Page 146 of Unexpected Forever
Darcy laughs and I shoot a look at Emma, who is…smiling?
“Has my pregnant brain finally rendered me stupid?”
“No, I’m serious. I’m reorganizing the marketing and communications group. It’s created some new positions, and one of those is manager of events. And I want that to be you.”
My jaw drops. “Me? You want me?”
“I do.”
“Why? I mean, I’m flattered but I just started doing this a few months ago.”
“I know, but Emma and I chatted for a bit earlier and she spoke highly of you.”
“What?” I didn’t know whether to feel flattered or not.
Darcy chuckles. “I’m not trying to poach you. Emma told me about your work a few months ago before I met you.”
I point back and forth between her and Emma. “Y’all know each other?”
“Sure,” Emma says, “we met years ago at a marketing convention and hit it off. Talked off and on since.”
Darcy’s eyes sparkle. “Imagine my surprise when I found out Nate’s girlfriend and this up-and-coming go-getter working for my friend are one and the same.”
“Huh. Small world,” I murmur.
It seems no matter how I look at it, Nate and I are connected.
Hope rises in my chest. Is that my sign I should go for it?
Shed my old ways and start a new chapter in life? Not just with the baby but with my heart too?
But what if Nate decides I’m not worth the trouble? How will I be able to work for the same organization as him?
A stabbing pain makes me inhale sharply, and the thought of seeing him and not being with him makes me ache.
But there’s no way of getting around seeing him, regardless of our relationship status. It’s time to face my fears instead of running from them.
It will be scary starting over with just me and the baby, but I want to show my child they can do anything if they commit to it.
And I’m committed to being a new Charley Reynolds.
I look over at Emma, whose eyes are shining, but her mouth is curved in a smile. “Emma…I—”
“Need to take the job. Yes, I know.”
“That’s not…but…”
Emma crosses to me and squats down, taking my hands in hers. “Charley, I love you. I want you to be happy. If I were in your shoes and had the opportunity to be with the love of my life? I would take it and run. No questions asked.”
“You would?”
“Absolutely.” She glances down at my belly. “Especially if I were about to have his baby and wanted nothing more than to share the experience with him.”
“But I just started for you. You took a chance on me. What are you going to do for these events?” I gasp. “Oh my God, your wedding!”
She pushes a lock of hair out of my face. “You can still help me plan the wedding. That’s why we FaceTime and Zoom. As far as the rest of it, that’s for Shane and me to handle. And yeah, I did take a chance on you, and you exceeded our expectations. You’ve learned so much in such a short time. You’re going to do amazing things with Darcy and the Bull Sharks.”
I stare at my wonderful cousin. I can never repay her for the chance she gave me. Guilt and shame try to worm their way in, but the look on Emma’s face is nothing but joy.
