16. “PRESSURE, PRESSING DOWN ON ME, PRESSING DOWN ON YOU” #5
She hated how much she needed to hear that. “Thank you. I couldn’t have pulled it off without your help.”
“You could have. I’ve seen what you’re capable of.”
His compliment was exactly the kind of validation she needed in that moment. Rising on her toes, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You’re a good brother, Logan. And a great friend.”
“Anytime.”
They peeked out the window again, looking for any sign of Greyson’s truck or Wren’s jeep.
“They’re coming!” someone hissed from the window, and Jocelyn turned, smacking her head into Logan’s jaw.
“Ouch!”
“Crap. Sorry!”
White light burst behind her eyes, momentarily blinding her as chaos suddenly turned everyone into idiots.
“It’s okay. Shh! Everyone quiet!” She blinked as her vision returned and watched Greyson’s truck slide into a parking spot a few doors down. “Everyone duck down! Here they come!”
The crowd surged into formation, bodies compressing toward the entrance. Seventy grinning faces coiled tight, holding their breath around the coming shout.
Jocelyn’s heart raced. Wren and Greyson believed they were meeting a massage therapist from The Haven for a modest employee birthday lunch. Neither one suspected a roomful of friends.
Jocelyn pushed closer to the door. The kitchen clatter dropped to a simmering hush as the staff watched from the back. Her stomach dropped when she reached for her phone, remembering too late that it wasn’t on her.
“My phone… I need pictures. I don’t have—”
“I’ve got it.” Logan already had his phone lifted, the camera open, his thumb poised over the shutter. “You play hostess. I’ll be sure to catch everything.”
The crowd pulsed with anticipation as seconds stretched on bated breath. Her heart hammered wildly behind her ribs.
He should be here—
The door swung open with a flash of sunlight, and everyone yelled, “SURPRISE!”
Wren’s hands flew to her mouth, and Greyson staggered a full step back, quickly recovering to steady his pregnant wife.
Jocelyn laughed, her relief so extreme she was unexpectedly ambushed by tears. By the stunned looks on their faces, they were definitely surprised.
“You guys!” Wren covered her face, hugging the staff members who had lied to get her there under false pretenses.
Jocelyn quickly dashed the wetness away from her cheeks with the back of her wrist and pressed through the crush to reach her best friend.
“You did this, didn’t you?” Wren accused through priceless laughter. She seized Jocelyn in a hug, her infectious happiness radiating into her like a jolt of electricity. “I love you!”
Jocelyn pulled back and laughed. “You really had no idea?”
“None. I thought we were meeting Freya and the others for lunch.” Wren gasped, her eyes luminous, then gathered Jocelyn’s hands and pressed them to her belly. “The baby’s surprised, too.”
Breath caught in her throat as the strangest little flutters danced under her palm. “Wow,” she breathed, having never felt anything so precious before.
Wren was quickly pulled away as others wanted a chance to feel. Jocelyn stared down at her hands, empty and trembling.
It’s funny how loneliness can sneak up on a person sometimes, even when one isn’t necessarily alone. There she was, in a room full of friends, more aware that something was missing in her life than conscious of all the beauty surrounding her.
“You sneaky, sneaky people. Every one of you,” Wren accused lovingly.
Jocelyn shook off the unwelcome feeling and chastised herself for even going there. It only took one look around to see how incredibly grateful she should be for having so many amazing people to call friends.
“Pretty stealth, Collins,” Greyson said, hooking a thickly muscled arm around her shoulders and shaking her like a big brother might shake a little sister.
Hiding how ridiculously emotional she was reacting to every little thing, she smiled. “I have my moments.”
He met her gaze, and she saw how genuinely grateful he was for her efforts. “Thank you for this. I know you put it all together.”
Her heart fluttered. “You guys deserve it.”
His stare roamed the room. “Where’s Soren?”
Words stuck in Jocelyn’s throat, and Logan coughed. “Business thing. Out of town. Couldn’t get back in time.”
Grey’s jaw noticeably tightened, and Wren’s attention darted to Jocelyn, quick and searching.
Jocelyn dropped her gaze to the floorboards before they made a bigger deal out of his absence than it needed to be. With a galvanizing breath, she plastered on a smile and lifted her head. “Come see your cake.”
She took Wren’s hand and led her through the tables to the back, drawing her toward Esther’s fondant masterpiece.
Wren was sufficiently distracted. “Aw! Look at the little lobstahs!”
“Esther did a great job, didn’t she?”
“It’s perfect. Everything is, Joce.” Wren took her hand, squeezing tightly. “I can’t thank you enough.” She smiled, but her brow wore the stress of concern. “Why isn’t Soren here?”
She shrugged. “Like Logan said…he had a business thing.”
Wren being Wren, she saw through the excuse and heard the pain in her voice. “I’m sorry.”
Jocelyn held her smile even when it refused to reach her eyes. “His loss.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” Wren whispered. “Sometimes people just don’t think until it’s too late.”
True, but Jocelyn knew that wasn’t enough. Not this time. According to her heart, he had already lost.
Soren flew into the first parking spot he saw and ran up Main Street, still in his golf shoes. The sidewalks were littered with wet leaves from the storm, and he nearly busted his ass twice trying to make it to Vine & Barrel.
Several traffic jams had stretched his drive from what should have been four hours to five and a half.
He burst through the doors at five-forty-nine, expecting to see a restaurant full of familiar faces sipping cocktails and coffee as they nibbled on dessert.
What he found was Jocelyn, sitting alone at a ravaged table in the back, staring into a whiskey, as bus staff cleaned up around her.
Her head lifted slowly, her expression blank and her eyes flat.
Soren rushed to her. “Joce, I’m so sorry.” He panted for breath, closing the distance and falling to his knees in front of her. “I fucked up.”
He wrapped his arms around her, but she made no move to hug him back.
He looked up at her, finding no light or forgiveness in her eyes. “I called. I tried to get here.”
She looked at him like a stranger. “You left town.”
“I wasn’t supposed to be gone this long. The jet had an issue, and I had to rent—”
“It doesn’t matter, Soren.” There was no inflection in her voice. “None of it matters now. You missed everything.”
“Don’t say that. It does matter. I tried—”
“You failed.”
Her words sent a shock through his chest. “Joce, I did everything—”
She looked away, lifting her chin and pressing her lips tight. Shit. Her expression tightened as if it was taking everything in her not to cry.
“I’m sorry. You have to believe I would never do something like this on purpose.”
She pulled in a slow breath and lifted her cocktail, taking a long sip and not setting the glass down until it was only ice.
“You should call your brother.”
“I’m not worried about Greyson right now. I just care about you.”
She stood, leaving him on his knees, and turned to gather her keys. “I’m not your worry anymore.”
He bolted to his feet. “What do you mean?” She was already walking away. “Jocelyn!”
When she reached the door, she turned and looked at him with such regret it knocked him back a step. “It was fun while it lasted, Soren.”
“Jocelyn, wait!”
He rushed after her, prepared to chase her down and tell her that walking away wasn’t an option. They didn’t quit on each other, but as he flew out the door, he slammed directly into Logan.
“Move!”
“No.” His brother planted his palm on his chest as Jocelyn retreated down the street.
Soren flung his arm away. “Get out of my way.”
Logan squared up, making it clear Soren would have to go through him if he wanted to get past him.
“What’s your fucking problem?” Soren snapped.
“You! You don’t get to stand her up, stand Grey and Wren up, and everyone else, and then bulldoze in here and make it all about you. You’re only making more of a mess, and she’s already had a hard enough day.”
“Logan,” he said through gritted teeth. “Either get out of my way, or I will fucking move you.”
“Try. I dare you.”
He met his brother’s eyes, seeing a side of him he didn’t know.
“She doesn’t want you to follow her, Soren. If you can actually put someone else’s feelings before your own for once, you’ll respect that.”
His body hummed with the urgent need to go after her.
Every part of him needed to fix this. Now. But what if Logan was right? What if he was only making more of a mess of things? Maybe she just needed time to cool off.
Breath unsteady, he debated.
Logan slowly lowered his arm. “Go home, Soren. Your dog misses you.”
“Fuck off.” Soren spun, storming in the opposite direction of where Jocelyn had gone, back to his rental, unsure if he was doing the right thing or the absolute worst. Hating the fact that he had never been so unsure or scared.
When he got to the car, the gravity of the situation settled over him like an avalanche. He might have permanently fucked up one of the best things he ever had.