I woke up crying.
There’s a knock on my door and I sit up, pushing my tangled hair out of my face. No one knocks on my door except for Mrs. Fillmore, the sweet elderly woman next door, but she always calls me first and very rarely does she come to my place. I’m the one who’s usually knocking on her door.
So who is it?
Hope lights me up inside when I realize it might be Theo. I stumble out of bed, my feet getting tangled in the sheets and nearly sending me to the ground. I hobble over the mess, stubbing my toe on the nearby chair, and I gasp in pain.
I’m a train wreck, but if it’s Theo waiting for me on the other side of the door, I don’t care. I want to see him.
I need to.
I run through the tiny apartment and undo all the locks, throwing open the door to find…
Stella, Candice and Caroline standing on my doorstep with matching solemn expressions on their faces.
I frown, pulling the door almost all the way shut behind me so they can’t see inside my crappy apartment. “What are you guys doing here?”
“We came to get you,” Caroline says gently. “For brunch.”
“But I cancelled.” I’m confused.
“We know,” Sarah says. “But we wanted to check on you.”
I don’t even know how they found my apartment. I pretty much keep my address a secret.
“Why?” I stand up straighter, going for dignified and failing miserably. “I’m fine. Just—not feeling up to brunch.”
“Let me be completely honest with you right now. You look like straight-up hell, Kelsey,” Stella says, taking a determined step forward and physically pushing me away from my front door. She grabs hold of the handle and opens the door. My three friends all file inside, me trailing after them, worry twisting me up at what they might think of me after seeing where I live.
They all three face me, Candice wincing when she sees me.
“Stella was a little—cruel just now. We just wanted to check on you and make sure you’re okay,” she says. “Are you?”
I shrug, feeling helpless. At a loss.
But I also feel relieved. They came to see me. They worried about me, and they want to make sure I’m okay.
That means more than they’ll ever know.
“We’re still going to brunch.” Stella’s voice is determined. “So go get ready. Take a shower or whatever you need to do. We bumped back the reservation a half hour so you still have time.”
“You guys, I don’t think I want to go.” I’m whining, but I don’t care. This is awful. I don’t have the strength to face my friends right now, not after what happened yesterday.
“You’re going,” Caroline says firmly. “You need us right now. We’ll help you.”
I try to paste on a smile but it fails. “What are you guys talking about? I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not,” Stella says. “A little birdy stopped by Sweet Dreams today and talked to me.”
I’m frowning. “You never work Sundays.”
“You’re lucky I live close to the café. That little birdy came in asking for me, and told one of my employees she wanted to tell me something about you.” She sends me a pointed look. “So of course, my curiosity got the better of me and I came straight over.”
“Who was it?”
“Alice Crawford.”
Oh. Oh shit. I’m guessing Ali told Stella about Theo…but what did she say? I hightailed it out of the reception once Theo ditched me. Ran back into the tent, grabbed my purse and fled. Luckily no one saw me.
Or so I thought.
It makes sense that people would ask about me, though. I’m sure Theo had to deal with it. One moment I was there, the next I wasn’t. What did he say? How did he explain what happened? Talk about awkward.
“What did she tell you?” I ask Stella.
“That you and Theo supposedly broke up and that he was a moody jerk for the rest of the wedding reception.” I’m about to say something, but Stella cuts me off. “We know you two were pretending to be in a relationship, but come on. You were friends who fell for each other, and that’s totally natural. Isn’t that the best way to fall in love? You already know you’re compatible.”
I burst into tears. Only because it hurts too much, realizing that we did fall in love in the best way possible, only for me to ruin everything.
Candice brings me a box of Kleenex. Caroline guides me over to my old, lumpy couch. Stella goes into the kitchen to get me a glass of water and in between sobs, I explain what happened. The job interviews, the job offers, and how I didn’t tell Theo about them. His confession that he loves me and I love him, too.
And then…yesterday. Everything was ruined.
“Alex blew it,” Caroline says when I’m done explaining. “I can’t believe it.”
“It’s not his fault,” I say. “I should’ve told Theo. Alex didn’t know.”
“What the hell is this?” Stella asks, picking up the pregnancy test box from my kitchen counter where I left it last night.
They all gape at me for a solid two seconds before all the questions and fretting comes. It’s frantic, overwhelming, and Stella yells at the top of her lungs, getting the other two to stop chattering.
“Do you think you’re pregnant?” Stella asks.
I nod, my face crumpling before I start crying all over again.
“Okay. This is serious.” Stella claps her hands together like she’s running her crew at the café and we all need to fall in line. “Kelsey, take a quick shower. While you’re at it, take the pregnancy test. Does Theo know about the possibility of this?”
I shake my head.
“Okay. Okay, we’ve got this. You’re going to be fine. Candice, pick out an outfit for Kelsey to wear. We’re going to brunch. We need everyone’s advice, including Alice’s.”
“She’s barely twenty-one,” I say as Candice grabs my hand and hauls me to my feet. “What does she know?”
“She’s Theo’s sister. She knows a lot,” Stella says pointedly. “She’s like me, the youngest child, the only girl, raised with a bunch of heathens. We can relate. Plus she has perspective on Theo none of us do. We need her.”
They’re all right. I know they are. And I can’t believe they came to my place to rouse me out of here.
“Thank you for coming over,” I say in between sniffles while they all walk me to my bathroom.
“Honey, we love you,” Caroline says, her voice and gaze soft as she studies me. “We want to help. You just have to open up and let us.”
I throw myself at Caroline and hug her tight. Candice and Stella wrap themselves around us too, and we’re just one big group hug until Stella pulls away and gets back to business.
She tears into the pregnancy test box she brought with her, hurriedly reading the instructions. “It’s time to get real, Kelsey. Here you go. Just take the lid off and pee on the tip. You’ll find out in a few minutes whether your life is going to change or not.”
I take the pregnancy test from her, my heart bottoming out as I slip into the bathroom and close the door. I’ve been dealing with that feeling the entire weekend.
It’s go time.
When we show up at the restaurant, we’re only five minutes late. Turns out Amelia and Sarah are already there, waiting for us. Along with Ali, who appears relieved when she spots me.
“Oh my God.” She jumps up from her chair and comes to me, hugging me. “I was so worried about you.”
I withdraw from her embrace, smiling faintly. “I’m okay. I can’t believe what you did.”
She frowns. “Are you mad I went to Stella?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I’m grateful. I’m a very—private person. They didn’t even know where I lived.” It was Alex who told Caroline my address. She made her confession on the drive over to the restaurant.
“Oh Kelsey.” Ali hugs me again, her mouth right at my ear as she murmurs, “Theo is devastated. We need to figure this out.”
Once we settle around
the table, I introduce Ali to everyone, and then Stella takes over, explaining the situation and what happened between Theo and me.
At least someone takes charge. I don’t think I could’ve gotten through that story without bursting into tears and truly believing my life is over.
But my life isn’t over. It turns out…
“Oh, and we just found out Kelsey’s pregnant,” Stella adds, making my announcement just like I wanted her to.
You would’ve thought she said I died and came back to life. The shock on their faces is almost humorous, save for Stella, Caroline and Candice. Though they all whip their heads in my direction, every single one of them wide eyed. Especially Ali.
“You’re—pregnant?” A wrinkle forms between Ali’s eyebrows as she gapes at me.
Unease fills me, making me worry. What if she thinks this is terrible? What if she can’t imagine me as a part of their family? She could run off and tell Theo before I even get a chance to, and then let’s be real.
Shit will really hit the fan.
“Oh my gosh!” She comes around the table, grabs my hands and pulls me in for another bone-crushing hug. “I can’t believe it! I’m going to be an aunt.”
I start crying all over again, clinging to her. “Don’t tell Theo yet, okay? He doesn’t even know.”
Ali pulls away to look at me. “Of course I won’t. Though he probably deserves to know first.”
“Stella found the pregnancy test I bought and it all sort of spiraled out of control from there,” I explain. “I need your help.” I glance around the table at all of my friends, who are wearing giant smiles on their faces. They’re happy for me. This should be the most terrifying moment of my life. My boyfriend broke up with me and I’m pregnant with his baby.
But my friends are lifting me up. Reminding me that I’m not alone. While I want nothing more than to work it out with Theo, and I’m pretty confident we can get beyond this misunderstanding, I know that in the end, if Theo and I don’t end up together? I’ll be okay.
Because I have my friends by my side.
“Okay, everyone,” Stella says once we’re settled in our seats and the server’s come by taking our mimosa orders—I only get orange juice, bummer. “We need to help Kelsey out. She’s hit a few snags with Theo and she needs our advice.”
“Whatever you need, we’ll help,” Amelia says, her gaze sliding over to me. “Congrats, by the way.”
“Thank you,” I murmur, overwhelmed with gratitude.
“Oh, I can give you plenty of advice,” Ali says with all the knowledge of a little sister. “Trust me. I know what makes Theo tick. I know what makes all of the Crawford men tick.”
“Do tell,” Stella says, leaning her elbows on the table as she contemplates Ali. “I told Kelsey you would probably have the most beneficial advice out of all of us, since you’re related to him.”
“Right, well, I know a lot. Um.” Ali squirms in her chair. “Maybe you could give me some advice.”
The curious expression on Stella’s face is unmistakable. “I’d love to help you. But with what?”
“I’ll—explain it to you later.” Ali’s cheeks turn bright pink. “In the mean time, let’s focus on Kelsey.” She glances over to where I’m sitting. “She needs us.”
It’s true. I need them.
Hopefully whatever we come up with, works. Because I also need Theo.
Desperately.
Twenty-Six
Theo
I am a miserable son of a bitch and no one wants to be around me.
I can’t blame them. I don’t even want to be around myself. Since what happened at the wedding—hell, before the wedding—I’ve felt…broken. My heart, my soul, all of it, shattered to pieces. Kelsey’s blatant disregard of my feelings when it comes to her leaving the state, or worse, the country, for her job…
We confess we love each other and then it’s like oops, forgot to mention this! What the hell? And finding out from someone else was a real mind fuck too.
Once she left the reception, I sulked like a pissed off little baby. Everyone—and I mean everyone—from my immediate family wanted to know where Kelsey went. Ali was thoroughly confused. One minute she’s there, the next she’s gone, I get it. My parents didn’t buy my excuse that an emergency came up. None of them did. Even my grandmother called me on my bullshit.
“Just because you had a little tiff doesn’t mean you just let her go, Theodore. That girl is too good to let slip through your fingers,” she scolded me at one point.
Her words rang true, because what she said was true. Kelsey’s a good girl. A strong woman. The more I think about it, the more I realize it was pretty damn busy these last few days. When did she ever get a chance to tell me what was going on with her life?
Never, that’s when.
Sunday night and I’m staring at my phone, agonizing over texting her or not when my phone flashes with a call. A FaceTime call.
From my sister.
Groaning, I decline it. She immediately calls me again. We play this game a couple of times until I finally answer the damn call.
“What the hell do you want?” I practically snarl.
“So hostile.” She doesn’t even seem fazed. More like she looks bored.
I slouch against the back of the couch, hoping she doesn’t ask any difficult questions. I’m not in the mood to answer them. “What do you want, Ali? It’s been a shit weekend.”
“Theo, I’m going to ask you a difficult question,” Ali starts.
Here we go. How’d I know this was coming? “I probably won’t answer.”
She ignores me. “Are you still in love with Jessica?”
I sit up straight, nearly dropping my phone on the floor. Luckily, it lands on the couch next to me and I scramble to pick it up, hating how acting frazzled by her question makes it look like I actually am still in love with Jess.
But I’m not. Not even close.
More like I’m surprised Ali would even bring it up.
“No,” I say firmly, my gaze locking with my little sister’s through the camera. “Absolutely not.”
Jessica found me alone at the reception, and confessed to me that she’d had pre-wedding jitters. That’s why she said all that stuff to me. I told her it was cool, I understood, even though I thought what she did was a shit move. But I can’t hold it against her. Grudges only hurt the ones holding the grudge, so what’s the point?
“Okay.” Ali nods her approval, sounding pleased. “Good to know.”
“Why do you ask?”
“I have another question.” She pauses for only a moment before she barrels forward in typical Ali style. “Are you in love with Kelsey?”
A ragged sigh escapes me and I run my hand along my jaw, feel the thick layer of stubble there. “Yeah. But I probably messed that all up.”
“You didn’t mess it up at all,” Ali says hurriedly, her eyes lighting up. As if she were excited. “Trust me. She loves you, Theo. And she feels terrible about the mix up with her job offer and how she didn’t tell you about it. You have to know she’s not accepting either of them. She doesn’t want to leave you.”
That’s exactly what Kelsey said to me at the reception, but I didn’t want to believe her. I was too mad, too hurt. Spinning over finding out what she kept from me. I’ve been deceived before—in the worst possible way—and I couldn’t see or think straight.
So I pushed the one bright and perfect thing in my life away.
“When did you talk to her?” I ask.
Ali’s expression turns a little shady, the sneak. “Um, she might’ve invited me to have brunch with her friends today.”
“When did she invite you?” I ask incredulously. And when did they become so close? I love it. Ali has seemed a little lost lately, and I appreciate Kelsey taking her under her wing and introducing her to her friend group, but that moved sort of fast…
Is there anything wrong with moving fast? I suppose not. Look at how we went from zero to friendship to hav
ing sex regularly and fooling ourselves into thinking it was something casual.
It was never casual between us. Our friendship was instant. Our respect for each other grew. I enjoyed spending time with her and I think she felt the same about me. The next thing I knew, we were in a full-blown relationship, though we tried to call it something else.
Now here I sit, afraid I might’ve lost it forever.
“We were talking a few days ago, and she invited me to go to brunch. Of course I said yes. I need new friends, and Kelsey is so great. I really like her. A lot. Her friends are pretty great too.” Ali tilts her head, sending me a long look. “You need to talk to her, Theo. She misses you so much, and she hates that you’re mad at her. She wants to fix it.”
“I’m not mad at her anymore. I’m just—” I exhale loudly and stare up at the ceiling for a moment before I return my gaze to Ali’s. “Frustrated by how I acted toward her. I shouldn’t have become so angry. I’ve given it some thought, and she was right. She never got a chance to tell me about her job offers. It’s been so hectic with that stupid wedding this weekend.” Thank God it’s over.
“You should go to her and tell her how you feel,” Ali says.
“See, here’s the thing.” I make a face, embarrassed to admit this. “I don’t know where she lives.”
“Ha, no one did until today, I hear. It’s okay. I have her address. I’ll text it to you right now.” Her screen says paused, and within seconds, I get a notification with an address in the text. “There you go.”
“I can’t just go to her on a Sunday night.”
“Why not?”
“What if she’s already in bed?” Lamest excuse ever.
“She’ll get out of bed for you. I promise,” Ali says gently. “Go get your girl, big brother. She’s waiting for you. She needs you right now.”
She’s right. My girl needs me right now.
And I need her.
“I’m leaving now,” I tell my sister. “Oh, and Ali?”
Wedding Date (Dating Series Book 6) Page 21