Page 73 of Code Violation

As we end the call, I pick up my cell and head for the door just as a key slides into the lock, and I freeze on the spot.

“Hey,” Drew greets me softly when she pushes into the apartment. “I figured you were out since there wasn’t any answer. I didn’t want to come barging in, just in case”—she winks—“you had company in the form of a hockey player.”

I bite on the inside of my cheek and blink several times. Relief washing through me. It’s not right that, even now, Kane still has a hold on my life. I have a right to live without fear of him showing up or what he’ll do next. I just want to be free of the psychological shackles I blindly let him fasten around me.

Drew closes the door behind her. “Is everything okay?” She cocks her head to one side, studying me intently.

Goddamn my perceptive friend.

“Yeah,” I push out, adopting a casual stance even though my hesitant voice suggests otherwise. “I was on the phone and was about to answer the door.”

Her eyes drop to my stomach. I’m wearing my favorite V-neck red sweatshirt and a pair of black jeans. My clothes are fitted, but there’s no way I’m showing a pregnancy bump—it’s way too early for that.

So, why is she staring at my middle, and why are my cheeks heating under the weight of her gaze?

“Ves, do you have a second to talk?”

Also, why has all the oxygen vanished from the apartment?

Drew’s black heels click along the tiled floor until she hoists herself onto one of the barstools set at the kitchen island and crosses her legs over. She looks all businesslike in her fitted black suit, hair tied in the usual low bun at the back of her head.

“Can I get you a drink?” I ask, feeling like an idiot, this is technically her apartment.

“No, thanks. I just want to talk.”

Tentatively, I take a seat at the opposite end of the island.

Crap. Is she here to tell me that she and Will are selling this place and I’ll need to find somewhere else to live? Sure, I knew the crazy low rent I pay wouldn’t last forever and I’d eventually need to move out when the baby is born, but finding a new apartment right now is not what I need.

“How can I help?” I say, sounding all official.

Drew drops her shoulders and smiles warmly at me. “Ves, I don’t need your help. I’m here because I want to help you. You haven’t been in the girls’ group chat for over a week, and I don’t know if you’ve forgotten, but⁠—”

“Oh shit!” I cut her off, brain catching up to the conversation.

Is baby fog a thing in the first trimester?

“Your bachelorette party. It’s tomorrow night.”

Drew’s brows pull together. “Do you still want to come? Mom, June, Kate, Marley, and I were wondering if you were still up for cocktails and tacos.” She chuckles. “I can’t believe Mom booked a cocktail-making class. You could probably teach them a thing or two.”

My stomach churns at the thought of alcohol—even worse, trying to dream up a reason why I can’t touch any of it tomorrow night.

I want to tell Drew so badly that I’m pregnant, but I also don’t want to say anything until I’m at least twelve weeks and in the clear.

My whole life, I’ve been used to keeping things to myself, aside from with my sister. Friends, people you can trust not to stab you in the back the first chance they get—it’s all a foreign concept to me.

“I can make it,” I reply, still sounding rigid. “I’ve been so busy with work that I genuinely forgot, but I’ll be there.”

She narrows her eyes at me playfully. “Busy at work or busy with Silas Stanton?” Drew cranes her neck so she can see my boots. “You were on your way out. Was it for a date?”

Oh, no, just your daily OB-GYN appointment.

“Oh my God!” She slaps the counter with her palm. “You are seeing him, aren’t you?! When he referred to you as his girl in the bar that night, Silas was being serious. I thought it was all for show.”

“We aren’t seeing each other,” I reply, shifting in my seat. “But we are really good friends, and, yeah, I was about to head out with him.”

Drew shimmies her shoulders. Since she’s been with Will, I’ve seen such a change in her. When we first met, she was uptight, and now she’s totally out of her shell.