“Yeah, okay. I’m …in. Let’s do this.”
He’s silent for so long that I think I’ve dropped the call. When his voice finally comes back through the line he sounds breathless.
“For real?” he asks, barely above a whisper.
I nod, then realize he can’t see me. “For real. I got a referral to an OB-GYN and I’m waiting to hear back about an appointment with her. I’ll text you when I have the details.” I clear my throat again. “Uhh … assuming you want to come along, that is.”
His response is immediate. “Definitely.”
“Alright, I’ll … keep you posted, then. I guess … I’ll talk to you soon?”
“Sounds good.”
He’s silent again, and I’m about to hang up when he says, “Lucy?”
“Yeah?”
“You don’t know what this means to me. Thank you.”
CHAPTER 6
NOAH
“Okay–enough!” Aidan slams his hand down on the pen that I had been restlessly tapping on my desk. He glares up at me from where he’s stretched reaching across the both of our desks. “What the hell is up with you lately? You’ve been acting strange for days, but today you’re really in fine form.”
It’s true, I know it. ‘Dick’ Noah has been making frequent appearances this week, with me snapping at colleagues and biting the heads off mouthy interviewees in the case we’re working on. ‘Anal-retentive’ Noah and ‘control freak’ Noah are also clearly in the mix what with the way Aidan is looking at me now.
I drop the pen and sit back in my chair, sighing loudly. Aidan mirrors me, crossing his arms.
“Well? Are you going to tell me what’s got you so worked up?It’s not like you to be this distracted at work.”
I run my hands through my hair, pulling on the strands in frustration. I realize that I’m biting the inside of my mouth–an anxious habit that I’ve had since I was a kid–and force myself to stop. Feeling the weight of Aidan’s stare I look up to find him watching me intently, but he waits me out, knowing from experience that any further prodding will only annoy me and likely set me off again.
“It’s Lucy,” I finally offer.
He frowns, but then his eyes widen in understanding. “You finally found out why she was so pissed at you? Was it something you did at the wedding?”
“You could say that.”
Aidan waits for me to elaborate, but I don’t know how to say it. I haven’t told anyone yet, and I’m still reeling from the whole thing. I reach out to straighten the file folders on my desk, re-stacking and adjusting them so that they’re lined up with the top right corner of the desk and perfectly spaced an inch from the edge.
He watches me as I then proceed to adjust the placement of my mouse pad and keyboard, allowing me the time to collect my thoughts. Once I have everything on my desk set to rights I turn to look out the window, unable to meet his eyes.
Silence stretches out between us.
He clears his throat, and I manage to pull my eyes from the window to meet his. He leans forward, steepling his hands on his desk and watching me for a moment longer. Finally, he pushes to his feet and reaches around to grab his jacket from the back of his chair.
“Alright,” he announces, “let’s go.”
“Where?”
“Anywhere but here. Let’s go grab a beer.”
“Our shift isn’t–”
“For fuck’s sake, Noah, we’re done in thirty minutes and you’re obviously upset. We can break the rules just this once.”
“I’m notupset,” I growl.
