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Poking at a flower on her robe, I grinned down at her. “Seriously, I know I brought you in here wearing a maternity dress from Nordstrom. Where did you get this robe?”
“Oh, this? I may have been carrying it and a few other little things in my bag just in case this whole thing took me by surprise.” She nodded at the behemoth of a Louis Vuitton purse that sat on the end of the couch along the wall.
“Like anything could takeyouby surprise,” Layla teased.
“I’ve also got my toiletries, special socks, and Baby Paxton’s coming-home outfit. Though, I think I might need a new one because my mom said I was a big baby, and Will’s a giant, so I bought a bigger size just in case. The poor thing’s going to be swimming in it.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll go get you something for the baby and whatever else you need,” Shelby promised her. “And speaking of things you need, is there anything we can get for you now? Are you thirsty or hungry or anything?”
Aria bit her lip and looked down. “Actually, I just had to see you guys because… well, because I love you. But right now, I think I might just need Will.”
Understanding appeared on both Shelby and Layla’s faces, each of them having a man they loved just as much as Aria loved hers. On my end, I suddenly felt like an outsider in a place that I used to think of as myshelterfrom the outside.
It was stupid, I knew. And logically, I didn’t begrudge my friends their happiness. I’d told Beau the truth when I’d said I couldn’t be happier for my sister, and I felt the same way for Aria and Shelby.
But none of that changed the deeply rooted hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach as I stood here with them now. Like I’d lost what was once a totally safe place for me to be myself and not worry about how different I felt from my peers.
Because nothing could fix the thing that made me different in this case. I wasn’t like them in the ways that would make me the kind of woman who got a romance novel-worthy happily ever after.
It was why I was more content falling for the men in my books. They didn’t have to love—or evenknow—the real me. They just had to be their perfect swoon-worthy selves, and then they could be shelved again before something I said or did could ruin anything.
“You know what?” I asked, backing toward the door. “You two stay here, I’m gonna grab Will. That way Aria doesn’t have to be alone while she waits for him to put out his cigar.”
Aria grimaced. “Cigar?”
“Nothing, no. Never mind,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ll send him in. I love you, congrats again.”
“Love you, too,” I heard her say as I slipped out of the room in record speed.
Then I zipped through the long hallways of the maternity ward with blinders on, not stopping until I made it through the exit and into the fading light outside.
I turned to the bench where Beau had been, and sure enough, the guys were there with him—and no, they weren’t smoking anything. Just standing around and chatting, grins on all their equally handsome faces.
Well,almostequally handsome.
The fleeting image of Beau and I paired up so we could round out this group of couples stabbed through me like a knife. It was sharp and painful since I knew it would never happen.
But instead of dwelling on that, I worked a practiced, smiling mask onto my face as I approached them and tapped Will on the arm. “Aria wants you. Layla and Shelby are waiting with her until you get in there.”
“Can we come with you?” Paul asked. “I just want to tell my sister congrats, but I won’t stay long.”
“And I’ll wait outside if she wants,” Zac offered.
“Nah, man, both of you come,” Will said with a flick of his wrist. “I’m sure she’d love to see you for a sec.”
The three of them started toward the hospital entrance, but then as the other guys kept walking, Zac looked over his shoulder and stopped when he saw Beau wasn’t with them. “You coming?”
I turned my gaze on Beau, finding him staring intently at me. He didn’t take his eyes from mine as he answered his friend. “No, you guys go. I’m taking Lyndi home.”
“You are?” Zac and I asked in unison.
“Yeah,” he said, finally looking at Zac. “She’s not feeling well.”
“Okay, we’ll keep you updated, Lyn,” Zac said. “Hope you feel better.”
“Thanks,” I replied, totally stunned.
When he was gone, I peeked over at Beau. “You don’t have to take me home. I drove here and—”
