Page 31 of Graves & Griggs
I laugh. “I mean, cleaner house, less noise. I see her point.”
Skyla nods along, typing out a reply to her friend.
“How long have you been friends?” I ask.
“Gosh, almost seven years or something, right?” she asks the guys.
“With Maggie. With Bridgette… less,” Ronan says as he and Wesley chuckle.
I tilt my head in curiosity as Skyla rolls her eyes before looking to me.
“Bridgette and I have a little history. Once upon a time, she was in love with Asher and did not want me at her school. We were in college, but once she and Maggie fell in love, all was well.”
Wesley snickers. “Kinda.”
“Enough,” Skyla scoffs with a laugh. “Bridgette is a little… high maintenance. Maggie loves her to pieces, but I swear to God I thought she was going to kill her while she was pregnant. They used Maggie’s egg and a donor, and then Bridgette carried their baby, but my God, that was nine months of hell for everyone within a five-mile radius.”
I laugh at that, feeling blessed that my pregnancy with the boys was decently easy.
The reminder of my current… condition has a fearful feeling sinking into my stomach. I know I have to tell Zayden and Dominic soon. They both track my period, like psychos. I’m already two weeks late. I think the only reason they haven’t put it together yet is because of this whole mess we’re in.
Skyla chuckles once more before pocketing her phone. I smile at her, though I can’t help but feel a little envious. It must be nice to have tight-knit friends, or a tight-knit friend and her wife that you tolerate. I really just have… the guys and the twins. I’m not saying I don’t love my family or my life because I do, so much. I guess I never slowed down long enough to realize that I really don’t have anything outside of them. Maybe that’s what terrifies me about this pregnancy, or maybe that’s why my first postpartum experience was so dark. I had nothing but… this, and it was too easy to get lost in the chaos of it all.
“You okay?” Skyla asks, resting her hand on mine in sympathy.
I do my best to smile. “Yeah, I just… I don’t really have any friends. Kinda jealous of you.” I laugh lightly. “I had one friend growing up, and she turned out to be a fucking cunt,” I say.
Skyla frowns at that before nodding. “Before Maggie, I really didn’t have any friends either. Acquaintances but never anyone who got me, you know?”
“Yeah. It’s probably really nice to have that.”
The car is quiet for a moment before Skyla squeezes my hand. “Well, you’ve got that now.”
I smile at her and squeeze her hand in return. I guess so.
Chapter Fourteen
Wesley
Ronan and I have so many bags in our hands, my arms are starting to hurt. Seriously. Do not let my wife loose in a mall a week before Christmas with her little black credit card unless you’re ready to do some serious lifting. Asher’s nickname for her is truly accurate. She’s a fucking princess, but she’s our princess.
We found some cool remote-controlled cars for Aries and Ryder as well as a drone that I’m sure they’ll get into nothing but trouble with. Skyla said she needed to find something for Vincent, but honestly the man would love nothing more than a coupon for uninterrupted Skyla time. I think he’d be over the moon for that, and I told her so, to which she rolled her eyes and strolled into a clothing store.
Her fingers dance over cashmere sweaters and silk dress shirts, neither of which come close to Vincent’s “style.” If ripped black jeans and a leather jacket can be considered style.
“What do you think of this?” she asks me.
I look to Ronan, who’s keeping a careful eye on Blake and therefore providing no backup as I shake my head. “Looks great, little one. Can we go now?”
She pouts. “We can go as soon as you help me. Do you think this is too short for him? He’s about your height.”
“Yeah, but I’m more built,” I say with a flex of my arms.
Skyla sighs, shaking her head as she holds the sweater up to me. “You know, you should really be more cooperative. I spotted a dressing room in the back corner of the store that’s unattended.”
Now she’s fucking talking.
Nothing else needs to be said. In half a second, I drop all the bags to the floor and scoop her up, tossing her over my shoulder as I haul ass to the back of the store. She giggles the whole way, and I even hear a store attendant call out to us before Ronan intervenes.
