Page 146 of Crazy In Love
“No, I’m sorry. It’s not logical that I would blame a baby, but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about me, and about our relationship, and I’m taking ownership, Emilia. I’ve been unfair to you, and I don’t want to do that anymore.”
“Thank you.” I blew out a breath because a thick lump had formed in my throat. “And thank you for sharing this with me. I hope we can leave the past where it belongs, and start something new. Something better.”
“I’d like that very much. But don’t expect me to eat carbs every time we get together,” she said, her tone serious, but her lips turned up in the corners.
I laughed, and so did she, and then she surprised the hell out of me when she grabbed my hand and moved closer, looking medirectly in the eyes. “You are such an amazing woman, Emilia. I’m sorry I haven’t told you that enough. I love you.”
My bottom lip quivered as a tear rolled down my cheek. “I love you, too, Mom.”
She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me.
I couldn’t remember a time that my mother had ever hugged me like this.
I knew that we had a long way to go, but it felt like something had shifted between us.
We spent the next hour and a half just talking and laughing.
It was a start. It was progress.
And I was happy about it.
“Are you really going to make me sit and listen to this?” Bridger rolled his eyes as we cuddled up on the couch, but the playful smirk on his face told me he was looking forward to it.
“I am.”
“If it says anything bad about you, I will buy that newspaper and then close the doors,” he said.
“Must you be so dramatic?” I cleared my throat and started reading. “‘Hey there, Roses. I have got all the tea to spill today.’”
“Here we go again,” Bridger groaned.
I couldn’t help but laugh and then switched to my most serious tone as I continued reading. “‘Looks like another bachelor bites the dust. And boy did he fall hard. Word on the street is he nearly lost his little flower (pun intended), but, he figured it out, and according to many locals, there was a whole lot of groveling.’” My head tipped back in laughter.
“‘A whole lot of groveling’? How the hell do they know? We were alone in that office.” He raised a brow at me. “Beatrice was there. Maybe it’s her?”
“It is not Beatrice.” I shook my head and laughed. “I wondered if it was Cami, because I saw her coming out of my parents’ office.”
“I wouldn’t put anything past that woman.”
“Same. But my dad finally told me that she’d come to them for a job, so I’m guessing it’s not her.”
“Yeah, she’s too much of a narcissist to actually take the time to write about other people. I wonder if it could be a dude, because most women are a bit nicer to me.”
“I don’t know. You seem to piss off women and men equally. You’re an equal opportunity asshole.” I smirked.
He laughed loudly. “I do try to be fair. Continue reading your trash, please. I’m getting hangry.”
I chuckled before clearing my throat and looking back down at my phone. “‘Apparently said bachelor was seen coming out of the office of our favorite therapist numerous times before he figured it out.’”
“That’s a damn invasion of privacy. They just accused me of seeing a therapist. That can’t be legal.”
“You do go to therapy. And good for Dr. Debbie. This will be good for business,” I said, leaning forward and kissing his cheek. He and I had gone to see her together a couple of times, and I was proud of Bridger for continuing to go, even if he griped about it constantly. I looked back down at my phone. “‘Needless to say, the two lovebirds have been seen walking hand in hand all over town. And, though I hate to out anybody, his little lady was seen picking up a certain test at the Green Basket, and we have yet to find out if it’s positive or negative. But our sweet flower might be sporting a little bump by summertime.’” My mouth fell open, and Bridger leaned forward and tapped it shut.
“Something you want to tell me, angel?”
“What? No. I bought a flu test. A flu test!” I shrieked. “They just insinuated that I bought a pregnancy test. No wonder the girls sent a text telling me to read this immediately.”
He moved forward, scooping me onto his lap and wrapping his arms around me. “You know, the idea of you with a baby bump does not scare me at all. I kind of like the thought of it. But damn, my sperm might only make assholes. Hopefully you would rub off on them.” He kissed his way up my neck.
