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Lowering my head, I placed a soft kiss on her lips in front of her family and mine, not giving a damn who saw. This incredible woman had just given me back a piece of myself I lost years ago—and never thought I’d find. Taking her hand, I placed it over my heart before whispering, “This belongs to you.”
10
Everly
February
Imissed him.
As hard as I tried to keep my feelings for Alex in check, I had fallen hard and fast for him. When he left, I kept my word and waved him off with a smile and a hug, holding back my tears. After he was gone, the pain sliced through my chest, a never-ending ache reminding me what I had for two short weeks. I was in love with Alexander Scott, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
“Earth to, Evie,” Noah’s voice broke through my thoughts. “You doing okay?”
“I’m fine.” It was my standard answer, when really, I was anything but fine. Morning sickness was a bitch, and hiding it was damn near impossible, but I wasn’t ready to tell anyone my little secret yet. Alex deserved to be the first one to know, but I didn’t feel like it was something that I could do over the phone.
“You should have told him,” Noah said, plopping down into the chair next to me.
I took a sip of the ginger tea I was drinking to try to settle my stomach some, but it wasn’t working.
“Told him what?” Did my goofball brother figure out that I was hiding a secret? I swallowed nervously. How do you tell a famous rock star that you met by fluke, that you were pregnant with his child, but that you didn’t expect anything from him? Although I was pretty sure if I told Alex, he’d be here in a heartbeat. He wouldn’t want the baby growing up without a mother or father. Not with his past.
“That you love him.”
“He’s got a life I’m not sure I could be a part of long term, Noah, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
“Your business could do better in the city, Ev.” He was trying to sound reasonable, but I didn’t want to hear it. Santa Claus was my home. I loved the small town. I didn’t want to leave my life here, and I didn’t want to raise my kid in the city.
“It’s not just that, Noah. We went into our relationship fully aware it was temporary. I’m not going to be that girl.”
“What girl?”
“The one that says she’s okay with the situation when she’s not, or the one that deludes herself into thinking she can change a man. That’s not me.” I swallowed hard. I refused to be that girl.
“Okay, Evie. I get it.” He held up his hands defensively when my voice strengthened, and my emotions got riled. I was irritated at myself and scared about the baby I was hiding. I was almost two months along already, and though Alex and I exchanged texts off and on through the last seven weeks, I had yet to let that little bomb drop, and I didn’t have a clue how to even go about doing it.
“I need your help,” Noah said quietly.
“What’s up?”
“I’ve been seeing Penelope since before Christmas.”
“Yeah.” I smiled, knowing where this was going. Noah had brought her around a few times since they started dating, and Penelope and I had buried the hatchet. We met up once a week for lunch, and we texted each other often, just checking in and chatting. Neither one of us mentioned the years we wasted being enemies when we could have been really good friends.
“I’m going to ask her to marry me on Valentine’s Day. You think you could pull a wedding together by then?”
Work. Something I could focus on and throw myself into. Hell yeah, I could do that. I smiled and gave Noah a big hug. “Valentine’s Day is in just over a week, Nimrod. You could have given me a little more warning.”
“Sorry.” He shrugged, “I just don’t want to wait any longer.”
“Does she know you are planning this?”
He shook his head and smiled. “No, but I know she’ll say yes.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I won’t let her say no.” Noah sent me a grin, and I felt a pang of jealousy that they were moving on together, while Alex and I were over before we really began.
“So, let me make sure I’m getting this right. You want me to throw together a wedding, where the bride has no idea she’s getting married until the day of the wedding, but make it perfect for her.”
