“It’s negative, asshole,” I hear Teeny say icily.
She walks away, and I blink about twenty times before I realize that what I’m holding is a pregnancy test. One line waves at me through the little window, and my body suddenly aches. Every bone, every muscle feels like it’s twisting and turning. When I look at where Teeny walked away, she’s gone.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Teeny
NOW
There’s beena cloud hanging over my head for the past few days. It isn’t dark or menacing, but it’s more just there. Gray and lingering, following me around like a bundle of balloons tied to my wrist. I’d been calling in a lot of my work, corresponding with my clients via email, making sure Roberta’s first batch of furniture arrived at the hotel without a hitch. I returned to Allegra’s gallery, unable to walk all the way to the back to see my painting, and purchased some pieces with her receptionist, linking my selections with Eric for his approval.
I took Sadie shopping for her dress for the wedding, the one she’d wear while she sang “Unchained Melody” accompanied by the baby grand piano Mina arranged to have at the reception. I listened to her practice and practice in her room, perfecting her already performance-ready voice to sound angelic. We were ready to celebrate yet another union within our family.
Picturing my brother and Mina swaying in the candlelight and the romantic ambiance of their rustic wedding brought on an entire onslaught of my past. There was so much of myself that I buried when I let go of the idea of me and Everett. Something in me died, snuffed there alongside those glimmers of hope I reserved for love. I convinced myself that love isn’t real. That it’s an illusion. Something for people’s hearts to feel warm and fuzzy around. But the true ideology of love? It’s all a lie.
But is it? Is love really a lie? Because if it is, what is Everett doing here? After all these years, why is he here if not for love? And if not for love, then what am I doing letting him back in?
I shove all those questions, swirling in my head like a torrent, aside as I pull to the curb in front of James’s house. Sadie has a box of Sprinkles cupcakes on her lap, and she exits the car carefully as we both round the hood to walk up the driveway.
“Hey,” James answers the door, a pink elephant plush in his hand and a look of confusion on his face. “What are you guys doing here?”
“I texted Kendall to see if we could stop by.”
He opens the door wider to let us in. “Come on in,” he says, eyeing the box in Sadie’s hands. “Sophia just woke up.”
We walk in, carefully tiptoeing through the hallway littered with baby things. A folded stroller, stacked diaper boxes, an activity table out of its original packaging with parts of it not yet completely built. As soon as we enter the living room, I catch Kendall leaning back on the sofa. She has Sophia resting on her chest, a burp cloth hooked over her shoulder, with her hand lightly rubbing Sophia’s back.
“Hey,” she calls softly as Sadie curls up to Kendall’s side, her face inches from Sophia’s. “Are those for us?”
Sadie hands her the cupcakes. “Yup. Can Sophia have some yet?”
Kendall laughs. “How about we start with some pureed carrots first.” She looks at me over her shoulder. “You want some tea? Coffee?”
“Coffee sounds great.”
She starts to stand, but James stops her. “I got it.” She smiles gratefully at him, and James presses a kiss on Kendall’s temple before walking into the kitchen.
“Can you get Sophia’s bottle too please?” she calls after him.
“I’ll see if he needs any help,” I tell Kendall. “Still not sure if he can do two things at once.”
“I heard that,” I hear from the kitchen. I leave Sadie cooing at Sophia to follow my brother. “You take cream and sugar?”
“Yeah,” I answer. I watch him reach into the fridge for a bottle of creamer, and I sit on one of the barstools surrounding the island. “Leo came by the other day.”
“Yeah?”
I nod. “He mentioned you told him about Vegas?”
“Yeah,” he answers, his focus on filling the coffee maker. “We went out for a couple of drinks, and it came up.”
“Yeah, well, he got pretty upset.”
His face twists in disapproval. “Why?”
“Because Everett was there.”
“Oh my god. That’s outrageous.” I stay quiet, fidgeting with a silicone teether resting on the counter. “I mean, you two are married. He has nothing to worry about.”
