27. Conor
Conor
A career guy. That’s how I always described myself—a guy who put blood, sweat and tears into running his own business so that he could… what, exactly? Buy a nice vehicle, a nice house, fancy clothes for meals at fancy restaurants?
Aside from the desire to look after my mom, I realize now that all of my ambitions in life have been entirely selfish. All of my motivations revolved around getting things.
And I don’t want things.
I want Jess.
As we sit in her bedroom together, my hand pressed against her cheek as she shares something so deep, so personal, so meaningful, I know of one thing to be true—I’ve fallen in love with Jess, and, if my heart is steering me right, I think she loves me, too.
But, if I want to be a good boyfriend to her, map out a future with her, then the first thing I need to do is stop being married to my job. Get a quickie divorce and get the hell out of dodge. Or something. I never really understood that saying.
First thing tomorrow, I’m telling Chaz n’ Chad that the deal is off.
I’m telling Karla that I’m scaling back—one project at a time from now on.
And, before that, it’s time I tell Jess the very thing that’s been weighing on me.
That it’s her . That I want to be with her for real. That I love her more than anything.
I run my hand along her cheekbone, her skin smooth and impossibly soft under my calloused fingers. My heart beats quickly with my upcoming confession. “Jess, I—”
“I KNEW IT!”
A triumphant yell shatters the moment as Jess’s bedroom door flies wide open.
“I was right.” A very flustered, red-faced Aiden wheezes as he extends a pointer finger at us, shaking it back and forth like he’s a Halloween witch.
He’s grinning like a maniac in victory—Aiden has always had a competitive streak.
Then, he seems to remember exactly WHAT he was right about, and his smug smile slips right off his face.
“You weren’t answering your phones!” Courtney bursts into the room hot on Aiden’s heels, her expression panicked. And... wait, is that Brooke behind her?
Yup.
Oh, and there’s Jennifer. Glaring daggers. Fantastic.
All I need now is for Jess and Courtney’s weird dates to… oh, never mind. They’re here, too. Rob and what’s-his-name pop their heads around the doorframe to get in on the action. Why not make it a real party?
Jess scowls at her brother, hands on her hips. “Can someone please tell me what’s going on?”
“I think I should be asking you that,” Jennifer snaps, lips drawn together like she’s been sucking on lemon slices. “What happened to food poisoning?”
Rob adjusts his glasses. “We’re very sorry to intrude like this—”
“SHH!” Aiden yells. The irony of which is not lost on me.
He takes a step towards me and I steel myself for what’s about to happen. This is the least opportune way for him to find out, but at least it will be out in the open now.
“You weren’t answering your phones,” Aiden repeats, like that explains everything. “So we came to get you.”
Courtney looks between me and Jess, her eyes deeply apologetic. “We tried calling you. I promise, I tried everything to stop him from coming here, but—”
Aiden’s face gets even redder as he wheels around to Courtney, his eyes brimming with fire. “You KNEW about them?!”
Courtney’s cheeks turn bright pink. “Well, I—”
He doesn’t wait for an answer. He turns back to me instead—his head swiveling back and forth so fast it's like he has front row seats at Wimbledon.
And I’m about to get knocked out.
“You and Jess?” Aiden’s voice drops about an octave and it's like the entire room ices over.
I keep my eyes on Aiden and hold up my hands carefully. I nod. “Yes. But, Aiden, there’s something you need to know...”
“This is stupid. I’m out of here!” Jennifer whines, clearly having no time for this drama. She twirls on one stiletto and clatters off down the hallway. I grimace at the thought of the marks her shoes might make on the wood, and then berate myself. Like that matters right now.
Less than a second later, Brooke teeters off as well, and Aiden is momentarily distracted. He pops his head into the hallway behind Brooke. “Call me?” he croaks, and then shakes his head, running his fingers through his hair. “Ah, who am I kidding? She ain’t going to call.”
Aiden sets his sights on me again and his rage fires up once more. “This is your fault!”
Before I can speak, Courtney exhales loudly and rolls her eyes. To my intense surprise, and amusement, she shoves Aiden—a guy who towers over her—out of the way and steps past him. “NOT NOW!”
But, before I can open my mouth, Jess has read my mind yet again. “It’s okay, Court,” she says softly. “It’s time we tell him.”
“We should probably be going,” Rob mumbles, the first right thing he’s said all night.
“Then go!” Courtney, Aiden, Jess and I yell in unison.
At least we agree on something.
I take another deep breath. “Aiden, I’m—”
“Conor,” Courtney barks, waving her arms like she’s directing a plane on the runway. “Your sister is in labor.”
WHAT?
“That’s why we’re here,” she continues. “Aiden got a call when no one could get through to you.”
I look at Aiden, who confirms. “Mia’s water broke this evening. A neighbor took her to the hospital, but Pete’s in Savannah for work today. He’s been calling you. He’s on his way back now, but until he arrives, you’re the stand in, Conor.”
“And, currently, you’re absolutely sucking at your job,” Courtney pipes in cheerfully.
My mouth goes bone dry and I scramble in my pocket for my phone. Sure enough, it’s in silent mode—and showing fifty-two missed calls from Pete, Aiden and Courtney (wait, why is Courtney showing up as a contact in my phone?)
The blood drains from my face. I’m not sure I’m ready to watch a child being birthed. I’m not sure if anyone could ever be ready for that. Jess puts a reassuring hand on my back, and her touch soothes me some.
Until Courtney opens her mouth again.
“Get a move on!” She grabs me by the shirtsleeve and yanks me to my feet. I don’t miss that she’s freakishly strong for someone so finely built. “That baby ain’t gonna wait for you to check your phone all evening.”
Fair point, well made. Now standing, I continue to stare at Courtney, awaiting further direction for some reason. She rolls her eyes, then barks out another order. “Aiden, drive Conor to the hospital. He looks like he’s in too much shock to drive.”
Aiden stands obediently, but his body language is tense, coiled like a tiger. He glares at me. “Don’t think this baby thing gets you off the hook. We’ll be finishing this conversation later.”
“Wait, what about Oliver?” In the midst of all the chaos, I manage to get a single, coherent thought together.
“The neighbor’s watching him right now,” Courtney says briskly, then turns to her friend. “Jess, get dressed into something you can actually wear outside without scaring people. We’ll go over there and babysit.”
All three of us blink at her and she claps her hands like an overeager gym teacher. If she had a whistle, I’m sure she’d be blowing it right now.
“Well, don’t just stand there. Get to it!”