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“I’m pregnant, Parker. So clearly I’m not looking for anything, and I’d like our relationship to be strictly professional moving forward,” I say sharply. His face drops and his eyes are like magnets to my flat stomach.
“How? When?” he says, confused.
“It’s obviously Cody’s, and I’m not quite sure. I don’t wish to have this conversation here. So if you have a question about the Winters case, then stay, but if not I’d like you to leave.” I sit back down and point to the door. He nods and leaves without further argument. That’s not how I expected that to go, but at least I won’t have to deal with him anymore.
I put away the Haven Winters paperwork and grab one of my other cases. I am so tired of working on a case not only with Parker, but with someone so spoiled. Usually my cases make me feel like I am helping someone, but lately I just feel like I am on the wrong side of the fight. There wi a stack of my pending cases starting to grow so I grab one off the bottom and get to work. A lot of them are just making the right phone calls and making sure they know what to say in court. I call Molly in to help me and we manage to make it through almost half the stack by the time we head home.
I’m not thrilled to be going home alone again. I have lived alone for as long as I could remember, except for the brief time Riley was living with me. It isn’t that I don’t like being alone, I actually prefer it; when it ismychoice. Despite everything, it feels like I lost Cody. He walked away before I could tell him everything that night and walked away again that day in my office. It all hurts the same, no matter who pulled the trigger. So I head home, planning to binge out on pizza and mozzarella sticks and maybe some buffalo wings too. Until Riley calls me asking if she can meet me at the bar. I agree to meet her as long as we can meet somewhere else, so she suggests my apartment.
“Are you feeling any better?” Riley asks as she opens a bottle of wine. I dig into the pizza, sitting at the counter and hoping she doesn’t notice my swollen ankles.
“Oh yeah, must’ve been a bug,” I lie. It’s not that I don’t want to tell Riley, in fact she’s the only person I want to tell. But she’s dating Sawyer and I can’t let Cody find out, not yet.
“Glad it passed.” She smiles and guzzles the glass of wine.
“Want some?” Riley grabs a second glass.
“No, I’m okay.”
“Oh ,okay.” She looks at me weird but doesn’t question it. It doesn’t help that I have rarely turned down a drink before now.
“So, what’s going on?”
“I think Sawyer might be proposing.” She pours herself another glass and I scrunch my eyebrows together.
“And that’s not a good thing?” I ask, confused. She and Sawyer have been dating for almost two years at this point, it is kind of expected it go in that direction. And before that she had been chasing and begging her ex to propose for years.
“I don’t know. I want to say something but I’m going to sound like such a bad person.”
“No, this is me. There’s zero judgement here, trust me.”
“Okay, I just don’t think I want the whole marriage and kids thing. I’m not sure I ever truly did, I just wanted it with Colleen as a way of commitment. But with Sawyer I don’t need it, we’re so happy so why complicate it,” Riley says.
“Not wanting that stuff doesn’t make you a bad person.”
“It feels like it. What if Sawyer does and then we break up because of it?”
“Well, as you keep telling me, it’ll be okay. Some things aren’t meant to last forever.”
“Shit, I didn’t even think. I’m sorry.” She smacks her forehead.
“No, for real. I mean it will be okay, but you should talk to Sawyer. She’s understanding and maybe she feels the same way. Why do you think she’s proposing anyway?”
“She’s just being all secretive and asking me about Christmas. Which it’s like just fall so why are we rushing things?” she rambles.
“Maybe she’s just asking to get you a present?”
“She also mentioned the future and the way she talked about it was different. I can’t explain it, but it was referencing marriage.”
“So I’m not going to lie, it sounds like you’re reading in to things. I really think you just need to talk to her.”
“Really?” She raises an eyebrow.
“I know I’m not the best at that, but you’re supposed to be better than I am.” I laugh.
“If she proposes what do I even say?”
“My father once told me if someone tells you they love you and you don’t love them back, just say thank you.”
