Page 85 of Infinite
We both laugh and catch up on her life. She and Ben are doing great, which I expected, and she’s thinking of getting her license to practice law down here, which I didn’t expect. She seems to love working for Jackson and Mark. I really thought she’d stay there.
“Do you think you’ll leave Cole?”
“No, I love it there, but Ben and I work together all day and then come home and there’s no real separation. I’d like to start a family . . .”
She trails off, and I reach for her hand. “You don’t have to feel bad about starting a family, Gretchen.”
“I don’t want to hurt your feelings.”
I have the greatest friends in the world. I’ve always known I was lucky, but I didn’t know how much.
“You’re not,” I say with so much sincerity that it almost brings tears to my eyes. She’s not hurting my feelings for wanting to start her family, and that thought alone is beautiful.
“You look wonderful, just . . . happy and, oh, Ash. I was so worried, and I want you to be okay.”
I feel wonderful. Quinn and I got home yesterday, and he spent the entire day making good on his promises to make me scream. After a lot of really fantastic sex, we started making the house into a home.
It wasn’t until we were in the middle of it that I really saw how much I needed it. We were living out of boxes in New York for a while and then I felt so lost that I didn’t care about this house. Looking at it through a new lens, I really can appreciate everything that Natalie made sure it had.
As we unpacked, I felt as though the clouds were lifting and the sun found its way through our windows.
“I’m not all the way there, I won’t even pretend I am, but I am happy. Quinn and I are back together and things are good. I’m working again, and I can talk about babies without my heart feeling like it’s being ripped out. There are moments when it’s hard, mostly on days that I know would have been a mile marker for her or if I think about what she might have looked like.”
“She? I didn’t know you knew.”
“It was a girl. Clara told me the other day when I was finally able to ask.”
Gretchen’s lips lift into a small smile. “Well, if she was anything like her mother, she was sure to be a hellion.”
“I wish I would’ve had the chance to know,” I say with a hint of wistfulness.
“I do too.”
I nod, knowing she hates this for me just as much. “Let’s talk about anything else.”
“Shoes?”
My best friends know me so damn well. “Shoes are always a good topic.”
29
Ashton
~Two months later~
“Ashton,” Greyson calls as I’m walking toward the lab.
“Hi there.”
“How are you?”
I smile at my new official boss. “I’m great, you?”
“The same. Busy as ever.”
“Did your daughter pick her wedding dress yet?”
Greyson rolls his eyes and shifts a little straighter. He absolutely hates her fiancé, so anytime we mention the wedding, he bristles.
