Page 28 of Feel the Rhythm

His eyes flickered back to the beach path, as if waiting to see someone else walked out. He murmured something under his breath that I couldn’t hear clearly over the loud music. If I had to guess, it was something like, “Maybe I’m worse than I thought.”

“Speaking of Scott,” Amy said, breaking me from my reverie. “You’ll never believe what happened today.”

“What?” Hannah asked excitedly.

“He called me.”

“What did he say?” I blurted out.Please, please don’t say that he told you about us.

Amy narrowed her eyes at me.Play it cool, Ivy.“He actually said he wants to mend things between us. He’s been thinking a lot and wants to meet up and talk about everything.”

“What changed his mind?” Hannah asked.

Amy kept her eyes on me for one more moment before she turned to face Hannah. “He didn’t say.”

“Wow. That’s exciting,” Hannah said, ever the optimist.

Amy hummed in agreement. “He seemed like he really meant it. I don’t know why he had a sudden change of heart, but Lucas thinks I should give him a chance. He always liked Scott, but I have no idea why.”

I knew why, but I wasn’t about to say anything. Being his sister, Amy saw Scott through a different lens. One where he was the perfect, charming villain, determined to make her look bad. But Lucas and I could see him as he really was. The waitress saved me by bringing our drinks to the table. Rum and coke for me, a piña colada for Amy (she said she was feeling tropical), and white wine for Hannah.

Amy and I took a sip of our drinks and sighed. Hannah smiled, fingering the stem of her glass. Slowly, she inched the wine glass forward and backward, then moved her hand to her water glass and took a sip.

“Oh, my goodness. Hannah, are you pregnant?” I exclaimed.

“Ivy!” Hannah and Amy both said over each other.

I shrugged. “She loves wine, but she isn’t drinking it.”

Amy widened her eyes and turned her head toward Hannah. “Well, now you have to answer her.”

“You are ridiculous.” Hannah huffed a sigh. “I was waiting until I was further along, but yes, I am.”

I squealed loudly and jumped out of my chair to give her a big hug. “I knew it! How far along are you?”

“I’m only six weeks. We were waiting to announce until the risk of miscarriage was lower.”

I shook my head. “That’s outdated. If you miscarried, wouldn’t you want your best friends to support you?”

Hannah blinked a few times. “I guess you’re right.” Tears glistened in her eyes.

Amy stood up and hugged her other side, making a Hannah sandwich. “We’re here to celebrate with you, and to share your pain. You shouldn’t have to hide anything from us.”

Hannah sniffed. “The hormones are making me crazy. Thanks girls.” She pushed her wine away. “I guess it’s better that I don’t have to fake drink tonight. And the nausea started a few days ago—it’s insane. I can barely eat anything.”

“That sounds awful.” I winced. I loved food. I could only hope that one day I’d want a baby so much that I’d be willing to sacrifice my precious food. That day was definitely not today. Yet another reason to make sure things didn’t go too far with Scott.

“Honestly, the ocean air is helping a lot,” Hannah said.

“Then let’s go for a walk on the beach after we get some food.” Amy suggested.

We finished our dinner and headed to the coffee shop nearby so Hannah could get some peppermint tea. It was the same place I had met Scott the week before. The barista eyed me carefully.

“Caramel macchiato with extra caramel?” she asked.

“Uh, yes. How did you know?” I asked.

“I try to remember everyone’s orders. You were here with your boyfriend last week.”

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