I’ve known for weeks they were both struggling, but we’ve never talked about it.
“It’s killing her, too,” Wyatt adds. He tells us how she admitted it to him on Thanksgiving.
A twinge pierces my heart at the thought of anything hurting Abby—even the avoidance of a relationship with the three of us.
CHAPTER FORTY
Abby
“Are you ready yet?”Riley asks from where I’m guessing she’s still perched on the side of my bed. She can’t see me, but I roll my eyes anyway.
She came over to get ready with me before my birthday dinner with the girls and Cole. He grumbled about being the only man in attendance, but Riley quickly put a stop to it. I have no desire to know what tactics she used.
I poke my head out of the bathroom. “Hey…. It’s my birthday. I can take as long as I want.”
She groans, flopping back onto the mattress. I chuckle and go back to putting the last touches on my makeup.
Riley’s still lying down with her arms out at her sides when I walk back into my room. “Okay, Ms. Dramatic. I’m ready.”
“Finally,” she groans, pulling herself up to stand. She has to partially roll onto her side to make it happen. “I’m not even that big yet, and my abs have forgotten how to work.”
“Pregnancy is such a beautiful time,” I say sarcastically, but the words ring true. There are a lot of difficult things about pregnancy, but at the end of the journey, you’re given a tiny person you love more than anything.
On our way out of the house, I grab the bracelet Mav gave me for my birthday. It’s a bunch of silver chains strung together with pink stones in different shades scattered about.
It’s perfect. The thing I love about it most, though, is that he picked it out. I’ll think of him every time I look at it.
As soon as I climb into the front seat, Riley hands me a blindfold and a pair of noise-canceling headphones. “What the fuck is this for?” I ask, confused.
“Just put it on.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
“I’m the birthday girl. You have to tell me,” I say, cocking my head to the side.
“I’m pregnant. That trumps birthday every time.”
I glare at her for a minute but give in.
“I don’t get why this is necessary, since I know where we’re going for dinner… but whatever.” I slide the black silk over my eyes, then pause. “Do you use this for sexy time?”
Her silence echoes around the car’s interior.
I pull the fabric up to peek at her. “Riley?”
“I washed it,” she says, smirking.
“Fuck my life,” I groan, letting it fall back over my eyes.
The headphones snap into place, drowning out the sound of her laughter. With nothing else to do, I let my head sink into the headrest as she starts to drive.
My mind wanders to the same place it always does recently.Kane. Linc. Wyatt.
The night with Linc was almost a week ago, and I still can’t get a single second of it out of my mind. It’s ingrained in my very being, just like every other moment I’ve spent with them.
I’m excited about tonight, but I’m a little disappointed I won’t get to spend any of my birthday with the three of them.Even if it would just be as friends, it feels wrong to not see them today.
