Page 32

32

P aisley

Rebecca screams and jumps up and down when she sees me walk through Arrivals. She runs up to me and hugs me tightly.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” Her voice is shrill, and her eyes are shining when she pulls back. “You look great. A little tired but really great.” She hugs me again. “I’m so glad you’re back.”

“Yeah, I am a little pooped. And yes, I’m back, but it won’t be for long.” I give her a pointed look.

“Stay. Don’t leave again, please.”

I start pushing my luggage cart toward the exit, and Becs follows. “I still have to find another job, but I am leaving, Becs. I can’t stay for more than a few weeks.” I stop pushing. “Are you sure you’re okay with me staying with you guys?”

“Of course.” She laughs. “Don’t be silly.”

“What about Dave? Is he fine with it?”

“You know Dave, Mr. Super Chilled.” She waves a hand. “He doesn’t mind at all.”

I start pushing my cart again. “Are you saying that you didn’t have to threaten him with withholding sex to get him to agree?”

She laughs. “Nothing like that. You’re welcome anytime and for as long as you want.”

“Okay, then, because I could stay with Megan.”

Becs gives me a pointed look and pops the trunk of her car. “I know you love your sister and that she loves you even more, but the two of you would end up fighting like cats and dogs within a few days.”

I nod. “You’re right. We would.” I hoist the first bag into the trunk.

“And your folks would drive you nuts.”

“They would.” I load the second one in as well. “I’m not sure why my dad still insists on cutting that tiny patch of lawn outside my old bedroom window at seven in the morning. He does it all the time. It’s a wonder grass even grows there.” I roll my eyes, but I’m smiling because I love my dad.

She laughs. “Exactly.” She puts her arm around me. “Nope, you’re staying with me. I know it won’t be for long, but I’m making the most of it. Let’s get going. Your room is ready for you.”

We get into her Hyundai Tucson and Becs pulls out of the parking. When we reach the road, she indicates and pulls into traffic.

“So, what happened?” Becs glances my way before putting her eyes back on the road. “You were very cryptic about why you resigned. Didn’t you enjoy it as much as you thought you would? I mean, if you wanted to come home, you wouldn’t be applying for other positions abroad.”

“I liked it. Actually, I loved it. I loved everything about the island, and more than I ever thought I would.”

“What happened? Why did you leave?”

I swallow thickly. “I slept with my boss, and we got caught.”

The car veers a little left before Rebecca corrects it. “What the…? Say what? You did what now?” She glances at me and then the road and back at me. “Perhaps a little warning would have been nice. I might have crashed the car.”

“Maybe telling you right now wasn’t the best idea. We can wait until we get to your place.”

She laughs. “Are you kidding me? Holy shit, Paisley. You slept with your boss. As in, you had sex? You need to tell me everything right now.”

“Why is that so hard to believe?” I’m laughing, too. “Yes, I had sex.”

“Because Jim left you two years and ten months ago, and you haven’t so much as looked at another man in all that time. Well, until now, that is.”

“I told you that leaving Cedar Pines was a good idea. That it would be good for me, and it was.”

“You were right. Out with it. Give me the lowdown.”

I can’t tell her everything, but I stick to the facts as much as possible. “So, I ended up resigning,” I end with.

“This Arctic guy – that’s an insane name, by the way. I still can’t get over that part.”

“It’s a remote island. There are quite a few weird names. I like it. It actually suits him.”

“Okay, if you say so. Anyway, he sounds like a total asshole. You’re saying that you were forced to resign?”

“No, it wasn’t like that at all. He didn’t want me to leave. He tried hard to get me to agree to stay, but I couldn’t. Thing is, Cathy would’ve outed us, and since sexual relations with a direct superior is against company policy, I would have been fired. Everyone would have found out about it, which I didn’t want to have happen. It would have been a strike against my name.”

That isn’t the reason at all, but since I can’t tell her about the castle and about Arctic being the king, I leave it at that.

“So you resigned?”

“Yes, I told Arctic that I was resigning. I insisted. I handed him my resignation, but only on the condition that they pay me for the full length of my contract.”

Again, it didn’t happen that way. It was Arctic who insisted I get paid out, but I can’t go there.

Rebecca squeals. “So, you’re rich.”

“Hardly.” I laugh. “But it’s a decent chunk of change.”

“And Cathy still has her job?”

“Technically, she didn’t do anything wrong. I knew she was there to try to get into Arctic’s pants, but it’s my word against hers.” I shrug. “Anyway, it is what it is.”

“You’re okay, though?” Rebecca glances my way a few times. “Because I’m picking up vibes.”

Becs indicates and takes the exit to Cedar Pines. The trip won’t be too long now. I’m glad since I feel like I could sleep for a week. The last few days have been rough.

“I’m fine,” I finally say.

Becs makes this noise like she isn’t buying it. “Fine? Really? What’s going on, Paisley?”

I burst into tears.

“Oh, crap! Oh, no. You can’t cry while I’m driving.”

I flap my hand and dig in my bag for a Kleenex. “I’m fine. I’m being silly.”

“You’re upset. You’re not being silly. What’s going on? There’s more, isn’t there?”

“I think I fell for him a little.”

“The CEO you were sleeping with?”

“Yes, Arctic.” I laugh while blowing my nose. “Who else would I have fallen for if not the guy I was sleeping with? Surely it’s too soon to have feelings for someone?”

“I knew from the first time I met Dave that I was going to marry him. It was instant.”

“You never told me that before.”

She shrugs. “I didn’t want you to think I was a weirdo.”

“I wouldn’t have thought that. Although you are a weirdo.” We both start laughing as Becs pulls into her driveway and switches the car off. She turns to me, her seatbelt still in place.

“Funny how I met Dave just when I was beginning to think I was never going to meet someone. I mean, my thirtieth birthday had come and gone already. And then boom…there he was, and I just knew. I knew!”

“And now you’re getting married soon. It’s all so exciting. How are the wedding plans coming along?”

“They’re not.” My friend’s eyes fill with tears.

“Oh, my god! What’s going on? Did something happen between you and Dave? Surely not. I’ve never met two people so right for each other.”

“It’s not that. It’s not us… Well, not really, but something has happened.” She waves a hand in front of her face, trying to dry up the threatening tears.

“What’s going on, Becs?”

“I’ve been so worried about having this conversation with you. I didn’t think it would happen now…not so soon.” She swallows, clutching her hands together in her lap and chewing her lip. “I thought I was going to have to tell you over the phone.”

She looks nervous and fidgety. It’s unlike her and quite worrying. “What is it?”

“It’s still really early days. Not early, early days, but early enough not to…” She stops talking, lifting her eyes like she’s trying to find the right words.

That’s when it hits me. I know what’s going on. I know why she’s so nervous, so worried, so stressed. There’s only one thing that would make her feel this way because Becs and I can talk about anything. We’re that close. She’s that good of a friend to me. It’s precisely for that reason that she’s struggling.

“You’re pregnant,” I blurt.

Her eyes flare with surprise. “Oh, my god, how did you guess? I know I’m not glowing in any way. It’s still too early to show.” A tear slips out of her eye. “I’m so sorry, Paisley. This wasn’t supposed to happen right now. It was all planned out. We were going to get married first. It—”

I smile. “I think it’s great. I think it’s an absolute blessing.” My eyes fill with tears, too, and they spill out. “These are tears of joy, just by the way. I swear it.” I smile harder. “You’re going to make the best mom, and Dave is awesome. I’m thrilled. I can’t wait to be an auntie.”

“What do you mean auntie? You’re going to be the godmother, which is about ten steps above an auntie.”

“I can’t wait.”

We hug.

“How far along are you?”

“Eight weeks tomorrow. I completely missed my menstruation and didn’t even realize it. Can you believe that?”

“You were already preggo when I left?” I gasp.

She nods. “Yup. It was only just over a week ago, when I vomited all over the conference table at work during a team meeting, that I realized something might be off.”

I laugh, and Becs joins in.

“I thought I had a tummy bug. I thought my doctor was crazy for doing a pregnancy test. It still never occurred to me since I’m on a contraceptive, but that test came back positive.”

“How does Dave feel about it? He must be thrilled.”

“Oh, he is; he’s so excited. He can’t wait to go shopping for all the baby goodies and to do up the nursery. We have to get through the wedding first, though. I still need to organize the flowers and find shoes that work with my dress. There is a whole list of things, but I’ve been tired and soooooo nauseous.”

“I’ll help you with all of that stuff. I have to pay rent somehow, and since you won’t accept cash...”

“You’re a godsend,” she groans. “I’m going to take you up on that. I also need to change the flavor of my wedding cake. I ordered double chocolate, but I’m chocolate-averse now that I have a bun in the oven. That vomit on the conference table might have happened after I ate two bars of the stuff. I had a craving. Anyway, now I have this aversion to all things chocolate.”

I laugh. “So, it wasn’t just a regular vomit; you had a chocolate vomit on the conference table?”

She nods. “And there were still peas and carrots inside it, even though I hadn’t eaten any. Can you think of anything worse?”

I make a gagging noise, then shake my head, laughing some more.

“I might have to change my dress, as well.” She makes a face. “My breasts have already gone up a size, and I will probably have a small baby bump by the time I walk down the aisle, so that sleek fit-and-flare number I chose is not going to work anymore.” She pushes out a breath.

“None of that matters. You’re marrying the man you love and having his baby. We’ll sort the rest out.”

“I know. I’m excited and happy and so terrified.”

“You’re going to rock at being a mother.” We hug.

“I think we should probably get out of the car now, or my neighbors will start to talk. Someone might call the neighborhood watch.” Becs grins at me, undoing her seatbelt.

We laugh again. I’ve missed her so much. I’m so happy for her. She deserves everything and more.

We get out of the car. “I’ll make some ginger tea, and then I want you to tell me all about Arctic,” she says over the roof.

“Nah…there’s nothing much to tell. I was falling for him, and now it’s over. I’ll be a little heartsore for a while, but I’ll get over it soon enough. It was just a fling.”

“If you ever need to talk, you know I’m here.”

“I know.”

It was just a fling. I do need to get over it. I just wish I didn’t feel so alone…so empty. I need to get on with my life. I need a plan and then I need to action it.