If I didn’t know them better, I’d think they were angry flirting. But then I remind myself Shelby was once asked to say one nice thing about Beau, and all she could tell the interviewer was “he’s alive.”
“Oh this is going to be fun,” Beau says, a new twinkle in his eye he only gets when he’s getting under Shelby’s skin. “I heard I’ll be seeing you around more?”
Shelby grabs her keys off the table, not answering Beau, but turning to me. “Call me, okay?”
Before I can say I will, my best friend storms out of the bakery, leaving me all sorts of confused.
“Care to tell me what that was about?”
Beau shakes his head. “She will when she’s ready.”
That’s not vague and annoying at all…
CHAPTER 21
MADDOX
Future Wife
Hey, can we talk?
Maddox
Absolutely. Tell me when and where. Actually, scratch that. I’m coming to you. What are you craving? What do you need? Tell me what to bring.
Just you.
Inever thought those two words would fill me with such dread. Or hope. At this point, it’s a coin flip.
I mean, it could be “just you” in the sense that she’s planning on ending things and doesn’t want me making a fuss over her because this is going to be a quick visit. She could’ve decided she doesn’t want the baby, that she’s not in a place for it in her life, and with that, she thinks it’s best there’s no more us. And she’d have every right to do that. Her body. Her life. Her choice. And I’ll support her in that decision.
She could also want to keep the baby but put a pause on us. I’d hate that too, but I’d understand it.
Or! Or maybe “just you” is relaxed and she meant it like, “I need you Maddox because I love you and you being in my life will make everything feel better and we’re going to have a baby!”
I guess I’ll see once she opens the door.
When she does, she doesn’t jump into my arms. Then again, even if she wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to catch her. It’s not like I was going to show up empty handed, no matter what her text said.
“Maddox…”
I had to know that was coming. I mean, I’m standing here with ginger ale, caffeine free Coke Zero, and crackers.
“Gabrielle…”
God it’s been too long since we’ve had one of our standoffs. I’ve missed it.
I’ve missed her.
“I told you I didn’t need anything.”
Those are the words she said. But I relax the second I see the hint of a smile at the corner of her pink lips. “And if you think by now I’m not bringing things, then you don’t know me at all.”
She steps out of the way, letting me through to her living room. I know I was here a few days ago, but it feels like a lifetime.
When I left that morning, she was honest that she needed some time and space to think about things. I told her I’d give her as much of both as she needed. And that was the truth. While it was killing me to stay away, I knew that's what I had to do.
I needed time to think too. Sure, I thought a lot about things in rapid fire when I went out to get the pregnancy tests, but once it was real, I needed a solid game plan.
