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That causes me and Patty to laugh.
“Rebel probably thinks I’m a nut,” I say to Patty. “She mentioned my near meltdown at the arena to her husband, who then mentioned it to Liam.”
“So she was concerned.” Patty shrugs.
“I think I may need to explain myself to her. Crew really likes her son. I think the friendship is good for him, and Rebel and Wolfe are good friends with Liam. I don’t want us getting off to a bad start.”
“Personally, I don’t think you owe her any explanations, but if you wanted to share your reservations with her, it’s totally your call. She’s a good person,” Patty reaffirms.
“I got that feeling,” I agree.
By the time we get to Manhattan, Crew is slightly dozing off in the car, but when we park the car outside Rebel’s townhouse, he must feel us come to a stop because his eyes pop open, and he gets a second wind.
Rebel comes to the door and lets us in, and I pass her the bottle of wine Patty had at home.
She ushers us in, and Crew takes off with little Liam right away.
Rebel takes our coats and then we follow her into the kitchen, where her cute baby girl is swinging in a swing to a soft melody.
“Oh, my goodness, you’re adorable,” I gush, walking up to the little princess in the swing.
“What a cutie,” Patty says, and she takes a seat at the island.
“I ordered a bunch of pizza and pasta, but I also got some salads too. I hope it’s okay,” Rebel says.
“That’s perfect,” I say.
“Works for me,” Patty agrees.
Rebel takes the bottle of wine we brought her. “You ladies up for a glass of wine? I can only have one. I’m breastfeeding, but I have frozen milk stored. I’ll just give the little munchkin a bottle for tonight.”
“I’m in,” Patty says.
“I’m driving,” I say to Rebel.
“You can have one glass,” Patty says.
I figure we’re going to be here for hours, and we’re eating too. “Sure, I’ll take half a glass.”
Rebel takes out pretty crystal wineglasses and gets to pouring.
We all clink glasses. “To fun times with the girls,” Rebel says. She checks her phone for a second.
“Sorry, it’s my best friend. She’s an OB-GYN,” Rebel says. “She just got off her shift.”
“Cool,” I say.
We wait quietly while Rebel texts her friend.
“Sorry about that. My attention is back on you,” Rebel says. “Holland’s husband is a hockey player too.”
“Wow, what are the chances,” I remark.
“It’s actually a really funny story,” Rebel begins. “I was dating Wolfe, and we wanted our best friends to get along. Somehow, they were at a party together and got a little too drunk, and nine months later, they had a baby girl. Holland was in pre-med. It was a crazy time.” Rebel’s eyes widen.
“That sounds intense, and I’m speaking from experience,” I say. “I dropped out of college when I had Crew, but I started applying to all kinds of scholarships for single mothers. I’ve applied to quite a few. I’m waiting to hear back,” I state out loud. I’d been keeping this information a secret, maybe because taking this step is a huge deal for me and I’m also scared of getting rejected. Being with Liam has somehow sparked something inside me to not want to settle for the status quo. I was living my life day after day without any movement or change, and now, since Liam has been back in my life, I’ve been happy. I realized I need to follow my dreams and stop putting them on hold.
“That’s amazing news. I’ve been trying to convince her for years,” she says to Rebel.
