Page 71 of Claimed by my Bestie's Dad

I hold up a hand, cutting her off. “It doesn’t matter. You don’t need to apologize. I’m dealing with it.”

But she does anyway. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble between you two.”

Trouble. That’s one way of putting it. Ever since Aurora found out, she hasn’t spoken to me since… Well, since she came over and yelled in my face. She’s another person in my list of text chats who won’t respond.

“I appreciate you telling me, but it’s done. There’s nothing we can do about it now. I need to get back to work.”

There’s actually nothing Ineedto do right now, but Idon’t want to continue having this conversation. Maybe now that she’s gotten her confession off her chest, she will stop coming after me trying to talk. Man, I have learned a lesson for sure– don’t trust anyone with anything personal.

She hesitates, like she wants to say something else, but I’m already turning away. I’ve got patients to take care of, and I can’t afford to let my personal life bleed into the job.

As I walk away, my mind starts to race. I still have a couple of minutes before I have to check in with the patient in the corner room again.

I pull out my phone to see if Madison has responded to the text I sent. No. Nothing. I even close out the messaging app and open it up again, just to make sure it’s not a refreshing problem or something.

No, she definitely hasn’t responded.

I sigh and type out another message, even though it makes me feel desperate. But as soon as I think of getting my hands on that perfect property and fixing it up with a good coat of paint, I get excited again.

Madison might not want a relationship with me, but she deserves her dream business.

So, feeling a little bit like a high school boy with a crush, I finally send a follow-up message.Hope you’re doing okay, Working a shift at the hospital. Can I bring you some coffee when I get off?

She won’t see the message until the dogs wake her up early, begging to be taken outside. But it might be a nice surprise for her to see the message and know I’m coming soon with coffee. There’s no way she can turn down hot coffee, right?

I shove my phone in my pocket and turn my mind back to my duties. If Madison will just respond to one of my texts,then I’ll be back on track to giving her the best Christmas present ever.

As for Aurora, we’ll work things out. We always do.

34

MADISON

The knockat my front door isn’t expected, but as soon as I open it, I see Stella, Mia, Zoe, and…Aurora. My heart races as I stand frozen in the doorway. There’s an awkward silence as all four of them exchange glances, clearly aware of how tense this is about to get.

Part of me wants to just shut the door again in their faces. It’s been hard enough to deal with discovering I’m pregnant. I’m going to have to tell Ethan at some point, but I haven’t found the courage yet.

But now, everyone is here, and they look like they’re expecting something.

Zoe is the first to speak, her voice softer than usual. “Hey, Maddie. Can we come in?”

I hesitate for just a second, then step aside, allowing them to enter. These are my friends. Why do I feel so afraid of what they have to say?

Has Zoe told them I’m pregnant? I don’t think she would betray me, but they all look like they’re carrying a secret.

Stella is the first to make herself at home. She sits on the couch and scratches Samson heartily behind the ears.

Everyone else follows suit—Mia sits, and then Aurora. Zoe sits down last. Finally, it’s just me standing with my hands crossed over my chest. I slowly sink onto the arm of the sofa, picking the one that is farthest from Aurora.

Mia nudges Aurora slightly. “Aurora has something to say.”

Aurora’s eyes flicker toward me, and for a split second, I see the vulnerability in them. But then her walls go back up, her expression hardening again. “I’m sorry.”

I lean forward, trying to make sure I really heard her. Besides, if she just apologized to me, that was the least enthusiastic apology I’ve ever heard.

It’s clear that she’s been pushed into this by the others, and while I appreciate the effort, it doesn’t feel real. It doesn’t feel like the kind of apology that can fix our friendship of nearly twenty years.

I sit there, my heart aching, but all I can manage to say is, “Okay.”

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