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Reaching us, he bent to kiss her. Considering he was over a foot taller than her, he had to bend a good bit before his lips touched hers. I looked away, unable to handle seeing how much in love they were now. Before everything started going downhill with Jace and me, I never once was jealous of these two. There was no need to be when I had a man I thought loved and cherished me just as much as Harris did Lucy. Now that I knew better, I couldn’t bear to see the proof of someone else’s happily ever after.
Lifting his head, Harris pulled me into a welcoming hug. “About time you came home,” he grumbled as he stepped back. “Lu was scared you were going to miss the baby shower and Hayat’s birth.”
“Nothing could keep me from being here for that,” I told him honestly. “Can’t have my goddaughter coming into the world without me there.”
“I have to head to work, but Lucy wants to have dinner together tonight. You’re coming, right?” he asked expectantly.
“Depends. Will it be just the three of us?” Because if Jace was going to be there, no way in hell was I going. I’d spent four whole months away from anything and everything that could remind me of him. I didn’t know how I would handle seeing him again now, and I didn’t want to find out.
Harris and Lucy shared a quick look, having a silent conversation before my best friend nodded. “Yes. Just the three of us.”
“Then, yes, I would like to have dinner with you.”
Harris kissed Lucy again. “I’ll see you two later, then. Sweetness, Marcus will be by to pick you up around six. If you need anything before then, call me.”
“Bye, babe,” she said with a dreamy look in her eyes as she watched him leave.
I linked my arm through hers, urging her into the kitchen and distracting her from the absence of her delicious husband. “I’m starving and thirsty,” I said, answering her questions from earlier. “The flight was okay. Amara tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. She’s good, by the way, got the boot off her fractured foot a while back and has the cutest little baby bump. She, like you, is having a girl but hasn’t picked out a name yet. I guess she wants to talk to Cash about it before deciding. I would really like to do a shower for her, but that can wait a few months, I think. There is time to plan it.”
In the kitchen, Lucy pulled out a carafe of water from the fridge. A tray of glasses was already on the island in the middle of the room, and she poured us each a glass before going back to the fridge to pull out everything needed for sandwiches.
As she placed the deli packages of ham and turkey in front of me, she paused to look at me. “Have you been home yet?”
I shook my head. “Seeing as Angie moved recently so she didn’t have to be in our apartment by herself, I haven’t had time to check out the new place yet.”
“Aunt Emmie set it up for her, but it’s not like she’s ever there anyway. She’s always at Jenna and Santana’s place.”
“She should have just moved in with them,” I told her as I started stacking two sandwiches with meat and slices of tomatoes.
“You know she didn’t because she wanted you to have a place for when you came home,” Lucy reminded me softly.
I shrugged. “I could have found my own place. I’ve gotten used to being alone.”
“You had Amara with you.”
“I like her—a lot, actually—but she gave me my space. Which I’m thankful for. So it was like I was alone more often than not.” I smothered the top slice of bread with deli mustard and then cut the sandwich down the middle before doing the same to Lucy’s.
She took hers and placed it on a plate, pushing the tray of sliced veggies toward me. “Do you want me to go with you to check out the new place? We can go before we meet Harris for dinner.”
“Sure. Why don’t you call Marcus and tell him to meet us there so we don’t have to take two vehicles?” I took a bite of the sandwich, watching as she lifted the top piece of bread from her own and loaded it with slices of pickled jalapeños and thin slivers of radishes. I wasn’t surprised by the choice. After catering to Amara’s cravings the last two months, I found nothing weird surprised me anymore.
“Yeah, okay. Let me text him before I forget.” Wiping her fingers, she pulled her phone out of the pocket of her maternity dress and texted quickly. “I kind of miss him. Since we moved out here and he started working for both me and Aunt Emmie to shadow Mia, I don’t see him a lot. For years, I hated having a babysitter, but it’s a little lonely without him. I guess he was just as much my security blanket as he was Daddy’s.”
“I have a feeling as soon as Hayat is born, Harris and your dad will freak out again. Only it will be Hayat who has the scary bodyguard.”
“Probably.” She grinned as she tossed the phone onto the counter before picking up her sandwich. The look she gave her food was similar to the look she gave her husband as he was leaving, making me laugh.
“You’re adorable when you get that dreamy look for your food, Lu.”
“Don’t make fun of me. Wait until you are pregnant and food becomes the love of your life.”
I snorted. “I don’t see that happening anytime soon, but I’ll take your word for it.”
She was quiet for a few minutes, eating her food in silence. But I knew her well, and could tell she had something on her mind. I finished the rest of my sandwich, waiting and dreading what would come out of her mouth when she did speak again.
When several minutes passed and she still hadn’t spoken, I wondered if maybe her forgetful pregnancy brain was going to save me, but then she set down her water glass and opened her mouth. “Jace has been a mess.”
“Stop,” I ordered, holding up my hand. Noticing my fingers were trembling, I clenched them into fists and dropped them onto the counter, when really, I wanted to press them to my chest and try to ease the pain there that just the sound of his name produced. “I don’t want to hear about Jace. I don’t want to know what he’s been doing, how he’s been doing, or who he’s been doing.”
