Page 19 of Perfect Storm

I reach for Adam’s hand, and instantly everyone around us is forgotten. He leans towards me, brushing my hair back, and I smile. He frowns, still unsure if there is something wrong with me, or if everyone else on board has lost their damn mind. I squeeze his hand again.

“The cat is out of the bag.”

“Really?” He looks…happy. I thought he’d be mad. We’d discussed this and both agreed to keep it quiet for now. “Can I tell them?” he whispers, not so quietly.

Everyone else is quiet, waiting. I nod, and Adam turns around to face everyone.

“We’re having a baby. I’m gonna be a dad!” he yells.

A burst of cheers, handshakes and kisses ensues. I’m so overwhelmed I start to cry. Adam lifts me up, takes my seat, then pulls me back on to his lap. Elsa passes over more tissue, dabbing at her own eyes.

Elsa is right. Everyone on board is family, and they’re all as happy as we are. It will always be this way.

“As soon as we get back, family dinner okay, both sides,” Adam kisses my eyelids closed. “Jake is gonna lose his shit,” he adds happily. As will his parents, and Kiera, and my mom.

I feel guilty everyone knows before her. When we tell them, it will be special, more intimate. Not like this crazy bunch.

I wouldn’t change them for all the world.

Chapter 6

Ciro

I can’t wait for this flight to be over.

It takes an age for all the excitement and shrieking to die down. I offered my congratulations. I’m not a complete asshole, but I didn’t get drawn in. Nash didn’t either, choosing to takehis seat again as soon as he’d hugged Jenna and shook Adam’s hand.

Adrestia is a lot more reserved, too. She gets on with the other women but she’s not like them. Not to say the other women on board aren’t intelligent, but Adrestia is next level smart.

If I didn’t know any better, I would say she’s on the spectrum. She has a very analytical mind. She approaches problems most people would never consider.

Despite that side of her, there is another, and that is why she fits in with the group. She’s happy, cheerful is a better word. And thoughtful, she likes to make sure other people are comfortable and cared for where she is able. It is a product of what happened to her sister last year.

I looked at Nash differently when I learned about her sister’s illness. Adrestia confided it to me one night when we found ourselves together at the end of a party. She’d had a little too much to drink, but I never forced her into talking. We were just in the same space, comfortable enough that we didn’t need to fill the silence with empty words.

Then she brought up her sister, and it intrigued me to know what it was that made Nash run from her, only to figure out their misunderstanding and realize she was a much better fit for him than Riley ever was.

My fists clench at thoughts of that psycho bitch. Most people I meet piss me off, which is why I don’t have close friends. Riley is a special kind of twat.

I don’t rate her. I admit, the keyboards added to our sound, but I’m not saddened to see her gone and I believe our music can stand up without her.

No one listens to me, though. Declan arranged auditions for replacements. So far, we haven’t been able to agree on anyone.

I heard all about Riley’s plan to stab us in the back. I don’t know what Declan intends to do. If Nash gets his way, it will besweet fuck all. It irritates me. He will allow her to walk all over him. Again.

I’d been all for kicking her out when she dumped Nash and flaunted that rich asshole in front of him. The same rich asshole who dumped her months down the line once he got bored, and likely once he saw what a vapid bitch she is.

Nash could do so much better than her. I respect him more for taking up with Adrestia. She has substance where Riley is vacant. Intelligence where Riley is a dim-witted fuck. So yeah, not Riley’s biggest fan.

Plus, on a physical level, Riley is the quintessential ideal. Blond-haired, thin as a rail, but with a huge chest, pouty lips and big blue eyes. To me, she isn’t a patch on Adrestia.

And it's not that I'm attracted to Adrestia. It’s more about hating Riley so much I’d point out her flaws against other people’s attributes any day of the week.

No, my interests lie elsewhere, but I already know it’s pointless caring. I took my shot, and it didn’t work out. Our schedules didn’t allow for us to meet up regularly and she slipped through my fingers.

She’s happy now. I see it, but it doesn’t meanI’mhappy or eager to make friends with the guy she’s dating.

My eyes flit over to Brooke as she laughs and toasts her friend’s pregnancy, making a point of telling Jenna she will do all the drinking for the next seven months.

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