Page 81 of My Sweetest Obsession
She nods, watching me with a mix of longing and uncertainty swirling in her eyes. “Yeah, it’s getting late…”
I pause inside the jamb, letting my gaze drift across the finished room and her standing in it, looking so fucking stunning that it takes my breath away. This is where she belongs. This is where she’ll feed and rock the baby to sleep. This is where she’ll tell her bedtime stories about fantastical creatures…and her father.
Drew’s fiancée.
Drew’s baby.
I have to keep reminding myself of that.
That she isn’t mine, that the baby isn’t…
But all I’ve been able to think about since the day I found out she was pregnant is how much I love both of them.
Even if she keeps hating me.
25
IVY
“Are you going to sit there moping all day?”
I scowl at Marlo and offer a slight shrug, shifting on the plastic chair that offers absolutely no comfort or support, especially in my current condition. It feels like this baby grew exponentially overnight, and my back agrees with that assessment, as do my swollen feet. “That’s the plan.”
She releases an annoyed huff and returns to sorting the flower shipment, preparing everything for the busy weekend to come, with two weddings, a bar mitzvah, and a quinceañera, all happening on Saturday. “Well, I could really use your help.”
Pressing my lips together tightly, I glare at her. “And I really could have used a heads up about what I was walking into last night…”
Her hands still as her eyes narrow on me. “Are you seriously mad?”
Now it’s my turn to release a heavy sigh.
I don’t know if “mad” is the right word, but since Cam left last night I’ve spent hours sitting in that room, looking at everything he did for me, knowing that Marlo and Nancy planned all this behind my back, and even though I don’t want it to, it somehow feels like the sting of betrayal—like it was a statement that they had no faith in me that I would eventually get my shit together to do it myself.
And knowing they thought I would ever fail my baby in that way hits even harder when I consider the fact that no one said anything to me about it. Almost as if they were afraid that bringing it up was going to send me into a worse place.
Don’t they know how much I love this baby?
Tears sting my eyes despite my telling myself I wouldn’t cry when I came into work this morning, knowing I would see Marlo and likely have this conversation. “How long were you talking to him about this and planning it?”
She brushes off her hands and releases a heavy sigh, then comes and sits on the edge of the table in front of me. “At the risk of pissing you off even more”—I brace myself for her response—“I’ve been talking to Cam a lot.”
“You what?”
Something that feels an awful lot like jealousy crawls up my tight throat as I stare at my beautiful best friend.
With her bright smile.
Gorgeous blond hair that somehow manages to look sexy even when she pulls it back into a messy bun.
Bright green eyes that always seem so full of mischief and joy.
Who doesn’t look and feel like a beached whale right now.
Marlo is every man’s wet dream…
She narrows her eyes at me, annoyance tightening her mouth. “Not like that, and you know it, so stop looking at me that way. He’s been worried about you. Rightfully so. And I’ve been worried about both of you, so I’ve been meeting with him, going to coffee, occasionally lunch on days I have off.”
I play with the hem of my shirt, that feeling in my throat not easing, but I manage to swallow through it. “What do you two talk about?”
