“Pizza. Greasy pizza. And mocktails. We need to celebrate! Block out all that bad shit, and celebrate you being pregnant. It will be like a little impromptu baby shower,” she said excitedly.
“I second that,” said Juliet with a nod, standing up next to Erica.
“Third that,” said Sadie, standing up.
The three of them faced me. All so beautiful in their own right. A blonde, a brunette, and a redhead. They had all the makings for a crude joke, but they were my best friends. As beautiful as they were on the outside, they were just as special on the inside. They had showed up for me tonight.
I smiled up at them. “Let’s do it.”
An hour later, we sat around the coffee table chowing down on pizza and sipping virgin mojitos, talking excitedly about the baby. We were already plotting out a new layout of my apartment to welcome the baby and thinking up names, even though I didn’t know if it was a boy or girl yet. We even tried some of those silly old wives tales to see if we could find out. We ended up in a fifty-fifty split that had us in a fit of giggles over how ridiculous we were.
Around midnight, Sadie and Erica left to go home. I hugged them tightly, thanking them for coming to my rescue when I needed them most. They squeezed me back, reassuring me that everything was going to be okay. After tonight, I almost believed them.
When I walked back to the living room, Juliet was cleaning up our makeshift picnic.
“Thank you for calling them,” I said, helping her pick up the plates and glasses.
“Of course,” she said. “I knew you needed them.”
“I needallof you,” I corrected her.
Once the coffee table was clear, Juliet headed for the door, but turned to say something before she opened it.
“You know, I’ve always wanted to be a mother. It’s a dream of mine. I would have supported you either way, but I’m happy you’re keeping the baby,” she said softly, her eyes tired from the long night. “Even though I know it’s scary to go through this without a partner, you’ve got this. You have friends behind you every step of the way, okay? I promise.”
I wiped a tear from my cheek, never knowing how much Juliet wanted to be a mother. I never knew how much I missed her until she was in my life again. It was like she was sent to me right when I needed her.
Chapter 34
Chandler
I lifted both hands over my head, clenching the wooden handle of the axe tightly before heaving it overhand toward the target in front of me. It hit the target, barely missing the center, with a loud, splintering sound. I looked at it proudly, putting my hands on my hips.
“What the hell?” asked Wyatt, scratching his head as he looked from me to my axe. “Were you a lumberjack in another life?”
I shrugged, walking up to the target and prying the axe away from the splintering wood, ready to give it another go. Axe-throwing had been Wyatt’s suggestion when he saw how many pent-up emotions I had when he met me outside my apartment after I had called him. Without me saying a word, he gave me one wary glance and hailed a cab.
I lifted the axe over my head and hurled it again at the target, this time missing the inner rings completely. I let out a frustrated grunt and went to try again, prying the axe from the target and getting into position. I hurled it again, letting out a yell, and watched as the axe tumbled through the air and sliced the target.
“Okay, Mr. Macho.Myturn,” said Wyatt, picking up his axe and walking toward his own target. He lifted it up over his head and tossed it, missing the circular target completely. I laughed out loud from where I had taken a seat at the high-top table. He lifted his hand and gave me a vulgar gesture before trying again.
I was feeling better already. Well, as good as I could be after today’s unexpected encounter with Mr. Harold. My surprise had quickly turned to anger the more I thought about it. Gabriella and I were both consenting adults who made our own choices. He shouldn’t have a say or opinion on that, other than it being his daughter. Okay, yeah. That was complicated. But she was a grown woman.
Plus, Mr. Harold was no longer the CEO. He shouldn’t have a say in what went on in hisoldoffice. I thought I was the one in charge. The old man needed to know when to let go, not only of his company, but of his daughter, too. I could feel my anger bubbling up inside of me and was ready to toss another axe. It really was cathartic. Wyatt knew just where to take me.
We flung a few more axes until our brows were both damp with sweat. I was glad I had changed out of my suit and into a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. I doubted a custom suit was the properattire for a place like this. I sat down at the high-top, Wyatt taking the seat across from me.
“All right. Out with it,” he said after drinking a sip from his water bottle. He eyed me curiously, raising a brow.
“What?” I shrugged, twisting the cap off my water and chugging half of it.
“You looked like you were about to throat punch someone when I picked you up…”
I rolled my eyes. I hadn’t lookedthatupset. Maybe I had.
I had only spent the last hour pacing my apartment and going over every word Mr. Harold said and going over everything I predicted he had said to Gabriella. The number of times I had pulled my phone out to call her was embarrassing, yet I never pulled the trigger. I figured I was the last person she would want to talk to after everything that had happened. After the way I had treated her.
“It’s the girl, isn’t it?” asked Wyatt, breaking me from my thoughts.
