Chapter 14
Chapter fourteen
Paisley
“I can’t live alone with a man,” I hissed to Juliet. We were parked outside the Caldwell airport, plastered side by side on the bench seat in Greyson’s truck. Rosie huffed softly from her stop behind us, and the truck bed rumbled while Greyson grabbed his sister’s suitcase.
Juliet was leaving me. She’d bunked on our couch the first night and then we’d had our girls’ night. Stephanie and Liz had left an hour ago for Spokane, and now Juliet was flying out to rejoin Myles for the final Calder Cup game tomorrow night.
Juliet fixed a look on me. The one that meant business. “He’s your husband.”
“Well, I don’t remember that part. I only remember the first one.”
She scoffed, like she always did whenever someone brought up Jared, and I was getting a little tired of it. I needed some answers. “Would you feel better living alone?”
“No.” The word flew out of me with the speed of an assassin’s bullet.
“I hate being alone.” And it was the truest thing I’d said since waking up.
Just the thought made me nauseous. But I couldn’t expect Juliet to put her life on hold for me.
It wasn’t fair, and I could be grown-up about this. We were two adults.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay on the plane?” I asked, shifting the conversation.
Juliet groaned, covering her face. “Don’t remind me. Suffering through Grey and Steph making the coffee in the mornings has been terrible enough.”
Morning sickness was no joke for Juliet, unlike Liz, whose first trimester had been easy breezy.
“Thanks for staying,” I said softly, fiddling with the thermos of tea Greyson had brought me when he picked us up.
Since I was the smallest, I was relegated to the middle of the bench seat.
Which left me pressed up against Greyson from shoulder to thigh since there wasn’t that much room for me between two giants.
And my heart was still doing weird things from the contact.
Juliet nudged my knee lightly. “I’d do anything for you, Pais. You know that.”
And I did. Even though the last seven years were a blank haze—a smudge on a canvas, an unfinished draft—that much I remembered.
“You sure you don’t want us to walk you in?” I offered as we climbed out onto the sidewalk.
Juliet shook her head. “My flight’s in less than an hour.” When Greyson set her luggage down, she added, “Thanks.”
Greyson eyed the to-go cup of hot water he’d brought her, still in her hand. “Is it safe to offer congratulations now?”
Juliet smiled hesitantly, shooting me a worried look. “Yeah.”
He carefully tugged her into a hug. “Happy for you guys, sis.”
Our gazes tangled for a minute. Sadness pinched his eyes for an instant before he glanced away. Like he was afraid of what I’d see.
He’d be a great dad.
Pulling back, Juliet slugged his shoulder. “Stop worrying. The parentals are picking me up on the other side.” With one final wave, she dragged the suitcase towards the airport entrance.
“Make sure you ask for extra barf bags,” Greyson hollered after her.
Juliet glared back at him, but because she was too far away, I smacked his chest in her stead. “Be nice.”
Greyson’s eyes were practically dancing as he stared down at me. Like my love tap was the best present in the world. Like . . . we were us again.
“She told you?” Greyson asked, his shoulder brushing mine while we watched Juliet disappear through the sliding doors.
I eased away from him a fraction. “Last night.”
“You okay?”
“Greyson,” I whispered, turning slightly towards him. “I don’t remember that heartache. I’m sorry. It . . .”
His smile was weary. “It doesn’t hurt the same, right?”
“No.” Maybe because I hadn’t fully let myself think about it. Maybe it would later, and I’d have to grieve the loss of another dream. But right now, it was an unknown chapter. One I hadn’t read yet. One I couldn’t experience. One I was afraid of.
Greyson rubbed the back of his neck. “We should get back.”
And just like that, the curtain dropped again.