Page 27 of Camden

“You know, Rylie. She’s always late.” I glanced at the clock on the stove. It was already six. I figured she’d be another fifteen minutes.

“Also a gift,” Haley agreed.

“What’s a gift?” Rylie asked from behind me, making me toss the bowl of chips all over again.

“Apparently not Steph’s ability to hold on to some chips.” Hales swiped the chips covering her legs.

“Sorry, I didn’t get much sleep last night. I’m more jumpy than normal.” Which said something because I was always jumpy. “Plus, it doesn’t help that one of you is a bull in a china shop and the other is a ninja.”

“Oh, I could totally pull off a ninja get-up. All black. Leather.” Haley smirked.

Rylie grimaced. “I think you’re thinking of Catwoman, not a ninja. Besides, ever since that episode ofFriendswhere Ross gets stuck in the leather pants on a date, I can’t ever imagine them being a good idea.”

Haley contemplated it. “You’re right. Just regular black jeans instead.”

“You’re the bull, not the ninja,” I deadpanned.

Haley shrugged like it didn’t bother her at all. I’m sure it didn’t. She wouldn’t even call herself subtle, let alone anyone else. “Well, I am horny.”

“Don’t need to know that,” I said and dumped a new bag of chips in the bowl. “I’ll get it later.” Stepping over the crushed-up mess littering my kitchen floor, I walked around the breakfast bar into the living room, plopping down onto the old green couch I’d picked up at a thrift store.

Haley and Rylie followed behind with drinks and salsa. When they reached the living room, Haley handed us both a drink and took a seat on the floor, while Rylie sat on the couch next to me.

“So, how was the honeymoon? Was the resort beautiful?” I asked Rylie. She just got back, and I was dying to know everything.

Haley snorted. “She probably didn’t leave the hotel suite.”

“We left.” Rylie flushed a bright red. “A few times.”

“Can’t say I blame you. If I had a hot husband, I’d lock myself in a room with him for a week, too,” Haley said and honestly, I agreed with her. If I had someone that loved me as much as Mason loved Rylie, I wouldn’t leave the room either.

A picture of Cam flashed through my mind, but I pushed it away.

Rylie took a sip of water. I narrowed my eyes at the margarita sitting untouched on the table. “Not drinking tonight? You know you’re more than welcome to crash here.”

Rylie fiddled with the end of her long braid and bit her lip. “I’m actually not drinking.”

“Why? Did you get a weird stomach bug while you were in Mexico that made your stomach all crazy? You didn’t drink the water, right?” Haley joked.

“I have something in my stomach, but it’s not water from Mexico.”

Haley and I both looked at each other wide-eyed and turned back to Rylie. “Seriously?”

She threw her hands out. A gigantic smile spread across her face. “Surprise!”

“Ohmygod.” I rushed to say as Haley shrieked. Both of us hopped up to tackle her in hugs.

“Mason worked fast,” Haley said, but we both knew this wouldn’t have been planned. Rylie was very vocal with us about the fact she planned to save and do IVF when they were ready. A wave of concern hit me, but the look on her face told me everything I needed to know.

She was beyond ecstatic about this pregnancy.

“How far along are you?” I settled back down on the couch.

“I just found out right before the wedding, so roughly six-ish weeks. We haven’t told anybody but our families, you guys, and Cam.”

My face heated at the sound of his name, and small butterflies fluttered in my stomach. The more I thought about him, the harder it became to convince myself that not accepting a date was the right thing to do.

I met with my therapist after work the day before. I hadn’t seen her in a while and I was overdue for an appointment. I’d been doing a better job coping, but when I had the thought about not being enough for Cam, I knew I needed to talk to her.

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