Page 37 of Oops, I'm Having My Best Friend’s Baby!

Amy was speechless, absolutely speechless. But that was fine because Kai took the opportunity to keep talking. Apparently, he had frustrations of his own that needed venting.

“I just don’t understand,” he said, “why you willingly make your life as difficult as possible as if it’s some sort of badge of honor to do everything the long way around. And I would maybe get it if you didn’t accept help from anyone else, but you were thrilled when Lily gave out all those recommendations. So that’s fine? But me, your best friend, after everything we’ve been through, I’m not allowed to do exactly the same thing? For what? It makes absolutely no sense. It just makes you a martyr to your own struggles. Your business could achieve unbelievable greatness, Amy. But you have to accept help or you’re going to end up burning out beyond repair.”

It felt like a knife in the gut to listen to him, to hear how hurt he was that she’d said no to his help, even though she’d tried to explain why. It hurt worse to know that he was right. She had been so hypocritical in accepting help from Lily but not him that it was like a road rash scraping her raw from the inside out. Unfortunately, the hurt only fanned the flames of her anger, doing absolutely nothing to diffuse the situation.

“It’s not about that,” she said, her voice still icy.

“Then what is it about?”

“It’s about how I asked you not to do it. I asked you not to. Specifically, this one thing. I asked you not to do it, and you did it anyway.”

“I just wanted to help you,” Kai said. “To give you a leg up.”

“But I didn’t want a leg up. I wanted to stand on my own two feet, and if I failed, then that was fine because I knew it was all just me anyway. So how many of these other job offers I’ve been getting have been because of you?”

Kai was still determined not to meet her eyes, and that was enough to give her at least some of an idea.

“Kai?”

“I’m not sure because I asked them not to mention my recommendation.”

That was the kicker, right there. And it really did feel like she’d been kicked in the gut, full force by a raging bull. She had been so angry as she’d read that email. The rage and the hurt had been brewing in her blood, ready to boil over the second they were alone together, and now… it was like a switch had been flipped somewhere deep inside, and she no longer felt anything at all. All she felt was cold. Numb. Well, that was a good thing, wasn’t it? It was going to make the rest of this a whole lot easier.

“Right,” she said and started walking up towards the main street.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“Home. I’ll get a taxi.”

“Amy…” he said, pleading. But there was nothing he could say that would get her to turn around. Right now, he was the last thing on this planet that she wanted to see. She still didn’t let herself cry. That would have to wait until she was home.

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