Maggie followed suit, though she had flown home with Cooper and myself. The two had been sitting at the conference room table with Julie when I entered the room. All three had wide smiles and a small cake sat in the center of the table. As soon as our band’s lawyer stepped out of my arms, I heard footsteps behind me.
“I’m sorry, Julie,” she apologized. “I was on the phone when he came in.”
“It’s okay, Nicole,” my girl assured her. “This is my boyfriend, Evan, and he can come and go as he pleases.”
“Boyfriend?” everyone asked at once.
“Yes, boyfriend,” she said, coming over to wrap one arm around my back, and rested her other hand on my abs.
The goofy smile came back and I leaned down to kiss her on the nose, causing her to giggle again and wrinkle it. God, I could hear that noise all day and never tire of it. Her hand found the magazine in my pocket and she tugged it out. My face fell.
“What this?” she asked, opening it.
“Some women had it at…” I trailed off because Maggie swiped it from her hands.
“That’s the one I told you I couldn’t stop because it was already printing when the paperwork went through,” she informed Julie. “The retraction will be out in a few weeks.”
“Gotcha,” Julie said, grabbing the bag from my hand and digging in for her sandwich.
“What the hell just happened?” I questioned, my head bouncing between the three women in front of me as Nicole quietly excused herself and went back out front.
“What do you mean?” Lex asked as Julie took a huge bite of her breakfast.
“You knew about this?” I questioned my lawyer, gesturing to the article.
“Yeah…” she stuttered, looking from me to Julie and back again. “Julie didn’t tell you?”
That had my girlfriend freezing mid-chew. She looked down at the sandwich in her hand for a moment. I watched her swallow and slowly turn to me. Her smile was meek and her eyes cautious.
“Evidently she didn’t,” Maggie concluded. “We found ties between the parent company of the magazine, your mother, and Ryan.”
“We?” I asked, my jaw clenching at having been left out of the loop.
“Lexie, Julie, and myself,” she responded, moving to rest her hand on Julie’s shoulder.
Lexie stepped over as well. Did I look like I was going to hurt her? Rolling my shoulders and releasing my hands, I realized I probably did. I had tensed from head to toe at the thought of my mother being involved in any of this, or having anything to do with Julie. I was supposed to be the protector. Taking a deep breath, I turned around and faced the door.
I didn’t like that I had been left out of this, and I wasn’t sure why or how Julie had been working with Maggie. I felt a hand touch my lower back and knew immediately by the feel it wasn’t Julie. When another hand touched my arm, I looked over and found Lexie gazing up at me with soft eyes.
“Don’t be mad at her,” she pleaded. “She wanted to help take care of this since part of the problem was Ryan. She felt responsible for that.”
“I’m not mad,” I relented, my shoulders coming down a couple notches. “I just don’t like being left out when this is something that affects me too.”
Turning back around, I made my way to the conference table in a couple strides. Julie was sitting stock-still, her sandwich in her hand, and tears in her eyes. I got down on one knee in front of her, and my heart broke with the look on her face. I could see a million emotions racing across it, and I didn’t like any of them.
“I’m not mad,” I repeated, putting my hand on her thigh. “I just wish you would have filled me in.”
“It all started when you and I weren’t talking,” she explained, her voice so quiet I almost couldn’t hear it. “When things started to fall into place, it happened so quick that I didn’t get a chance to tell you.”
“Promise me one thing, boss lady,” I requested, reaching up to wipe the few tears that had spilled free. “In the future, you let me know what’s going on.”
She nodded profusely, putting her sandwich down and cupping my face in her hands. I immediately stretched up to meet her lips in a kiss filled with love. Yep, it was time to tell her. I couldn’t wait any longer.
“I love you, Julie,” I whispered when I pulled back enough to rest our foreheads together.
“I love you too,” she responded on a hiccup.
“On that note”—Maggie chuckled—“I have one more thing for you guys.”
I stood up and turned to her, Julie’s hands sliding to my chest as she moved with me. In Maggie’s hand was an envelope. My eyebrows raised in question and she handed it to me with a smile. When I showed Julie, she motioned for me to open it.
My hands shook slightly since I wasn’t sure exactly what the piece of paper inside was going to say. Would it be something to do with Ryan or my mother? Julie’s hand now rested on my forearm and she squeezed it reassuringly. It was just what I needed to rip the flap open and reach in to pull out the small stack of papers. Seeing what was written at the top had my heart pounding in my chest and a sigh escaping my lips.
“About fucking time!”
With Thanksgiving behind us, I had known that things would get a little crazy leading up to the birth of Avery’s baby, but I hadn’t anticipated just how crazy. The ten to twelve-hour days turned into fourteen and sixteen-hour days. I didn’t even get a chance to bask in the fact that I was in a relationship with a wonderful, handsome, funny man who loved me. Instead, I was working three days a week in Massachusetts and spending the rest of my time in Maine.
“You do realize I can still work, don’t you?” Avery asked, pulling me from the stack of papers and the computer sitting in front of me.
“I know,” I responded, rubbing my eyes, “but you aren’t exactly comfortable sitting at a desk these days.”
When I looked up, she was rubbing her belly and looking down at it with a small smile. Her eyes eventually met mine and I smiled back. As tired as I was, I couldn’t have been happier for her. I loved this woman like a sister, and I would do anything that needed to be done to ensure she was content. Since Cooper wasn’t around, I wanted to make sure she was taken care of.
Lexie had moved back to Maine for the time being to help me with both offices, and was also taking the days I wasn’t in the state to be with Avery. The guys were finishing up their tour and from what I got when I did talk to Evan, Cooper was chomping at the bit to get home. I couldn’t lie, I was just as antsy to have them here. Six months was a long time without them around full-time. The holidays had been great, but they definitely weren’t enough.
“Okay, so Jacobs, Miller, Wainright, and Mason?” I questioned, looking back down at my computer screen.
“Yes,” she replied, shuffling papers. “And don’t forget about Liberty.”
I nodded and made a correction to the list. We were in Avery’s living room, with a fire roaring and surrounded by papers, our computers, and files. A small storm was dumping six inches of snow on the ground, so we decided to hunker down and do a last review of the clients that would need to be covered while Avery was on maternity leave.
I caught her rubbing her belly out of the corner of my eye before her hand moved to her back. Her face showed a grimace for a fraction of a second until she realized I was watching her. Shaking her head, she pulled herself up and made her way to the kitchen.
“Want some hot chocolate?” she asked as she waddled up to the counter and grabbed the kettle to fill it with water.
I nodded and rubbed my eyes again. It was already five o’clock and we had been at it since seven. Today was not a day I was going to get in twelve, never mind fourteen. My body was letting me know it was done. Saving the file I had been working on, I then closed everything down.
While I started to clean up, Avery continued to putter away in the kitchen. Suddenly I caught a whiff of something that had my stomach turning. I slapped my hand over my mouth and beelined for the upstairs bathro
om, hoping like hell I made it. I had barely entered the room before I felt everything I had eaten for lunch coming back up. Not bothering to shut the door, I emptied the contents of my stomach.
After two separate power pukes, I flushed and sat down on the floor. Leaning over, I put my forehead against the cool side of the tub and sighed. When I heard quiet footsteps, I turned my head and found Avery leaning against the doorjamb with a smile on her face.
“What are you grinning about?” I mumbled, wiping my mouth on the washcloth she tossed me.
“Are you ready to take a pregnancy test now?” she asked with a giggle.
“A what?!” I sputtered, sitting up. “Why the hell would I do that?”
“Let’s see,” she started, tapping her chin as though she was thinking hard. “You’ve been tired, coffee turns your stomach now, and chips have become your go-to.”
“Oh, God,” I gasped, covering my mouth again.
My brain started to run in circles. Shit! We never used condoms at all the last two times he had been home because we’d never had to in the past. I couldn’t remember the last time I had taken my pill. I hadn’t thought much of it with the increase in hours. It couldn’t have happened that fast, could it?
“You and Evan would make great parents,” Avery told me, coming over and sitting on the side of the tub.
“We aren’t anywhere near that in our relationship…” I started to say quietly before she put her fingers to my lips to silence me.
“Evan is about ten steps ahead of you.” She chuckled. “He will be over the moon.”
She was right about that much. Evan was definitely ahead of me in our relationship. I couldn’t help but compare him to Ryan when my defenses were down, yet he was nothing like him. Evan was ready to make me his for the rest of our lives, in every sense of the word. I was just a little gun-shy still.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I chided, getting up slowly to make sure I didn’t upset my stomach that now seemed to be calming.
Avery got up, the smile still on her lips. She motioned for me to follow her and she left the room. I could hear her heading down the stairs, so I grabbed the washcloth to wipe it over my face. Making quick work of some mouthwash, I made my way back downstairs behind her.
My friend met me at the bottom and handed me two sticks. I took them and felt the color drain from my face when I looked at them. Was I really ready for this? Could I be a mom? Avery, taking my other hand in hers, broke me from my thoughts.
“One step at a time,” she said, gesturing for the bathroom. “While morning is the best time to do this, let’s find out now.”
I followed her into her and Cooper’s bedroom, into their master bath. She shut the door behind us—not like anyone was actually going to interrupt anyway, but did it more out of habit. Taking her lead, I went to the toilet and did my thing while she leaned against the vanity and again rubbed at her lower back.
“Are you okay?” I asked once I had put the test on the counter and moved to wash my hands.
“Just a little lower back pain.” She waved me off. “No biggie.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“Eh, just a couple hours. Too much sitting.”
“Ummm, Ave, are you sure that’s all it is?”
“I’ve had Braxton Hicks the last six months,” she reminded me. “It’s fine.”
I wasn’t convinced, but I wasn’t going to harp on her. She set her phone and turned to me. Linking our hands together, I closed my eyes and took a couple deep breaths. Two minutes felt like an eternity when I opened them and the timer still hadn’t gone off. Ave squeezed my hand in reassurance; as much as I appreciated her support, it didn’t help. Then everything happened at once. The timer went off, I looked at the window on the stick, and Avery let out words that had me turning sharply to her.
“Uh oh.”
“What?”
“We need to go,” she replied quietly, her voice catching slightly. “My water just broke.”
Sliding the stick into the pocket of my sweatshirt, I didn’t question her. Avery changed her leggings and slid on a pair of boots that sat in her closet, while I grabbed her hospital bag and went to remotely start my car. We moved quickly and silently to make sure everything was off in the kitchen and we had what we needed for the short trip. While the weather wasn’t the greatest outside, I had driven in worse, and we were only fifteen minutes from the hospital.
Once we were in the car, Avery called her doctor and let her know what was going on. Evidently her back pain had been contractions and had been going on longer than she had let on. I shot her a look as she continued to give details. When she got off the phone, she closed her eyes and started to breathe deep long breaths.
“How ya doing, sweetheart?” I questioned as I navigated down the snow-covered road.
“Okay,” she answered, her voice stronger than it had been. “I just wish Coop was here.”
“I know,” I sympathized, reaching over with one hand to squeeze hers briefly before moving it back to the steering wheel. “We got this, though. I’ll be right beside you.”
Fifteen minutes turned into twenty-five with the condition of the roads, but Avery took it like a champ. I had gone to Lamaze classes with her, so we worked on her breathing and focusing. The frustration of knowing she couldn’t reach her husband even if she tried was written all over her face. The guys were in the middle of one of their two final concerts and they wouldn’t have their cells. We could call Lee, but she wasn’t even sure if he was with the band.
I dropped her off at the door and once I saw she had made it inside, I parked as close as I could and all but ran back. Not knowing what the evening was going to bring, I shot a group text off to Evan, Cooper, Lexie, and Maggie, hoping that someone would be able to get in touch with the band and let them know what was going on. Her labor could go all night or it could last just a few hours; it was anyone’s guess.
When I got to the reception desk, I found Ave sitting in a wheelchair with a nurse behind her. They were waiting for me and I saw her doctor making her way down the hall toward us. It was time. My friend’s face showed a plethora of emotions, from pain, to sadness, to fear, and everything in between. Before we could be whisked away, I scooched down in front of her and took her hands in mine.
“We got this,” I told her, leaning up to kiss her cheek and smiling reassuringly at her. “Let’s go have a baby.”
“I can’t wait for this to be over,” Cooper muttered under his breath as he moved past me.
We were sitting down in our dressing room, getting ready to eat a light dinner before our second to last show started. We were all getting antsy since we were nearing the end of our tour. I think everyone was ready for a break after a grueling six months on the road in what seemed like never-ending motion. I felt bad for Coop, especially knowing Avery was so close to her due date and we were a plane ride away.
“Is everything okay at home?” I asked, stuffing a bite of salad into my mouth.
“Yeah,” he answered, moving his vegetables around on his plate. “They are getting a small storm, so her and Julie are staying home to finalize client lists for her maternity leave.”
“But?”
“She just sounds off,” he said, his voice getting quiet. “I can’t put my finger on it.”
“She’s got Julie,” I reminded him. “Boss lady will make sure nothing happens.”
“I know.” He sighed. “Thank God. That really does make me feel better. I just wish…”
“You wish you were there,” I finished for him. “I get it. Who wouldn’t want to be? Just remember, we’re almost done.”
He nodded, picking at his food and finally putting a bite into his mouth. His eyes looked unseeing across the room, and I reached over to squeeze his shoulder. I was worried about Avery as well—I think we all were—but knowing my girl was there with her made me feel better. Julie would take care of her.
I was also anxious for another reason
, one that was literally burning a hole in my pocket. Reaching into my pants, I pulled the ring out and studied it. It was a two-carat solitaire diamond ring in white gold. As soon as I opened the packet with her divorce papers a few weeks ago, I had bought it. I wanted to make her mine in every way as soon as I could. The idea of it on her finger made my heart thump a little bit harder in my chest.
“Well, well, well,” Maggie said, letting out a long whistle as she came over to sit down beside me.
“Do you think she’ll like it?”
“She’ll love it,” she assured me. “It fits her.”
“I hope so for the price of the damn thing,” Matt scoffed from behind me as he peered at it over my shoulder.
“Leave him alone,” Chris chided, causing us all to look back at him in surprise.
“What did you just say?” Cooper stammered.
Chris wasn’t one to get after Matt for anything, especially something like this. The two of them seemed to be on the paths to lifelong bachelorhood. We were all taken back.
“After everything you two have been through,” he continued, ignoring our surprised looks, “you deserve it.”
“Speaking of which,” Maggie said, shaking her head at Chris in disbelief. “It looks like everything has finally come full circle.”
“What do you mean, Mags?” I asked, almost dropping the ring as I rushed to put it back in my pocket so I didn’t lose it.
“Ryan is in jail and your mother is being charged as an accessory in his whole scheme,” she filled us all in.
A collective “Whoop!” filled the room. I was stunned, too stunned to react. It was over, all over. The articles would stop. Julie and I could move on. The stress I had been carrying around finally felt like it had been lifted.
“What about a retraction?” I asked, thinking about the damage the magazine could have caused on so many levels.
“They will be printing it in their last issue,” she said, smiling.
“Last issue?” Matt questioned.
“Yep, they will be closing shop,” came Maggie’s reply, with a fist punch.
The Unknown (The Comeback Series Bonus Book Book 2) Page 12