Page 169 of Power Play

“The women who say being pregnant is fun are out of their damn minds.” She rests a hand on her stomach and props her legs up on my coffee table. “I’m exhausted all the time. My feet are swollen. I’m hungry, but half the food I want to eat makes me nauseous.”

“You’re getting there,” Emmy says, and Maven glares at her.

“My due date cannot come fast enough. Don’t mention childbirth to me, though, because it’s terrifying. Someone else pick something to talk about.”

“How was the wedding, Piper?” Lexi asks. “I’m still pissed you didn’t send us a single photo while you were there.”

“The wedding was amazing. Liam’s family is wonderful. You all would love his sister, and I’m so glad I got to go.” I pause and swirl my wine around in my glass. “I think I did something stupid, though.”

“Is this like a tattoo situation? A drunken marriage situation?” Emmy asks, and I choke on my drink.

“Pardon? What made you say that?”

“I don’t know. I’m thinking about things people do that they might regret, and they came to mind.” She narrows her eyes and leans forward. “What are you hiding, Piper Mitchell?”

The only way to get their advice about everything that’s been on my mind is to tell them the whole story about what’s going on between us.

If Maverick can know, my friends can know, too.

“Okay.” I set my glass down and rub my hands over my thighs. “I haven’t been totally honest with you all. I told you about how I might have feelings for Liam, but I left out the part where I mentioned he’s kind of my husband?” It comes out like a question, an embarrassed squeak that makes my cheeks turn bright red. I touch my necklace and follow it up with a disbelieving laugh and a shake of my head. “So, yeah. That’s what’s been going on.”

“Oh, myfuckinggod. You are a sneaky little bitch.” Lexi gapes at me. “Are you fucking serious?”

“Since when?” Maven challenges. “I swear to god if you say it’s been months, I’m going to be pissed.”

“In my defense, I didn’t want to upstage Emmy’s wedding, but…” I trail off and clear my throat. “New Year’s Eve in Vegas?”

“Vegas? That wasweeksago.” Emmy stands up and puts her hands on her hips. “You better start talking, Mitchell.”

And I do.

I tell them about everything from the insurance to the time Liam came over and helped with my migraine. I mention the moment we had on the balcony in Spain, and when I stop to take a breath, my head is killing me.

“That’s what I mean by doing something stupid. At the rehearsal dinner, I said something to Liam about how the last time I was in a relationship, the last time I thought I had found my forever, it went up in smoke. He didn’t say anything about those hesitations. He didn’t reassure me, and itterrifiedme. Itook it as a sign he’d never want that with me, and I closed up after that.”

Maven wraps her arm around my shoulder, and I bite my lip to keep from crying. “Oh, sweetie.”

“It’s all so stupid. It’s only supposed to be something physical, and I went and caught feelings. Do I have feelings for Liam? Do I have feelings for any man who treats me better than Steven? We communicate so well about everything else, but I have no clue how to be honest about my emotions.”

“Okay. I don’t have a lot of experience with relationships, so take what I’m going to say with a grain of salt. But how is a relationship different from what you’re doing right now?” Lexi asks. “You spend time together. You sleep together. You’re not seeing anyone else. There’s no way there’s notsomesort of attachment on his end.”

“Maybe there is. I don’t know. That would require a conversation about everything, and in the few days that we’ve been home from our trip, we’re both overloaded with work.”

“So make time to talk,” Maven says. “Tell each other how you’re feeling and decide where it goes from there.”

“We’re going to get together at team dinner this week. I miss him.” I laugh and touch my necklace again, the chain cool against my fingers. “And I don’t mean in a romantic sort of way. I miss him as a friend, and Ijustsaw him.”

“That’s good though. Missing people is a normal human emotion, Piper.”

“I know it is. I hate to keep bringing Steven up, but it’s hard not to compare what I’m going through right now with what I went through then. They can’t be more different. Liam’s priorities are like his though, with work coming first. With being dedicated to his career to the point of putting other parts of his life on the back-burner. Would he do that with me? Would he even be able to balance me with everything else?”

“Before you play that game, you need to figure out how Liam feels,” Maven says gently. “A conversation will help, and beinghonestin that conversation is important.”

“God. This all kind of sucks, doesn’t it?”

“It does. But the other side of it is fun.” Emmy smiles. “It’s nice to be wanted and cared for.”

“Do you have a ring?” Lexi looks at my hand. “I haven’t seen you wear anything.”

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