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Chapter Four

Addilyn

As I climb out of my car in the diner parking lot, I squeal in excitement when I see Emma doing the same a few cars down. I close the door and rush over to her, wrapping my arms around her.

“Oh my God, I missed you so much. You can never leave again.”

She laughs and hugs me back, and when I pull away, I get an eyeful of her belly, which seems to have doubled in the week and a half she’s been gone. I lean down and press my hands against her bump.

“Hello, little babies. Did you miss your Auntie Addy, my sweet munchkins?”

Emma laughs, making her belly shake, and when I look up, she’s shaking her head. “Good lord, you’ve already got that ridiculous baby talk down pat.”

“Anything to keep the little princes or princesses happy. Isn’t that right, you two?” I say, rubbing her belly one last time before standing up straight. I hug her again, and she giggles. “How are you? How was the honeymoon? Holy crap, you’re so tan!”

“The honeymoon was very good. Where’s Daisy?”

“Oh, she texted me. She’s already inside.” I throw my arm over her shoulder, and we make our way inside as she tells me a little about the hotel they were staying at. When we get inside, we spot Daisy at our usual table and walk over to her. She jumps up and hugs Emma first, giving her belly a little rub before hugging me. When we all sit down, Betty appears at the table to take our drink order. As she bustles away, I turn to Emma and clap my hands softly.

“Okay, tell us everything.”

She laughs before launching into telling us all about her and Nix’s honeymoon to Jamaica. She was limited by her pregnancy but it still sounds like they had so much fun.

“Enough about me, though. What’s going on here?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. Same old Port Allen, I guess.”

“What about you?” she asks, turning to Daisy. “How are things going with my brother?”

“Mmm, good.”

Well, that doesn’t sound good.

“Uh-oh, what happened?” Emma asks, concern lining her face as she places her hand on Daisy’s.

“Oh, no! I love your brother madly, you know that but he’s just… difficult to deal with sometimes.”

Emma and I laugh, and she shakes her head. “Oh, sweetie, no one knows this better than I do. Lay it on me and I’ll tell you how to straighten him out.”

Daisy sighs, a slight smile teasing her lips, and I know that whatever it is really isn’t that serious. “Well, the weekend after he kissed me in front of you all, he showed up at my house with Michael, Moe, and Trey and moved all his stuff in, and now we’re working together so I’m pretty much around him twenty-four seven, and he’s just his usual stubborn, ornery self.”

“Man, when that boy decides to commit, he commits hard,” I joke, and we laugh. Even if she’s annoyed, I know that Daisy is happy now. There’s no chance that she would want to go back to a year ago when Tucker was stringing her along, keeping their relationship a secret, and making her crazy.

“No freaking kidding. I really wouldn’t change it for anything, I just think that I need to get out with you guys a little more.”

“Done,” I reply, and Emma nods. None of us are going to say no to more girl time, especially after the past two years and all the crazy shit that’s gone down. It will be nice to just be us again – the three musketeers. Betty reappears at the side of the table and sets our drinks in front of us before asking if we want our usual. When we all nod, she flashes us a smile and goes back to the kitchen with our order. That’s the thing I love the most about this place. We’ve been coming here since we were teenagers, and Betty was working here even back then. She’s watched us grow up, and this place just feels like another home in this little town.

I knew this girl in college who moved around so much when she was younger because of her dad’s work. Listening to her describe learning a new place every couple of years and making new friends each time, I realized just how lucky I was to still be here in the same place I was born. My life is so ingrained in this town and its residents that I wish I could raise my own family here.

“So, how is it being married?” I ask, in an attempt to distract myself, and the smile on Emma’s face tells me everything I need to know. I’ll admit that after everything she went through with Ryan, I was skeptical of Nix at first but he quickly proved himself. His devotion to Emma and the way he just knows when to push her and when to hold her really struck a chord with me. He helps her deal with her past without making her relive too much all at once, and he helps her grow. Their love is kind of inspiring.

“Amazing. I’m so lucky to call him my husband. I mean, when I was fighting so hard to get away from Ryan, did you ever think that I would find my way to a man that was honestly made for me? I can’t think of another way to describe it. We just fit together so well, and we complement each other. It’s like I dreamed him up and some fairy godmother dropped him into my life.”

“I’m so happy for you, Emmy,” I say, reaching across the table to place my hand on hers as tears well up in my eyes. I need to find a way to accept that I won’t ever have the same as her. I love these two girls fiercely, like they were my own sisters and the fact that they’ve found this much love and happiness has to be enough to carry me through my life.

* * * *

Throwing my car into park, I sigh and grab my phone out of the cup holder, hoping that I’ll finally have a message from Trey – who’s been MIA for over a week now. At first, I figured maybe he was busy, and even though we haven’t gone this long without speaking since we started hanging out a couple of years ago, it was okay. But now, it’s clear that he’s avoiding me, and I’m confused as to why. Even more concerning is just how much I miss him. At times, it feels like I miss him more than I should for someone who is just my friend, even my best friend, but I know that’s ridiculous. He’s just been such an integral part of my life, and it makes his absence that much more glaring. A week feels like a month, and I’m hurt that he’s just disappeared.