Chapter 33
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
EMMA
“ I f they start being too obnoxious, just nudge me, okay?” Charlie said as he guided me towards the entrance of one of Los Angeles’s trendiest restaurants. “I’ll set them straight for you.”
I smiled, but it felt as brittle as sunbaked plastic. My heart raced, a mix of anticipation and dread churning in my stomach.
What if they hate me? What if I say something stupid?
I shook my head, trying to dispel the thoughts. “You okay?” Charlie asked when we stepped into the restaurant. His hand pressed against my lower back, guiding me through the bustling crowd.
I nodded, forcing another smile. “Fine. Just a bit overwhelmed.”
The truth? I was still hurt that he missed the appointment, still reeling from the realisation that I loved him. And the clusterfuck of a day. On top of all that, I’d never felt more out of place.
The restaurant oozed wealth and sophistication, from the crystal chandeliers to the impeccably dressed patrons. My simple maternity dress seemed woefully inadequate.
The scent of sizzling steaks and spices wafted through the air, making my mouth water. After weeks of battling morning sickness, the mere thought of a full meal without nausea seemed like a miracle. Thankfully, my body had decided it was time to stop torturing me.
A waiter brushed past us, carrying a tray of colourful cocktails. My fingers twitched with longing. Just a few more months. Then I could indulge in all the fancy drinks I wanted. For now, I’d settle for sparkling water and mocktails.
“Charlie! Over here!” A booming voice cut through the chatter.
My stomach clenched as I spotted a group waving enthusiastically from a corner table.
“Remember what I said,” Charlie murmured before he led me towards them. “Just nudge me.”
“About time you showed up.” A tall, athletic man with an easy grin stood up. “We were starting to think you’d chickened out.”
Charlie raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Keeping you on your toes, Jesse. Can’t have you getting complacent.”
The guys laughed and exchanged those typical half-embrace, half back-pat man hugs. I bit back a smile at the ridiculousness of it all. But then four pairs of eyes settled on me, and my amusement evaporated. Their curious gazes made me hyper-aware of my swollen belly and the way my maternity dress clung to my new curves.
“Everyone, this is Emma,” Charlie said, his hand resting reassuringly on my lower back. “Emma, meet the gang. Jesse and Lukas are my idiot friends.” He pointed to the guys grinning at me. “And their far too patient wives, Zoey and Celina.”
“Nice to meet you all,” I managed, my voice steadier than I expected.
“Nice to finally meet you, Emma.” Jesse, the one who’d called out to us, extended his hand. His tall frame towered over me as he leaned in for a handshake. “Charlie’s been keeping you all to himself.”
“I hope he’s only told you the good things.” I shook his hand, willing my palm not to sweat.
“Oh, he’s told us plenty.” Jesse winked, his warm brown eyes crinkling with amusement, earning him an elbow in the ribs from his wife.
Zoey, a petite brunette with kind eyes, smiled warmly at me. “Don’t mind him. We’re just excited to meet you.” She enveloped me in a hug, catching me off guard. But as she squeezed me gently, some of the tension gripping me dissolved. “How are you feeling? Charlie mentioned you’d been having a rough time with morning sickness.”
“Better, actually,” I said, surprised by her genuine concern. “That’s partly why we agreed to dinner. It’s nice to be able to eat without seeing it again five minutes later.”
Celina, a statuesque redhead who I recognised as a former Olympic British gymnast, laughed. “Oh, I remember those days. Pregnancy is no joke.”
“So, Emma.” Zoey rested her elbow on the table and propped her chin on it, her eyes sparkling with interest. “How did you and Charlie meet? I’m dying to know the full story.”
Jesse grinned, brushing back a lock of sandy hair from his forehead. “Oh, I already know this one, but I want to hear it from your perspective. See if Charlie was exaggerating.”
I glanced at Charlie. He shrugged, directing a small smile at me. “Go ahead. Tell them how I swept you off your feet.”
I snorted, unable to help myself. “Is that what you’ve been telling people? As I recall, you swept my champagne tower off its feet.”
The table erupted in laughter. More of the tension drained from my shoulders as a result. I told them how he’d stared at the mess of broken glass like a deer caught in headlights, how he’d apologised, but still hadn’t learned his lesson since I regularly caught him walking around the house with his gaze fixed on his phone and not his surroundings.
Charlie groaned. “I maintain that champagne tower was out to get me.”
“Sure it was.”
“Hey, I offered to help clean up,” Charlie said, but his eyes danced with amusement.
Lukas, who’d been quiet until now, leaned forward, his broad shoulders hunching as he rested his elbows on the table. “And that led to... you know?” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
My face burned. “Well, not immediately. But yes, eventually.”
“I can’t believe you left out the part where you destroyed her display,” Jesse said, shaking his head at Charlie.
“Typical. Always trying to make yourself look good.”
“In my defence, I was trying to preserve some dignity.” Charlie held up his hands in mock surrender.
“Wait.” Zoey held up her hand, her brow furrowed. “So this was just a one-night stand? That doesn’t sound like you, Charlie.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, the easy atmosphere taking a nosedive. Here we go. The judgement. The questions I didn’t have answers to. Charlie cleared his throat, his hand finding mine under the table.
“It wasn’t exactly planned,” he said, his voice soft. “But sometimes the best things in life aren’t.”
Celina grinned. “Right answer.” She jabbed Lukas in the side with her elbow. “You should take some lessons from him, Lucky.”
Lukas groaned, running a hand through his short blond hair. “I’d rather not.”
“Of course you wouldn’t.” Celina rolled her eyes, a fond exasperation in her voice. “Remember our anniversary?”
Lukas paled, his blue eyes widening. “Oh, come on. Not this again.”
“Oh, do tell.” Jesse rubbed his hands together gleefully.
“He forgot,” Celina said, glowering at Lukas. “And when I reminded him, he said, and I quote, ‘Babe, every day with you is like an anniversary.’”
Charlie choked on his drink, coughing and sputtering. “Smooth, Weber. Real smooth.”
I glanced between them, feeling like I was watching a well-rehearsed play. There was clearly a history here, layers of inside jokes and shared experiences I couldn’t quite grasp.
“Hey!” Lukas threw his hands up in exasperation. “I thought it was romantic!”
“It would have been,” Celina said, “if you hadn’t followed it up with ‘So, can we just order pizza and watch the game?’”
Jesse wiped his eyes, his face red from laughter. “Oh man, Lukas. You really need to work on your game. Maybe Charlie can give you some pointers on how to sweet-talk your way out of trouble.”
“Please, don’t encourage him.” Zoey shook her head, amusement and exasperation dripping from her words. “The last thing we need is Lukas trying to be smooth. Remember the rose petal incident?”
A collective groan went around the table. I raised a brow, equal parts confused and curious.
Charlie leaned in close. “Trust me, you don’t want to know. Let’s just say it involved a lot of rose petals, a faulty air conditioning unit, and an impromptu visit from the fire department.”
I laughed. These people were crazy, but in the best possible way.
Lukas buried his face in his hands, his ears turning red. “Can we please talk about literally anything else?”
“Nope,” Jesse said, popping the p. “This is too much fun. Come on, Lukas, give us your best romantic line. Show Charlie how it’s done.”
Lukas sighed dramatically, then straightened up, puffing out his chest. He turned to Celina with an exaggerated flutter of his eyelashes. “Baby, you must be a hockey puck, because you’ve got me chasing you all over the ice.”
There was a moment of silence before the table dissolved into laughter once again.
“Oh god,” Celina gasped, clutching her sides. “That was terrible. Please, never say that again.”
Charlie shook his head, a grin tugging at his lips. “Thanks for making me look good, man.”
“Okay, enough ribbing on me. I’d rather learn more about Emma.” Lukas leaned forward, his curious gaze fixed on me. “What made you decide to keep the baby and move across the country? That’s a pretty big decision.”
The question caught me off guard, and I fumbled for a moment. He made it sound like I’d just jumped at the chance for a cross-country trip, but I hadn’t meant to move in. I’d needed help.
“I guess... it didn’t feel like I had much of a choice at first. I had some health issues that complicated things, and my business in New York was struggling. Charlie offered to help, and... well, here I am.”
I paused, trying to find the right words to explain the whirlwind of emotions and decisions that had led me to this moment.
It took a concerted effort not to think the L word.
If I thought it, maybe they’d read something on my face and call me out. They’d tell Charlie and then our lives would become even more complicated than they already were.
“It wasn’t an easy decision. I mean, I barely knew Charlie, and the idea of moving across the country, away from everything and everyone I knew... it was terrifying. But something just felt... right. Like this was where I was meant to be, as crazy as that sounds.”
As the words tripped off my tongue, the enormity of the change washed over me. As much as I was meant to be here and I would have struggled without him, I had completely upended my life for this pregnancy, for Charlie. Maybe this was why he’d been so hesitant to start a real relationship. Had he been trying to protect me from even more upheaval?
“It doesn’t sound crazy at all.” Celina reached out, patting my hand. “Sometimes you just have to trust your gut, even when your head is telling you it’s insane.”
Charlie squeezed my hand under the table, and I glanced at him, absorbing the concern in his eyes. I gave him a small nod, trying to reassure him I was okay.
“Well, we’re certainly glad you’re here now,” Zoey said, her voice warm.
A server interrupted us to take our order. I scanned the menu, the pregnancy cravings coming in handy for once. I hadn’t been able to get the smell of that steak out of my mind since we walked in the door. Once we’d all ordered, Zoey asked me how I liked LA so far.
“It’s... different. Definitely a change of pace from New York. I’m still getting used to all the sunshine and palm trees.”
“And the traffic,” Charlie added with an exaggerated shudder. “Don’t forget the traffic.”
The table collectively groaned.
“Thankfully, I don’t have to deal with that. One benefit of bed rest I guess.”
“Yes, that’s definitely a positive.” Celina shook her head, her ponytail swinging. “If you thought New York was bad, just wait. LA takes it to a whole new level.”
“Welcome to LA,” Jesse said with a theatrical wave of his hand. “Where your commute time is directly proportional to how important your meeting is.”
The conversation flowed more easily after that and I found myself actually enjoying the way they all bantered back and forth. I’d always craved the big friend group with lots of people who got you. I had Lila, of course, but this was something else.
If Charlie was into me, too, this could really be my life...
But I shook off the thought as quickly as it came. It was just the love-buzz talking. Maybe. Just because I’d fallen for him didn’t mean he felt the same way. Still, I couldn’t quite squash the tiny spark of hope that flickered in my chest as I watched Charlie laugh with his friends, fitting so seamlessly into this world that part of me longed to be a part of.
“I thought he was just another smooth-talking agent.” Zoey smirked at her husband. “But he wore me down eventually.”
Jesse grinned, pulling her close. “More like I annoyed you into submission. I think you finally agreed to go out with me just to shut me up.”
“That’s not entirely inaccurate.” Zoey tapped her chin thoughtfully. “But I have to admit, once I gave him a chance, I was pleasantly surprised. Turns out there’s more to him than designer suits and a silver tongue.”
“Aww, babe.” Jesse pressed a hand to his chest. “That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said about me.”
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
Lukas snorted into his drink. “That’s hardly challenging.”
“Yeah, did you and Zoey barely see each other in your first year because of clashing schedules?” Celina asked, her tone suggesting she knew the answer and she wasn’t impressed. “Nope.”
“Exactly,” Lukas said, his German accent breaking through in his excitement. “Our schedules were insane, and between hockey games and competitions, we were constantly travelling to different parts of the world. It wasn’t until the Olympics when I finally got to nail her down.”
Celina smacked Lukas’s arm, her eyes narrowing. “Nail me down? You make it sound so romantic.”
“What? It’s true!” Lukas rubbed his arm, feigning hurt. “It was fate. Both of us at the Olympics, when I’d spent a year trying to get a date out of you.”
“Fate had nothing to do with it,” Celina said, her own German accent becoming more pronounced. “You practically stalked me in the Olympic Village and the British team almost filed a complaint against you.”
Lukas brushed that allegation away with his wine glass. “Nothing could have stopped me from winning my love.”
“Wait.” I leaned forward, intrigued. “How did you two actually meet? Before the Olympics.”
The restaurant hummed with the clinking of silverware and the low murmur of conversation. Soft jazz played in the background, nearly drowned out by the laughter from nearby tables. Our waiter approached, balancing a tray laden with our appetisers.
“It was in the university dining hall at Cardiff Met. I’d gone in for a late-night snack after training, and this Riesenbaby comes stumbling in, still in his hockey gear.” Celina rolled her eyes, but a fond smile played on her lips.
“Riesenbaby?”
The waiter placed our dishes on the table while our conversation continued.
“It means ‘giant baby’ in German.” Lukas grinned, utter pride in his eyes as he threw back his shoulders and his massive frame seemed to expand even further. “Because I’m so adorably large.”
Celina had learned German for him? Wow, talk about commitment.
Jesse nearly choked on his drink, coughing and sputtering. “More like because you act like a toddler.”
Zoey jabbed her elbow into her husband’s ribs. “Shh, let them tell the story.”
“Anyway.” Celina shook her head at him, shooting him a look that was equal parts exasperation and fondness. “He comes up to me, all sweaty and gross, and says in the worst attempt at a pickup line I’ve ever heard?—”
“Excuse me, love, but I think you dropped something,” Lukas said, adopting an exaggerated German accent that made his voice boom across the table.
“And do you know what this idiot did?” Celina asked, her lips pursed.
I shook my head.
“He bent down, picked up a sugar packet from the floor, and said, ‘You dropped your nametag, Sweetener.’”
The table erupted in laughter and groans. Even I could concede that that was a terrible pick up line.
Charlie wiped tears from his eyes. “Oh man, Lukas, that’s terrible. Even I could do better than that.”
I raised a brow at Charlie. “Oh really? Because I seem to remember a certain someone using some pretty cheesy lines at a wedding not too long ago.”
He had the grace to look sheepish. “Hey, they worked, didn’t they?”
“So what happened next?” I asked, turning back to Celina and Lukas. “Clearly, you didn’t fall for that line.”
Celina shook her head. “No, definitely not. I told him to get lost in no uncertain terms. I was completely focused on qualifying for the Olympics. Gymnastics was all that mattered to me then. I had no time for distractions, especially not hockey-playing Riesenbabys.” She smirked. “Which by the way, is my favourite German word.”
Lukas chuckled, but then his amusement faded and he stared at his wife. “But I didn’t give up,” Lukas said, his voice softening with the memory. “I kept seeing her around campus, and I knew I had to keep trying.”
“And how did that go?” Jesse asked, smirking.
Lukas’s cheeks reddened. “Let’s just say I made a fool of myself more than once. But eventually, I wore her down.”
Celina snorted, her fork pausing halfway to her mouth. “More like he made a nuisance of himself in the Olympic Village until I agreed out of pure exasperation. Warning off any athlete who so much as looked at me with a hint of interest.” She crossed her arms and fixed Lukas with a stern glare. “He cut off my stress relief and made sure he was the only person I could turn to.”
“And here we are, years later.” Lukas smirked, draping his arm over Celina’s chair.
“It wasn’t all smooth sailing though,” Celina added, her expression growing more serious. “After graduation, I stayed in Wales for Olympic training while Lukas got drafted by the Stingers. That’s when the real challenge began.”
“How did you manage?” I asked, my hand unconsciously resting on my belly. “The distance, I mean. It must have been incredibly difficult.”
“It sucked, plain and simple.” Lukas nodded, his jaw tightening at the memory. “We’d go months without seeing each other in person. Different time zones, crazy schedules... there were days when I wondered if we’d make it.”
“But we did.” A soft smile claimed Celina’s lips. “We had to get creative. Lots of late-night Skype calls, care packages...”
“And some pretty steamy phone conversations.” Lukas waggled his brows suggestively.
“Lukas!” Celina swatted his arm, her cheeks flushing.
The table erupted in laughter once again, and I joined in, caught up in the warmth of their shared experience. For a moment, my earlier insecurities faded, replaced by a sense of belonging.
We finished off our appetisers just in time for our main course to arrive. The waiter placed my plate of perfectly cooked steak in front of me and I held myself back until the others had received their meals. Once the waiter left, all bets were off. So maybe the baby was still influencing my tastebuds but right then I couldn’t care less. I dug in, savouring each bite.
Once the initial craving had been satisfied, I refocused on the conversation flowing around me and turned to Celina. “So, what finally brought you to LA?”
She tilted her head thoughtfully, her eyes meeting Lukas’s. “Love, I suppose. After the Olympics, I had to make a choice. My gymnastics career or a life with Lukas here. It wasn’t easy, but...” She trailed off, her gaze softening as she looked at her husband.
“But she chose me,” Lukas said, his voice filled with a mixture of pride and awe. “Still can’t believe my luck sometimes.”
I glanced at Charlie, a question forming in my mind: Would we ever have that kind of connection?