,” I muttered, picking up the rolling pin.
“No, you don’t,” she said cheerfully. “You just hate making pies. But don’t worry—I’ll take all the credit if it turns out amazing.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“Oh, that’s easy. I’ll blame you.”
We burst into laughter, clutching our sides as tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. For a moment, the tension lifted, and I could breathe again.
