AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She sips her coffee and shrugs. “I’ve never seen you this happy before, Emery. When you’re with Lincoln and Ava, you’re happy, glowing. I think we both know that’s where you’re supposed to be.”
I nod. “You’re right. I’m kind of surprised to hear you say it though.” I laugh, wiping the tears from my eyes. “Weren’t you all about meeting guys and experiencing more? Now you’re okay with me only having been with the two guys?”
She rolls her eyes. “And it’s a good thing I said those things because if it hadn’t been for me pushing you, you never would’ve looked twice at Lincoln.”
I laugh. She’s right and we both know it.
There’s a moment of silence before I turn back to her. “So, what happens if I tell Lincoln about the pregnancy and he chooses her?”
She arches one of her eyebrows. “He’ll never choose her.”
“How do you know?”
She shrugs. “The way he looks at you when you’re not looking. That’s how I know.”
* * *
I’ve been standing at the front window for twenty minutes now, waiting for Lincoln’s truck to pull into the drive. Finally, he rolls into the driveway and I waste no time getting over there. I’m nervous on the walk, but Anna is right, this is something I have to do. Sure, I’m scared he may pick her over me but I can’t let that fear hold me back because if I do, I know I’ll spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been.
I knock on the front door and after a minute, he opens it. His blue eyes meet mine and he frowns, his jaw tenses. “Emery, I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
I move my hands behind my back, locking my fingers together. “Can I come in? I think we need to talk.”
He nods and opens the door wider for me but something about him is putting me off. His back is straight, his shoulders squared. His jaw is flexed and his eyes are hard. It looks like he’s prepared to protect himself, but why does he feel like he needs to protect himself from me?
I walk into the living room and he follows me in.
“Emy!” Ava yells, running toward me. “You feel better?”
“Were you sick?” Lincoln asks.
I offer Ava a smile as I brush her hair from her eyes. “I’m better.”
Ava looks up at her dad. “She puked.”
I shake my head. “Okay, Ava. Why don’t you go play.”
She runs off to the corner of the living room.
“I just made a pot of coffee. Want some?”
“Sure,” I agree.
I follow him into the kitchen so we have some privacy. While he pours our coffee, I stand on the other side of the island. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you the chance to talk this morning.”
He turns to face me, putting a cup down in front of me. “Hey, you said what you needed to say, right? I mean, for days it felt like you were pulling away. Now you’re using her as an excuse to do it. I get it.” He nods, bringing his cup to his lips.
“What? No…” I shake my head, confused.
His brows lift as he looks at me with wide eyes. “No? No to which part? No, you didn’t say what you needed to say? No, you haven’t been pulling away or no, you’re not using her as an excuse?”
“No to all of it.” I walk around the island. “I haven’t been pulling away. I mean, I haven’t been meaning to pull away.”
“Then what were you doing, Emery? We went from seeing one another every single day, to sleeping together every night, to you leaving the minute Ava is in bed for the night. Then you give me excuses on why you can’t come over or have dinner with us? That seems like pulling away to me.”
“I wasn’t pulling away. I just had a lot on my mind and I wasn’t sure how to tell you….”
“Tell me what?”
