Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Her head ducks, as if she’s ashamed to show me that vulnerability.
Something inside me cracks wide open. I slide an arm around her shoulders and pull her in, no hesitation. She fits against me like she’s been there a hundred times, her forehead pressed to my chest. I rub slow circles on her arm, the top of her head tucked under my chin. She doesn’t move, doesn’t shake with sobs, but I can feel the pain through our touch.
“You’re not temporary,” I murmur. My throat feels raw, but I mean every damn word. “Not to me. Not to Grayce.”
She tilts her head up, eyes shining, but I can tell she’s unwilling to let any more tears slip free. We’re close, so close I can see the flecks of dark blue in her irises, feel the motion of her breath against my mouth. The air feels thick with everything we haven’t said.
My eyes drop to her mouth, and I start to lean, just a fraction, and so does she—
Grayce squeals.
We both jerk back, our heads angling toward the baby. She’s gripping the side of the stroller, wobbling as she pulls herself upright. Her face is determined, scrunched with effort. Then, with a tiny grunt, she lets go—
We both suck in air, hold it tight and wait to see what she does.
Which isn’t much.
She sways slightly back, then forward again, then back once more before plopping down on her diaper-padded butt on the edge of the blanket.
“So close,” I lament.
Grayce lets out a stream of what might be baby curses and claps her hands. Maddie’s face is lit with pure joy, her eyes locked on me like she doesn’t know whether to laugh or fall apart.
And in that second, I want to kiss her so badly my hands shake. Instead, I scoop up our little girl and push her right into Maddie’s arms so she can have a moment to celebrate the almost milestone of walking. I watch as Maddie cuddles Grayce into her, keenly aware that’s a feeling Maddie herself probably never had.
She glances at me and I see a tinge of embarrassment in her smile. We didn’t kiss, but we both know we’re toeing a dangerous line.
I don’t know what that means, only that I’m not going to shove that in a back corner to be ignored.
CHAPTER 16
Maddie
I sit in my car across the street from the restaurant and watch the steel and glass high-rises of downtown Pittsburgh flash in the late-morning sun. I imagine the scene inside… clinking glasses, women’s laughter and fluffy pancakes.
Brunch, Winnie had said. Casual. Come as you are.
As I am is sweaty-palmed and two seconds from bailing.
My phone buzzes with a text from Atlas. You’ve got this. Say yes to the mimosa.
He knows how painfully awkward this is for me, and he’s not wrong to push me to do this. Deep down, I know it.
A second text comes in before I can respond. A photo of Grayce grinning with a foam Titans’ finger someone clearly dug out of a closet. Go, Mom. We’re rooting for you.
“Traitor,” I mutter, but my mouth is already curving and my chest floods with warmth, not just from the word mom but from Atlas’s inclusive declaration of support.
We’re.
As in… we.
A team.
I take a breath and exit my car, crossing the street at a crosswalk. I take another breath and pull open the door. The scent of citrus and coffee hits me, completely welcoming and strangely grounding. A host barely gets out “Good morning” before a brunette with a topknot pops up in the middle of the dining room and windmills both arms like she’s guiding a plane to the gate.
Winnie.
“Maddie! Over here!” She’s already weaving between tables, a walking sunbeam, and then I’m being tugged toward a long banquette under a wall of windows. Four other women turn, smiling like they’ve been waiting for me.
Winnie squeezes me into the end seat and starts introductions before I can get nervous. “You met me. I’m the chaotic one. This is Penn’s girlfriend, Mila. She’ll feed you even if you say no.”
Mila’s blue eyes are warm. “You can say no. I just won’t hear it.”
“Willa,” Winnie continues, “our resident doctor, dates King, and is often the wild card at these brunches.”
Willa salutes with her straw. “I only ordered one weird thing today. Probably. Hi.”
“Mazzy,” Winnie goes on, “sparkles in human form. She’s got the voice of an angel and just got engaged to Foster.”
Mazzy literally shimmers in a sequined tee. She leans in. “I already love you, I can tell. Is that too much, too soon?”
“Tempe,” Winnie says, pointing at a poised redhead with a surgeon’s watch and a knowing smile. “She’s currently crazy enough to love Rafferty. She sees all, knows all, and is all.”
Tempe shakes her head. “Nope. Just good at reading people. Hi, Maddie.”