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We’ve also gone to the football games together on Friday nights. It’s weird not seeing Brody out there, but he’s joined us in the stands most weeks this season. Morgan too. I really like them together, and I can tell by the way he looks at her, he’s completely smitten. I think there might be something there long term, and I see him making it official with a ring someday.
I pull into Hallie’s driveway for our trip to Hudson, and before I can put the car into Park, she’s exiting her condo and heading for my truck. With the temperatures falling and the days growing shorter, she’s been complaining about the temperatures. It’s cool in the mornings, warms up in the afternoon, and then starts to get cold again once the sun sets. Perfect football weather, but not so great for a woman with raging hormones from pregnancy.
And speaking of pregnancy, it’s looking great on Hallie. She’s not showing yet, but her body has definitely filled out. From her boobs to her hips, everything screams woman right now. Maybe it’s the fact I haven’t had sex since our last night together in July, or perhaps it’s the fact it’s this particular woman who seems to check all my boxes right now and has for a while.
“Hey,” she says when she slides into the cab of my truck.
I throw the car into reverse and start to back out. “How was work?”
“Good,” she says with a grin. “I’m getting ready for the classroom Halloween parties at the end of the month. It’s one of my favorite events to do with the kids. That and the Christmas book exchange. Plus, the parents are amazing, and we have some of the best treats and play games.”
“Sounds like fun,” I reply.
“It is. How was your day?”
“Decent. Shay was off, so that helped.” I chuckle, loving how easy the day goes when she’s not there to throw wrenches into everything we do.
“I bet. I don’t know how you do it, working with your ex every day. If I had to work with Curtis, I’d definitely quit.”
“Well, I don’t have that option,” I say, pressing down on the accelerator as we reach the city limits and head for the neighboring town. “I’d never let her have my family’s business. She’d kill it in under six months and both my grandpa and dad would be rolling over in their graves.”
“Speaking of, can I ask you a question?” She turns a little so she can see me easier.
“Shoot.”
“You don’t have to answer, but I was curious as to why you gave Shay the house when you divorced. It belonged to your grandparents.”
I sigh, going back for a brief moment to that time in my life. I don’t mind talking about it now—it’s been long enough—but at that point, I was pretty torn up over everything transpiring. “I was done arguing,” I tell her honestly. “The house, we hadn’t been in it that long, and even though it was my grandparents’, I didn’t have the sentimental attachment to it I once had, so it was easy for me to give in and let her have it.”
“It doesn’t surprise me she wanted it,” Hallie states, shaking her head. “That house was gorgeous with all the original woodwork.”
“She only wanted it because she thought I did, not because of the beauty it possessed. But when I gave in too easily, that’s when she stuck her claws in the business and refused to sell her half. In fact, after I moved out, she updated a lot of the woodwork. She only kept the floors because she didn’t want to move furniture, but all the cabinets in the kitchen were ripped out and thrown in a tattered pile along the road for someone to pick up within a year after I moved out.”
Even though I’m looking at the road, I catch Hallie’s mouth falling open in shock in my peripheral vision. “What a bitch biscuit.”
I chuckle. “No arguments there.”
“Your place is nice though.”
I shrug. “It’s a place to sleep and hang after work. It’s a tad small, but really, I don’t need a lot of room. Plus, it was within a very short walking distance from TD, so I’d just cut through the backyards that separate us and crash his bachelor pad. Well, before he married Ellie.”
“I don’t mind small,” she says casually. “My condo has been perfect for me. Now, with the baby coming, I’ll have to make the second bedroom into a nursery.” She pauses a few seconds before asking, “Are you going to make your guest bedroom into a nursery?”
“Yeah. It’s a blank canvas since I never got around to putting a bed in there. I’ll probably wait though until we find out what we’re havin’,” I reply.
“You want to know what we’re having?” she asks, sitting up straight in her seat.
“Well, yeah. Don’t you?”
I glance over in time to see her shrug. “I don’t know. I like the idea of being surprised.”
“I get that, but I’m more of a planner. I think I’d like to know what we’re having so we can buy accordingly,” I tell her, feeling her start to tense beside me. Before I even realized what I’m doing, the hornet’s nest is kicked.
“You buy gender-neutral items, like greens and yellows.” There’s a bite to her tone, one that makes my dick twitch in my pants.
“That just seems silly. Why not just find out so you can buy the blue or the pink?” I risk another quick glance over to see her eyes narrowed and smoke practically billowing out of her ears.
“There are only a few real surprises a person can enjoy in life. This is one of them. Why not be truly surprised when the baby is born?”
