Even sweaty and stinky, he smelled like heaven. The warmth from his arms relaxed me immediately. He would freak out if he knew what I was going to do today.
I let out a small laugh. I had to catch my breath. Damn, he’s so handsome. I reached up on my toes and gave him a kiss, filling it with as much passion as I could. I wished we could just go back in time and admit how we really felt about one another instead of acting so stupid. Rebecca wouldn’t even be a second thought right now.
“Wow. What did I do to deserve that?” Jeff asked kissing the tip of my nose.
My heart was breaking. Please, God. Please don’t let this baby be his.
“Nothing. I just wanted to kiss you. Do I need a reason to kiss you now?”
Jeff threw his head back and laughed. “Nope! Feel free to kiss me anytime or anywhere you’d like baby. ”
I giggled and reached for my purse. “I have to go. I’m meeting Amanda for breakfast, and then I think we’re going shopping. ”
Jeff’s smile disappeared as he ran his hands through his hair. I knew he was so torn about meeting Rebecca on his own, and I couldn’t be mad at him. He needed to meet with the bitch to get this over with. My hands started to shake.
“Ari, I really don’t want to meet with her today. You believe that, don’t you?”
Holy hell. I wanted to throw up just thinking about him seeing her again.
“Of course, I know you don’t want to meet with her, but…. but you have to. You have to do this and just get it over with. I’m sure that it’s gonna be okay. Just meet with her, hear her out, and then we’ll take it from there. If she’s seven months now, then she’s due around the middle of August. We just have to wait until the baby is born, and then we can find out for sure. ”
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Jeff looked like he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself. I was sure that he was about to ask what would happen if the baby was his. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, please don’t even say it, Jeff, or I’ll puke. I tried to smile, but I was sure that it was a bad attempt at looking happy.
“I love you, Ari. I love you and only you. I always have, and no matter what happens, I always will. We’re moving out to the property in a few weeks, so it’ll just be you and me, baby. You and me. ”
He pulled me into him, and I did everything I could not to cry. I pulled away, smiling, I reached up to kiss him again.
“It’s going to be alright, Jeff. Don’t worry. I really have to run. I love you. Try to have a good day and…well, good luck with your lunch. ”
Jeff kissed me with such sweetness that it was all I could do to get out the front door. I jumped into my Jeep and backed out of the driveway as fast as I could.
After I got a block away, I pulled over and cried my eyes out. I had a very bad feeling that things were not going to turn out how I so desperately wanted them to.
After I dried my tears, I head over Halcyon.
***
As I was walking up to the coffee shop, I saw Amanda was waiting outside for me.
We hugged, and Amanda held me tightly for just a few more seconds than usual.
Then, she whispered in my ear,
“Don’t worry. We’ll kick her fucking ass the moment the baby is out. ”
I had to laugh. I missed Ellie. My heart started to ache from thinking about it all. All this shit was going on, and my best friend was thousands of miles away. She called last night, but I acted like everything was perfect. Perfect engagement, perfect life, perfect everything. Pesh.
The moment we walked through the door, my eyes caught Crysti’s. Her smile faded instantly, and I felt a bit of excitement, knowing that I was the last person she expected to see this morning. My morning was working for me, she was working the counter. Amanda and I walked up to her, and I acted surprised to see her. She seemed much more shocked to see me, and I noticed when she looked down at my engagement ring.
“Crysti right? You’re Rebecca’s friend, aren’t you?” Amanda asked.
Crysti pulled her eyes away from me. She smiled at Amanda nodding her head.
“Ah, yeah. You’re, um, Jeff and Gunner’s friends right?”
Oh Jesus. I wanted to laugh at that one.