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Mallory’s response floored him. Almost literally. He dropped into his desk chair.
“What? Why not?” They always met for a meal, anytime either of them asked. That was their thing.
“Because we’re just going to keep wanting more.”
“But we’re good, Mal. We know how to make it work. Forget the proposal. We’re good.”
“I can’t forget it. I think about it all the time. And the kiss and so much else. It just hurts too much.”
Wait. Just. A. Minute.
“I don’t get it. We’re fine. We’re great. We have plans. And just because I suggest we get married, now all of sudden it’s over? All of it?”
It couldn’t be. They were friends.
She was having his daughters.
He was going to be a father. From a distance, yes, but still there.
“For now anyway,” she said. “I’m so sorry, Bray.” She sniffed. He could tell she was crying.
“I’ll call you tomorrow, when I get there. Let’s talk then,” he said and rang off.
He needed time to think. To find the logic. He knew, once he found it, it would save them. Ten minutes after they’d hung up, Braden texted Mallory.
You’re not selling The Bouncing Ball, are you? Or moving it?
Her response was almost immediate.
No.
Okay, so they still had time. It wasn’t over. It was just on sabbatical.
And you still want the space here?
He was pushing.
Yes, and fine, let’s do lunch tomorrow. I can see we need to talk about things.
Damn straight they did. They were a team. Friends. Connected. They were having a pair of daughters before the year was out.
There was no way they could call it quits.
She just had to make it through one lunch. One more lunch as Braden’s friend and then she’d be through with that part of her life.
It wasn’t going to be easy. She knew that going in. It wasn’t going to go well. She knew that, too. But they had history. They’d been friends a long time. She was a tenant of his and would continue to be one, and they needed to be good with that.
She was having his daughters.
That would be the hardest part.
But they’d done this. They’d made this mess. It was up to them to figure a way out of it.
When he texted, suggesting that he have lunch sent up to his office, her first reaction was to say absolutely not. The last time they’d been there together they’d kissed.
But the more she thought about it, she figured his choice was a good one. They’d need privacy to get through this meeting, for her to say what she needed to say. Chances were she was going to cry and she preferred not to do that in public.
After this, their dealings with each other were going to be limited to business.
