Page 7 of Why Not Forever?

“I’m so happy for you, Spencer,” I say.

When everyone has gotten past the initial excitement, we settle back in the living room.

Daze wipes her eyes and asks, “When are you due?”

“January 13th,” Lis says, accepting a glass from Spencer.

“How long have you known?” Sophie asks.

“A couple months,” Spencer admits. “That was my fault, though. I wanted it to be just ours for a little while.” He smiles at Lis and the look they share is so full of love.

“Wait,” I say. “So you knew in May? What about when we went out for drinks before the start of wedding season? And last month at Derek’s house for game night?”

Lis gives me a sly smile. “When we went out for drinks, I talked to the bartender at the beginning. She knew I was pregnant and that mine were going to be virgin daiquiris. As for Derek’s house…”

Spencer picks up the story. “We saved an empty wine bottle. I rinsed it and filled it with apple juice.”

“You were drinking apple juice out of a wine glass?” I ask.

Lis laughs. “I’m drinking sparkling apple juice out of this champagne glass,” she says, holding it up. “It was easy. You guys all drink beer. I don’t usually. Rum drinks when I’m out, wine when I’m in.” She shrugs. “I simply asked to hold the rum and switched the wine for something that looks similar. No one noticed a thing.”

We talk for a while about their plans to turn the spare bedroom into a nursery, but also how they plan to have a bassinet in their bedroom for a while because Lis wants to breastfeed and doesn’t want to get up and walk to the other side of the apartment at night. They’re on the fence about whether they want to find out the sex of the baby, and already have a few names picked out, all of them movie related, which fits for them.

Daze and Sophie talk about their plans for children. They’ve talked to a doctor at the fertility clinic near Vancouver General Hospital and will be going ahead with a first round of artificial insemination soon. Daze holds up crossed fingers.

“Hopefully I won’t be too far behind you,” she says.

This is exactly what I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself. I’ve been lonely lately. With all my friends paired up, I’ve felt like a third wheel. Or, in the case of my friend group, a seventh. But one thing I’ve never wanted is a baby. I don’t have any envious feelings at all, so I’m just excited that I’m going to be an aunt. Which helps remind me of the family I’ve helped create with all these friends.

We finish the evening and Daze and Sophie decide to take an Uber back to their apartment, so I share it with them, getting dropped off at my beach-front building. I wave good night and go up, letting myself inside. It’s dark and quiet and holds a feeling of emptiness that settled in when Spencer moved out. These days, it’s getting harder to ignore.

Chapter 3

Tanner

EarlyMondaymorning,Istand outside the Blue Vista building, my back leaned against the wall next to the door, staring out at the sparkling water of English Bay. They really have prime real estate, and I know the building is owned by the business. It was a smart decision on their behalf, but knowing the four people who own and operate Blue Vista Events, I expect nothing less than smart decisions.

I’d told Richard, at the end of our dinner, that I would be taking the morning off to figure out the logistics of marrying Vic. I’m not sure what he thinks that means, but he was happy to give me the morning if it meant I’m going to do what he wants. I’m certain he doesn’t know what I’m about to do, though.

The thing is, Vic hasn’t willingly talked to me since the day I got the job with her father. After the fallout, I considered declining the offer. Was a job I hadn’t started yet worth losing the woman I’d had a crush on for two years? In the end, I’d taken it for a lot of reasons. I had student loans that needed to be paid, and it was the best opportunity to come my way out of the dozens of applications I’d sent out. Richard makes it very difficult to say no to him. Besides, the damage had already been done.

“Tanner? Is that you?” a warm voice calls to me from down the sidewalk. I turn to see Adalie, the HR Coordinator of Blue Vista Events, and one of the four owners.

I’d met Vic and Spencer shortly before starting our MBA program and we had really hit it off. At first, I’d wondered if they were together, but it was clear very quickly they weren’t. Once we started the MBA, we met Derek and Adalie. The four of them had done a project together during one of the most difficult courses in the program and had come out as best friends. I was not part of that project. Sometimes, I wish I had been.

“Hey, Adalie. How are you doing?” I ask, straightening from the wall and opening my arms. Adalie is a hugger and I’m always happy to oblige. She’s a tiny woman with curly red hair and bright green eyes.

We hug and I hook a thumb in the direction she had come. “You driving to work these days?”

She wrinkles her nose. “Yeah. It’s pretty much the only drawback—oh, I guess you don’t know. I moved in with my boyfriend last month. Sold my place. We’re still discussing what I should do with the money, if I should buy into his house or invest it somewhere else.” She shrugs, like having a large sum of money isn’t a big deal to her.

Adalie didn’t grow up poor, but she didn’t grow up rich either. Not the way Vic and Spencer grew up. But I guess, being around people who know how to manage money can be very beneficial.

“So, what are you doing here?” she asks.

“I came to talk to Vic. I was working up the courage to go inside.”

Adalie laughs and links her arm through mine, tugging me with her.

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