Page 157 of Everything After

“You sound like a raging misogynist, Rick. You’d play your part in taking care of our child, but of course I’d take parental responsibility while you go do your jobs,” she responded, nodding.

“What about me?” Lennie muttered. “She’d need time with me as well.”

“She? Who? Coral?” Rick queried.

“The baby,” Lennie muttered.

“Oh, so we’re already having a girl? Do any names spring to mind?” Rick bantered.

“I’ve always wanted a little girl named Pixie,” Coral disclosed.

“Are you fucking serious? No kid of mine is being called Pixie.”

“So… you’re going to have a baby, Coral?” I interjected, bringing the conversation back to a less acrimonious level.

Rick shrugged, glanced toward Coral, who grinned widely, then to Lennie who scowled before Rick spoke. “Listen, there’s nothing we can’t do. It’ll just take a bit of planning that’s all.” The second he’d finished voicing his reasoning, his eyes flared wide, indicating he was just as surprised as I was, by his statement.

“Really?” Coral said with stars in her eyes.

“But let’s not be hasty about this. We’ll take a breather, reconvene on this topic in a couple of weeks. If we’re all still on board then we’ll let nature take its course,” Rick muttered, backtracking.

“The course as in no contraception and take pot luck who’s the daddy?” Lennie muttered. “That’s the only way I’d agree to having a kid.”

“I wouldn’t have put it like that, but if you’re up for the challenge, I’ll take my chances,” Rick said. “I’m undoubtedly the alpha here… I’m bound to have the strongest swimmers.”

The interaction between the throuple made me laugh, because Rick had been adamant for years that he’d never tie himself down. Yet, there he was, talking babies not with one permanent partner but two.

“Any chance we can have a conversation?” Cody asked, taking an at ease stance beside me and crossing his arms. I noted he’d waited until Lily had left the room.

Until Cody came to ask, I could have sworn he was avoiding me.

“Find your balls?” Rick asked, chuckling.

“Leave it,” Lennie warned Rick.

As Lily was feeding our son, I figured now was as good a time as any, so I nodded. I gestured toward the patio. Letting him lead the way, I followed, closing the glass doors behind me.

“Congratulations, Charlie’s gorgeous,” Cody said, eyeing me carefully.

“Thanks, I think you’re the first person in Lily’s band to say it. Everyone’s been here about an hour now, and I guess with the strained atmosphere, the happy occasion got lost in all of that.”

“I know we’ve had our differences lately, but I really am sorry for what happened with the paparazzi that day. The allegation about me and Lily came out of left field. I had no idea about that influencer until the question was posed right before I was getting on a plane.”

“Yeah, but no comment to something like that was like pouring gasoline on a tinder-dry, wooden barn.”

Cody’s guilty expression and cloudy gaze showed me how regretful he was by how the media reacted to his sideswipe comment.

“I know you had nothing to do with it now. Sienna already confessed that she’d started the rumor.”

“Yeah, I saw that video piece you did.”

“You were seeing her?” I asked.

“’Was’ being the operative word. I’d never go after someone that does that to her friend.”

I nodded, but at the same time Lily was his friend, and he had constantly tried to get in the middle of us. I’d obviously stared too long, only realizing this when Cody shifted his feet and stuffed his hands deep into his pockets.

“I should cut you some slack,” I muttered in a moment of clarity. “I have no idea what loving someone who’ll never love you back feels like. But I can imagine it feels like shit.”