Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
I mean…they were gonna throw some popcorn.
Halfway into the movie, the Quad was dark, all the kids were engrossed in the superheroes, and I had absolutely nothing to do. So it was great timing for Soph to text me and say she was on her way with Teddy. Apparently, he had exciting news for me that couldn’t wait till tomorrow when we were supposed to have our next sleepover.
I gave it five minutes before I climbed off the picnic table. “Hey. I’ll take a quick break.”
Adrian looked up from his phone. “You’re going to leave me alone with these wild hellions?”
I grinned. “Yeah, we’ll see if you survive.”
He chuckled under his breath and returned to his phone.
The late-afternoon sun wasn’t bright enough to bother with shades, and I didn’t feel as tired now either. A donut and two cups of coffee had done the trick, for the most part.
Soph was pulling into a parking spot just as I stepped outside. I walked toward them and scratched my bicep absently, noticing that Blake wasn’t with them. He wasn’t supposed to be, but anyway.
Teddy bolted out of the car and ran closer with the biggest grin on his face.
“Feel my smile, Bastian! Feel my smile!”
Hot damn, something really good must’ve happened. It’d been ages since he’d told us to feel his smile. When he was younger, it happened all the time. He’d lose his words and told people to feel his smile in order to convey how happy he was. It was fucking adorable.
I threw my arms around him as he crashed into me, and I hugged him tightly.
“You look very happy, buddy.”
“So, so, so happy—feel!” He peered up at me.
I smiled and dipped down, knowing the drill from so many times in the past. Forehead-to-forehead, my hand over his mouth.
“I feel it,” I murmured and let my hand fall. “What made you this happy?”
He squinted and kept smiling. “Dylan is my dad now.”
For the love of— It felt like I was reading one of the chick-lit dramas my sister sometimes sent. Not much made me emotional, but Christ. I squeezed him to me and told him how happy I was for them. My whole chest felt tight, but it was a good feeling. Part of it was relief, too—a testament to Dylan’s devotion. He wasn’t going anywhere.
“Come on. I wanna hear the details from Momma,” I said, clearing my throat. I blinked past the sting in my eyes and made sure to compose my face before he could worry that something was wrong. It devastated him when others were upset, and he didn’t fully grasp the concept of happy tears.
Soph was still seated behind the wheel. The door was wide open, and she had her left leg hanging out.
“I didn’t get farther than this,” she said and made a face.
I chuckled and squatted down. “Teddy told me the good news. Congratulations.”
“Momma, can I play over there?” Teddy pointed toward the lawn next to the Quad.
She glanced over there, then nodded. “Just stay where we can see you.”
“Okay!” Then he was off.
Soph and I sighed and faced each other again. But her sigh didn’t sound as contented as mine. On the other hand, she was carrying around a watermelon in her belly, and she was constantly uncomfortable.
“I take it Dylan’s over the moon, too?”
She smiled softly and nodded. “It was a really sweet moment. I had to excuse myself, obviously, because you know—” She rolled her eyes and motioned for the waterworks. “Dylan brought it up several months ago—right after we found out I was pregnant, actually. He said he was all in and how that included Teddy…” She trailed off and swallowed hard, close to tears.
I rubbed her knee and observed her, because there was something else going on. It wasn’t all sunshine and roses.
“Anyway.” She cleared her throat and placed a hand over her belly. “We agreed to let it happen naturally. When the moment presented itself, he’d talk to Teddy. And this morning during breakfast, Teddy was rambling about a field trip he’s going on next week with his care group. And he mentioned that a few of his friends’ parents had signed up as volunteers—like Bastian does at the Quad, he said.”
Yeah, that would be a good opportunity.
“I’m sorry.” She sniffled and quickly looked away as a tear spilled over. “Hormones.”
“And that was bullshit. Tell me what’s wrong, hon.” I gave her knee a little squeeze. “There’s something else.”
That seemed to break the levees. She covered her face with her hands and let out a sob.
Worry shot straight through me. What the fuck had happened?
“I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” she cried into her hands. “I don’t know how to tell Dylan.”
Jesus Christ, I was gonna blow a fuse if she didn’t tell me soon. Had someone been hurt? Had someone lied? Was someone fucking dying? Dylan didn’t have any grandparents left, but his parents were alive and well—two brothers, too. And their own families and whatnot. Or was it something about his job? Had someone called while he was at work?