Chapter 4 #3
“Maybe we grab a pizza to bring with us,” I suggest, remembering the box from Joe’s last night.
Nalani grins. “Joe’s again? You’ll spoil me.”
“I’ll never eat pizza again without wishing it was New York style.”
“Welcome to the club,” she says, smiling into her coffee.
I sling the diaper bag over my shoulder and kiss the top of Savannah’s head. “Ready, sweet little one?”
Her eyes are heavy, but she hums a tiny sound in her throat. It’s enough.
As I step into the hall, the air is cool, carrying the faint smell of rain. The city stretches awake around us.
Kyle might have started this morning, but he doesn’t get to define it. Not for me. And definitely not for my sweet little one.
The Coffee Room is exactly what I expect — small, crowded, the air thick with espresso and the hum of early conversations. I spot him immediately, baseball cap pulled low, sunglasses on despite the overcast morning. He’s dressed down, but everything about him still screams attention.
He looks up when I approach, his mouth curving into a half-smirk that used to seem effortless but now feels rehearsed.
“Claudia,” he says, like it’s a greeting and a verdict. “You look… tired.”
I let out a breath that’s somewhere between a laugh and disbelief. “Motherhood will do that to a person.”
He gestures toward the chair across from him. “Sit.”
That tone — the one that assumes obedience — hits me right in the chest. But I pull out the chair and sit anyway, settling Savannah’s car seat beside me. She’s half-asleep, her little head turned toward the sound of clinking dishes.
Kyle leans back. “You didn’t have to bring her.”
I arch a brow. “You asked to see her.”
“I meant without an audience,” he mutters, then sighs, like this is already exhausting him. “Look, I wanted to talk face-to-face. Clear the air.”
I fold my hands around the coffee cup the server just set down. “Clear the air? You had me served, Kyle. With custody papers. In a public park. So, forgive me if I’m not sure what air is left to clear.”
He shifts in his chair, jaw tightening. “That wasn’t how I wanted it to go. My attorney jumped the gun.”
“Right.” I take a sip of coffee, watching him over the rim. “And yet here we are.”
He leans forward, lowering his voice. “It doesn’t have to get messy, Claudia. Court is… a lot of noise. I was hoping we could handle this privately.”
I tilt my head. “Privately? Shouldn’t this be done in court? Isn’t that why you had me served?”
The edge in my voice is quiet but unmistakable — not cruel, just sharp enough to cut.
He sighs, dragging a hand through his hair. “You know how the system works. Lawyers, hearings, months of back and forth. It’s a circus. I just want what’s fair.”
I glance down at Savannah, then back up at him. “Fair for who?”
“For her,” he says smoothly, too quickly. “I think she deserves both of us.”
“Funny,” I say softly, “because she’s had one of us every single day since the moment she was born.”
Kyle’s mouth tightens, the charm faltering. “You said you didn’t want anything from me. I respected that.”
“And now where’s the respect?” I ask evenly.
He sits back, silent for a long moment, eyes on Savannah.
“She’s beautiful,” he says finally, his voice quieter.
I meet his gaze without flinching. “She’s mine.”
He gives a small, humorless laugh, pushes his chair back, and stands. “Let’s not make this ugly, Claudia. I’m trying to do the right thing here.”
“Then maybe you should start with honesty,” I say.
He hesitates — for half a second, it looks like he might say something tangible — but then his mask slips back into place.
“I’ll be in touch.” He stands and walks the hell away.
I watch him disappear through the door, the bell chiming behind him, and only when he’s gone do I see the white envelope sitting there
For a moment, all I can do is stare at it. The words printed neatly across the front—Amended Custody Petition—blur slightly before I blink them clear.
Savannah lets out a small sigh, and I lean down, touching her cheek gently.
“It’s okay, sweet little one,” I whisper. “We’ll handle it.”
I slip the envelope into my bag, drop a few bills on the table, because he didn’t, and walk out into the cold.
I wake from a nap to Nalani and Sofie.
“No,” Nalani whispers.
“Bzzz,” Sofie actually makes the sound, which makes me smile. “Wrong answer. A sister needs us.”
“She’s your big, not mine. She needs you,” Nalani whines.
“Three things. One, my big is sad and depressed because your big is a giant twatwaffle. Two, I’d like to think I’m the reason you came back, but I’m not—it’s KOK.
Three, my father wants me to cover the Bears’ home games, bought a box, and I’m too busy to make new friends to fill it, so you’re it. Four—”
“You said three.”
“I’m using four because you haven’t caved for twat big, KOK, or box seats.”
Nalani sighs. “When did you get to be such a bully?”
“When my father realized he didn’t have a son, and my ovaries don’t make me incapable, and he’s handing over responsibilities left and right.
Back to four, we need to get Claudia a job and settle her.
I like her. Bonus, I can steal her baby when I need a fix, so I don’t get any silly notions about having my own. ”
“She makes my biological clock tick, and I didn’t even think I had one.”
“She didn’t make mine tick; she made it turn into an air horn. Volume, max.” Sofie sighs.
“Her snuggles are like a drug. I want to cuddle a hen when she’s not here,” Nalani giggles.
“I’m not saying I want a baby now, but I do think I’m going to start making a list of names. Yours will be added if you literally stop cock-blocking yourself.”
“Fine, whatever, but what if she doesn’t want to bring Savannah to a hockey game with eighteen thousand strangers and her asshole ex?”
“You tell her I have a box that needs filling.”
“I fear that could come off as wildly inappropriate.”
I can’t help but laugh, and clearly, it’s loud enough for Nalani and Sofie to hear, but when she comes in, phone in hand, I see that Sofie is actually on the phone and not here.
“She’s a big bully,” Nalani whispers.
I smile, “You should go.”
Sofie:
I’ve changed plans. I’m doing pregame interviews instead of post-game interviews. A car will pick you three ladies and Noelle up, so we girls are free to do whatever we want afterward. Text me as soon as you pull onto the Bears’ property. I’ll meet you at the press gate.
Me:
Thank you.
Nalani:
Aye, Aye, Captain.
When we climb in the car, I see another girl, Noelle, Sofie’s sorority big has already been picked up.
Nalani hugs her, “Oh my God, you haven’t changed one bit.”
Nalani looks her over, “I mean, that makes one of us.”
Noelle waves her hand in front of herself. “Please tell me I don’t look like I gave up. I put some effort into this. Hopefully, Sofie won’t be so … she’s changed.”
Nalani says, “The first time I saw you was during rush, and I remember you were the Anne Hathaway to Lauren’s Cameron Diaz.”
She cocks her head to the side. “I’m not sure how I feel about that.”
I interject. “Hathaway is classic. Diaz is comedic?”
“Yes, beauty versus bombshell.” Nalani agrees
“She was your number one pick for a big, so you picked beauty,” Noelle states with a lift of her shoulder. “We took part in matching, so I know.”
“Sofie and I decided to choose for each other. We wanted someone who was least like us to learn from,” Nalani admits.
She gasps. “Sofie didn’t choose me?”
Nalani’s mouth opens and closes a few times, like she has no idea how to respond.
Noelle waves her hand. “It doesn’t matter.” Then she smiles at me. “You must be Savannah’s mom.”
“Claudia.” I almost laugh. “And it kind of does seem like it matters to you.”
She leans back into her seat. “Just ignore me. I’m not trying to be a buzz kill.”
“She needed someone a little more focused, and I needed less. It’s a compliment, honestly,” Noelle explains.
“Gah, this shit with Lauren has me questioning why I’m so easily dismissed, you know?”
“What thing?” Noelle asks.
“Sofie didn’t tell you?” she asks and again answers her own question. “She thinks it’s stupid; of course, she didn’t.”
“Or she didn’t want to tell your story if you didn’t want to share it,” I offer.
Noelle shakes her head. “She says it’s because we grew apart, but it’s because she outgrew me.”
“Wait, back up. Why did she say you grew apart? What is the because part?” Nalani asks.
“She didn’t ask me to be in her wedding.” Noelle crosses her arms. “But she asked some of the other girls.” She leans forward. “Did she ask you?”
“No. I haven’t spoken to her since the goodbye party when I was supposed to transfer to Lincoln.”
“She was so pissed Dash was leaving,” Noelle says with a little twist of her lips. “She never believed he’d make it pro, so as soon as his magic dick left campus, she sank her talons into Louie.”
“Louie, as in the nerdy hot tech geek you were crushing on and afraid to approach?” Nalani asks.
“Yep.”
“Fuck her. That’s—”
Noelle interrupts, “Lauren. That’s Lauren.”
I lean over and take her hand. “With all the kindness in my heart, I want you to accept the truth, and that is you’re a good friend, and she never deserved you.”
“I know. I just …” She shrugs. “She told me I was stupid for buying the bookstore and wanting to be a romance author because I’ve never even had a real relationship, so how could I even know what it was like to be a heroine in a story. She—”
Nalani gasps, “You bought a bookstore?”
“My dad got sick and, well, he’s gone and left me some money.”
“She said that shit to you instead of supporting you when you were going through that!” Nalani huffs.
Her face crunches up. “God, what is wrong with me for caring?”
“It’s not about the caring part—that makes you human. It’s the caring about people so small that they need to treat others like shit to make themselves feel big.” Excellent assessment, I think.
“After her wedding, I’m going to break it off with her.”
“Why go?” Nalani asks.
“It’s her wedding?” she asks, shaking her head. “I need help. I know.”
As the car pulls to a stop, “You just need to talk through what you already know and realize how awesome it is that you’re chasing your dreams instead of a man.”
“I need to see this bookstore.” Nalani smiles.
“It’s small and needs more work. Maybe—”
“It’s yours. It’s your freaking own business, Noelle. It’s your dream. You made that happen. I wanna see it.” Nalani laughs. “Can we skip the damn game and go now?”
The door opens, and Sofie looks at me. “You were supposed to text when you got close.”
“Apparently, I didn’t need to.” Nalani slides out.
She holds up her phone, and I see an app. “Of course you don’t. We still share locations.”
“When did we start doing that?” Noelle questions.
She waves her question off. “Let’s go.”
Nalani reaches back, and I hand her the car seat. “You didn’t tell me that Noelle owns a bookstore.”
“That’s her story to tell.” Sofie smiles at her. “One of many.”