The reminder of what had happened put frowns on all their faces. “Why don’t I take you up to check on Maddox while Maz gets you a bowl of stew?” Ry offered.
The sigh of relief that left Jake dropped his shoulders a good three inches. “That would be fantastic. Thanks.”
“This way.”
Mazey watched Rylan lead Jake upstairs. She didn’t have many friends, and none of them had followed her out of childhood like the two men heading up to check on the baby. It was a shame they’d drifted apart. Or blown apart. Mazey couldn’t help wondering if their similarities had prompted Rylan’s ex-wife to do what she did.
Rylan hadn’t told her more than the basics of his marriage and the ending of it. The possibility of Rylan and Jake patching up their friendship now that Renee was out of the picture seemed small, but she’d seen the way they looked at each other just now. And she’d heard the fondness in Rylan’s voice when he had talked about Jake earlier.
He missed his friend. Could they bridge the gap between them? Forgive the betrayal? And who had betrayed who? She was starting to think Rylan’s ex-wife had played both men for fools.
Making her way to the kitchen to dish up the promised meal, she thought about ways she could help them make peace with the past and maybe re-establish their friendship.
“Hey, Maddox is stirring.” Rylan came up behind her. “I’ll take that up to Jake. Can you grab him a bottle of water to go with it?”
“Sure. Do you want something?”
“No. I’m good.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead, the move so startling it took her a moment to register his next words. “Thank you.”
Warmth filled her, the skin where his lips touched tingled. “Ah, for what?”
“Being here. After everything.”
She took a deep breath. “I owe you an apology for today.”
He held up a hand. “No, you don’t. I know why you took off. I know what Renee said hurt you. And I’m sorry, sorrier than you can imagine that you went through that. But you didn’t have to come back, Maz. I was coming for you. The second Jake left after collecting his son, I was coming for you.”
“I don’t know—”
“You don’t have to know anything right now. Just stay with me while Jake’s here. I’m asking a lot, and after the part I played in today, I shouldn’t ask, but I need you here, need you to get through this.” He swallowed. “I want to know why he slept with my wife.”
She could see the anguish in his gaze, knew it was more about the betrayal of their friendship than the stealing of his wife. He’d told her he’d never loved his ex, and Mazey believed him. Despite her fears, her own past, she believed Rylan when he said he didn’t love Renee. Nodding, she murmured, “Okay. Should I put on another pot of coffee?”
“Nah. Grab the water and join us upstairs.”
“Okay, I’ll be right up.” Mazey watched him disappear. There had been no hesitation in her answer. No fear. Yes, she’d been hurt by him today but not because he’d lied or cheated. He’d kept part of his past from her, and she couldn’t fault him for that because when she broke it all down, when she thought about their relationship, they weren’t even at the stage of revealing their pasts.
They’d done everything back to front, inside out and upside down. They were having a baby but had only agreed to be friends who occasionally had sex before that discovery. It was only a week since then, a week in which she’d accepted his request to give them a try, to be a couple. And just this morning they’d informed their boss they were dating.
So much had happened in the span of one day.
One thing had become painfully obvious in the light of today’s drama.
She was in love with Rylan.
She had no idea when it happened. How it happened. She’d been protecting herself as best she could after the disaster of her engagement, and yet he’d found his way into her heart.
And honesty made her acknowledge he’d gotten far deeper than Stuart ever had.
The fact she wanted to dive into this emotion headfirst had her being cautious. They needed to take things slow. Needed to be sure the foundation of their relationship was solid. And balanced.
For obvious reasons, she’d never had that with Stuart. She wanted it with Rylan.
It didn’t need to be equal, just balanced. And right now, he needed her to be strong, to stand beside him while he navigated this tentative reunion with Jake.
After grabbing three water bottles from the fridge, she headed for the stairs.
She had no idea whether they could make it work, whether they would be a couple when the baby came, but she was willing to try. Wanted to try.
