Chapter 11 #2
“But not because of what you’re thinking.
” Hawk turned to face him. “Why would you hide it from me? We’re best fucking friends.
I love you. And I love my sister. She’s a grown ass woman, and she can decide who she wants to be with.
She picked you. And that’s pretty awesome.
Because I don’t have to worry that you’re some douche bag who’s going to take advantage of her.
Right? You’re not going to break her heart? ”
“Of course not.”
“And you’re not going to make me regret being excited about you two shacking up together?”
“No. Mae is it for me, Hawk. Endgame. Forever. I look at the future and she is right there, by my side through it all.”
“Good.” He took another pull on his beer.
“Cause if you fuck it up this time, now that I know, I’m gonna have to beat the shit out of you.
And I don’t wanna be doing that. You know I gotta get back at Track for beating me in the last like ten races we’ve run.
I don’t have time to train to beat you up. ”
“I wouldn’t block a single hit, Phoenix. But I don’t plan on breaking her heart any time soon. If anything, being in the hospital… yeah, it put a lot of shit into perspective for me. I’m happy to be home. And I’m happy Mae is by my side.”
A gentle knock sounded against the bedroom door. Mae had excused herself from everyone while they enthusiastically dug into the food to use the bathroom, but a weird pain had stopped her in her tracks on the way back out.
She was just sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing over the tight spot on her belly, when Lily’s head popped through the door.
“Hey, everything okay?”
“Yeah. I just got this weird stitch in my side. Had to sit for a second, but it’s passing.”
Lily walked into the room, sitting down next to her. “I had those all the time with Sage. Especially in the first trimester. It feels like things are popping and cramping all over the place as your body gets used to all the new hormones and growing baby.”
“I’m sure that’s all it was.” She meant to sound more confident that she did, and Lily clearly caught on to her worry.
“Do you want me to get Stone? Have you told him?”
Mae bit down on her bottom lip.
“No,” she admitted.
“Mae…”
“I feel terrible about it, Lily. You don’t need to lecture me.
I was just trying to focus on his first week home.
With his family here. The neurologist was clear.
His day to day routine needed to be as normal and stress free as possible.
” Mae dropped her voice. “Becoming a dad is going to be very stressful. I just needed time to know it wouldn’t set back his recovery. ”
Lily nodded. “For what it’s worth, I wasn’t going to lecture you. I just wanted you to know that I can’t imagine how difficult it’s been to keep this all to yourself.”
“Well,” Mae blew out her breath. “He basically asked me nearly point blank this morning what was wrong. I almost spilled the news right then, but Hawk barged in and ruined the moment. So, I’m going to tell him tonight.
I know the doctor wanted to keep everything even keeled…
. but he’s not stupid. And I want to share this with him. I’m sick of hiding it.”
Lily’s hand landed on Mae’s arm. “I am so proud of you. I hate that the guys ganged up on you—”
“I know you do,” Mae chuckled. “But that was also my decision. I want Stone to be better. And it feels like… I don’t know.
It feels like I’ve been given this second chance with him.
If he remembers what happened that night…
it feels like he would have chosen to do things differently.
I don’t know. That probably sounds so stupid. ”
“No. It sounds hope-filled and romantic.”
“Like I said, stupid.”
Mae’s stomach lurched, the pain deep inside pulling at her womb and her heart.
Her hand instinctively cradled her abdomen as she blew out her breath, waiting for it to subside.
But it didn’t. No matter how many slow, deep breaths she took, no matter how subtly she shifted the way she was seated, the pain didn’t change.
“Are you okay?” Lily leaned over, the worry evident on her face.
“Yeah. I just… these feel bad. How can I tell if they are normal cramps or something to be worried about?”
“Sit tight, I’ll get you some water. You might be dehydrated, and that can make things scarier.”
That had to be it. She’d been so busy taking care of her friends and Stone that she’d forgotten to take care of herself.
Sorry, little one.
“Oh, Lily. Could you just grab a ginger ale for me? I’m not sure water would go over well right now.”
Lily smiled, the worry that lingered there a second before now fully gone. “Sure thing.”
It only took her friend a minute to return, and of course she had a plate of snacks with her.
“Drink this. And eat something. If it doesn’t get better, you should call your doctor,” Lily whispered.
“I haven’t even made an appointment with them yet.”
“That’s okay. This sort of thing happens all the time, and they’ll still see you if you’re worried.”
Mae groaned. “Oh, god. I haven’t told Stone. How could I be so stupid?”
“It’s okay. Just one thing at a time. It’s probably nothing. I knew I should have come over here and helped more. Hosting everyone is stressful.”
“I’d barely call this hosting,” Mae sighed as she sipped on her drink. The cold liquid effervesced and tickled as it cooled her mouth and throat. The band around her heart loosened at the same time the pain started to fade from her belly.
“Tell me about your pregnancy with Sage.” Take my mind off of my worry, she silently begged.
“Oh, she was a stubborn one. Gave me just about every ache and pain out there. I didn’t really have anyone who cared… right up until Gunner came home to say goodbye to his mom. That man fussed so much over me, you would have thought being pregnant meant I was made out of glass.”
“And you loved every minute of it.”
“I did. He wasn’t even trying to make me feel precious or special, he was just worried and trying to boss me around. But god, I loved it. Even if I sassed him every now and then over some of the ridiculous things he said to me.”
“And soon, it’ll be time to try for baby number two.”
“Yeah.” Lily sighed, looking at the door. “I think we’re going to hold off a little bit more.”
“What? Really?”
Lily nodded. “Keep sipping that ginger ale.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Mae laughed. “Why put off trying?”
“We’ve got the new house to build. And then we want to do a vow renewal with everyone there this time.
I think Gunner is sick of getting teased about our Connecticut courthouse elopement.
And I just… I’ve already done the ‘get married at nine-months-pregnant’ thing.
I want to have a really pretty dress and feel good about myself.
Not that a baby bump wouldn’t do that… it’s just… ”
“It’s just all hard to time. I get it. You’re allowed to make those plans however you want to. And I’m so excited to do all the fun wedding things! We need to have a proper bachelorette party!!”
“Gia and I have been talking about that already. I keep telling her she needs to come visit so we can plan things, but she’s as stubborn as her brother!”
Mae smiled. “I love that. We’re going to have so much fun. And then we’ll be able to properly celebrate a new baby after all the other celebrations.”
“Exactly.” Lily looked over at her. “How are you feeling? Any better?”
“I don’t think it’s the baby.” She swallowed roughly. “I think it’s just my stomach being fussy. Would it be terribly rude of me to just stay here? You guys can stay as long as you want to. I’m just exhausted.”
Lily nodded. “That’s perfectly fine. We’ve been here for hours. I know Sage is going to konk out soon anyway, so we’ll scoot. Do you want me to get Stone?”
“No, no. He’s having a nice time. I’m sure he’ll come to bed when he’s ready. Just don’t let him overdo anything. I’m sure the guys will remind him, but he needs to be resting, too.”
“I’ll make sure everyone clears out soon, okay? Call me if you need anything.”
Lily left, closing the door softly behind her. Mae pushed herself up off the bed. Standing in the closet, the pain began easing a bit as she unbuttoned her pants.
“Sorry, little bean. Was I squishing you in there? I guess it’s time to start wearing leggings.”
Mae changed into her pajamas, not bothering to pull on pants with her sleep shirt.
As she laid in bed, palming the precious secret growing in her belly, she knew her days of keeping quiet about it were numbered.
Even that morning, when she was normally at her thinnest, there had been an unmistakable roundness to her abdomen.
And she’d loved it. Her conversation with Sloane swirled in her mind. Maybe Stone’s memory loss was a blessing in disguise. Maybe it was all part of a bigger plan. Maybe their baby, the sweet little life growing under where her hand rested, would bring them back together.
She let those warm thoughts play over and over again in her mind, even as the pain returned.