Page 112 of Possessive Ink

After three cosmos, lunch is fun and loud and…great. These women have integrated me into their group, and for the first time since…well, ever, I have a big group of girlfriends. And just like Octy told me the first time I met her, all of them have a Barnett love-at-first-sight story to tell about their own relationships.

Some of them are so crazy they sound like the plot of a romance book, but all of them ended with a happy ever after, and at least Atticus hasn’t attempted to kidnap me or convince me to marry him the day we met.

I get now why Octy told me that only these women would understand how quickly and easily I fell for Atticus and that none of them judge me, because it’s happened to them too.

Since I crashed into Atticus, my life has changed completely. I’ve gone from being scared to step into my own home and dreading going to work each day to being happy, having a fiancé, a new sister, and three new brothers. I’ve gotten friends, a great job, and for the first time since my mom passed, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.

After we finish eating, we stroll out of the restaurant and onto the sidewalk. “Thank you so much for today,” I tell them all.

“I’m so glad you found such a beautiful dress,” Bonnie gushes.

“I honestly can’t believe it,” I start to say, but tears fill my eyes, and my throat thickens with emotion.

“Shall I store your dress at my place so Att won’t see it?” Tori offers.

“Do you mind? Since I moved in, our closet is fit to burst. Both Atticus and I have a bit of a clothes addiction,” I admit a little sheepishly.

“A bit of a clothes addiction,” Tori scoffs. “I’ve seen your closet, and it’s huge, but Cody is already having to build you guys an extension because you couldn’t fit a single thing more in there right now if you tried.”

The girls laugh, and I shrug sheepishly because it’s true. After we unpacked my cases of clothes, we tried and failed to fit all of my things into Atticus’s beautifully organized closet. I actually don’t own a crazy amount of clothes. It’s more that the clothes I do own are big. Full-skirted maxi dresses take up a lot of space, and once Cody finishes the add-on, Atticus is having the person who created his closet design my dream closet for me too.

To be honest, I still think it’s insane that Atticus and Felix agreed to extend the size of their brand-new loft only days after moving in to accommodate me, but every time I’ve brought it up, Atticus has assured me that it’s his fault for not taking Cody’s suggestion to make the loft bigger when they were working with the architect to build it in the first place. Apparently, they built the loft using some kind of modular system, so adding on more rooms isn’t actually as big of a deal as it sounds. The current loft only takes up about 30 percent of the available space, and all the suspended metal work has already been put in place to increase the size of the loft if they wanted to in the future. According to Cody, they’ll build the walls and floors offsite and then just fix them into place like a Lego set. The only damage to the current loft space will be to the guest bathroom, which will have to be taken out and then reinstalled against the new back wall and to the far wall in Atticus’s closet, which will be removed to open up the space into my closet.

“I’ve told Atticus we can make do, but he says he wants to give me the closet of my dreams as a wedding gift,” I tell them.

“Oh my god, that’s the sweetest gift ever,” Cora gushes.

Sighing wistfully, I nod. “It really is.”

“Beau just texted me. Clementine has a fever, and she’s asking for me. I’m sorry to cut this short, but I need to get home,” Bonnie says, urgency lacing her voice.

“Oh no, poor Clemmy,” Missy says softly.

“Lemon, we’ll drop you off, then—” Bonnie starts.

“I can walk. It’s only a few blocks from here, and I need to stop by the drugstore on the way home anyway,” I tell her.

“Are you sure?” she questions, her gaze moving to the van, then back to me.

“Absolutely. Go and take care of Clementine,” I assure her.

After a quick round of hugs, the girls climb into the van, and I wave them off as Bonnie pulls away from the curb. Exhaling, I watch them drive away before I turn and start walking home. When I spot the drugstore, I cross the street and open the door, stepping inside and making a beeline for the feminine hygiene products.

It’s been a while since I last had a period, and honestly, although I’m sure I have supplies somewhere, I’m not entirely sure where they are. I usually wear period panties, but as my entire underwear drawer went missing when I unpacked, I’ll have to order some new ones from Amazon when I get home.

Browsing the aisle, I grab some pads and some tampons and drop them into my basket. Remembering that I’m almost out of the soap I like, I start to wander, grabbing things I need as I go. I’m not sure how I end up standing in front of the pregnancy tests, but here I am, staring at the shelves of tests that promise early results, no lines, and even to tell you how pregnant you are.

“I’m not pregnant,” I say quietly.

“I’m not pregnant,” I say again as I slip a box off the shelf and into my basket.

“I’m not pregnant,” I whisper as I hand the cashier my card to pay.

“I’m not pregnant.”

I say the words over and over in my head as I walk the few blocks from the drugstore back to the warehouse. Instead of the usual thumping house music that I’ve almost gotten used to hearing when I step through the warehouse doors, I’m hit with a rumbling bass that feels like it’s vibrating through the floor. It’s still loud, but instead of being a wall of noise, this music makes me feel breathless and suffocated.

Felix is bent over his workbench, so focused on his huge clay angel that he doesn’t look up as I walk straight through his studio and up the stairs to the loft. Atticus is still at work because he has clients all day today. He likes it when I go and sit with him at the tattoo studio, but as we weren’t sure how long it would take me to find a dress, he’s not expecting me to go to him.