“That was nice of him. So when do you have plans next?”
I shrug. “I don’t know.”
She’s quiet for a moment, but I can feel the heat of her gaze on me as I fidget with my phone.
“What?” I finally ask, the word coming out more curt than I intended.
Fiona holds up her hands. “Nothing. Just think it’s odd you aren’t prioritizing spending more time with the guy you’re literally here to spend time with. Has that been his choice or yours?”
I blow the air out of my mouth on a noisy exhale as we exit the elevator into the parkade, and I follow her to her car. “Mine, probably. I don’t know, I mean, I’m sure he’s busy playing baseball, and I’ve been working, and…” I trail off.
It’s a feeble excuse, and I know it. I’m sure if I asked, Brady would make time to see me. The man waited over an hour for me to get off work just so he could drive me home, for crying out loud.
“What are you afraid of?” Fiona asks gently as we get into her car. She doesn’t turn the engine on, instead shifting in her seat to face me. “Are you still scared he’snot going to be a good guy? Because you’ll never know if you don’t give him a chance, Sage.”
“I know,” I groan, letting my eyes close as I rub my temples. “Trust me, I know I’m the problem right now. The more time I spend with him, the better he seems. But what if it’s all an act? It’s happened before, I’ve dated guys that seem great at first, only to be real assholes later on.”
Her hand lands on my leg. “But they weren’t Brady. What if he really is one of the good ones? What if you’re wasting all this time being afraid for nothing? I mean, I know I’m awesome and all, and I’ll be there for whatever you need. Appointments, I got you. Birth class? Sure, I’ll learn how to breathe with you. Heck, I’ll be in the delivery room if you need me to be.”
I open my eyes and give her a grateful smile, but she’s not done.
“But I’m not the one who should get to do that with you. Your baby’s father is.” She inclines her head to the side.
“He wants to be at all the appointments,” I mumble quietly.
“Because he’s maybe—just maybe—a good guy.”
As if to prove her point, my phone chooses that exact moment to light up with a message. I don’t even have to look down to know it’s him.
But Fiona does. She grabs my phone from my hands and reads it out loud. “‘Hey, hope you had a good day. Baby is the size of a pear now.’” She looks at me, her hand going to her chest. “Oh my God, Sage!”
I gesture at the phone. “Keep reading.”
“‘My sister wants to know if you’ll be finding out the gender. I tried telling her it was none of her business, and your decision, but she’s forcing me to ask. Sorry, hope that’s okay.’” She makes a squealing sound that hurts my ears. “Okay, this man is adorable. And loves his sister. So far, green flag.”
My hand has drifted to my stomach as I try to imagine who’s inside. A little boy with Brady’s wavy dark hair? Or a little girl with my green eyes?
“Oh, he just sent another one!” she says excitedly. “Stop. He’s too cute.”
She clears her throat and reads the next message. “‘I went past a toy store today, and they had little plastic baseball bats and balls. It was hard not to buy them.’”
Dropping my phone, Fiona grabs my shoulders and gives me a gentle shake. “Stop getting in your own way, girl. It’s not just your baby that deserves to have him in their life. Have you considered that maybe you do, too?”
Ignoring her last question, I take my phone and read through the messages for myself. She’s right, Brady has done nothing wrong. I’m just the cynic who wonders if he’s too good to be true. But I don’t want to be that way, really I don’t. Which is why, before I can overthink it, I force my fingers to type out a response.
SAGE: Hi, I’m just going out to grab a bite to eat with my friend Fiona so can’t chat long. The baseball set sounds perfect for when they get older… but maybe not quite yet. And let your sister know we haven’t decided yet? I guess we should talk about that kind of stuff.
I bite my lip, then type another message.
SAGE: My first appointment with the local midwife is this Monday. I’m sorry I didn’t give you more of a heads up but they just confirmed it this morning. You don’t have to come if you’re busy with a game or whatever, but if you want to, it’s at 3, the clinic is close to the hospital.
In the two seconds it takes for him to reply, my mind goes through a dozen different scenarios. He’ll be busy, he’ll make up an excuse, there’s no way he can be available so last minute, he’ll get mad that I didn’t give him more warning.
But once again, I’m wrong.
BRADY: I’ll be there.
“Well? What did he say? What did you say?” Fiona asks impatiently. “You’re smiling, so it’s gotta be good.”
