townhouse around six in the evening. I tell Wes that I enjoyed meeting him. I think I notice the tiniest hint of a smile on his face when he mumbles back, “Yeah, you too.”
“Be right back,” Ryan tells his brother as he gets out and walks around the car to take me to my door.
I feel less than fresh as we pause together in the doorway. “I had a really nice day. Thank you,” I say, looking up at him. The familiar butterflies begin to swarm as I anticipate and hope for a kiss, even though I know Wes can still see us from the car.
He inches closer to me. “Me, too,” he says, his voice low and deep. As his intense hazel eyes search mine, I can clearly read his intentions in them. His fingers move beneath my chin to lift my face toward his. Slowly, he leans down, closing the short distance between us. I feel a shiver slide through me as his warm lips meet mine. It’s a soft slow caressing kiss, and the butterflies settle down as the muscles low in my stomach start to tighten. Too soon he lifts his head, and I see his eyes cutting over to the car and then back again, letting me know that he’s stopping because of Wes. I nod subtly and feel a smile growing on my tingling lips.
“How does your week look?” he asks taking a step back. “Would you like to do something one night after work?”
“Sure,” I tell him, excited at the prospect of seeing him again so soon and hoping to get some alone time.
“How about Thursday?”
“Thursday works.”
“It’s a plan,” he says. “I’ll call you.”
“Sounds good.”
Then he waves and flashes his bright grin at me before he returns to the car.
I walk into my cool entryway on a cloud. I’m really liking Ryan. I can feel it. Just when I thought I’d relegated all hope to the very back recesses of a dark and empty closet, I surprise myself by yanking the door wide open and letting in the light. Maybe the other shoe won’t drop. Maybe a little optimism won’t jinx things.
I set my bag down on the kitchen table and catch sight of Tiger racing through the doorway. He latches onto my ankle and then steps back to sit down and look up at me. I laugh and pick him up, holding his soft, furry little weight in my arms. He purrs and blinks at me.
I’m in a good mood the rest of the evening. After showering and grabbing a bowl of cereal for dinner because I’m too tired to make anything else, I’ve nearly forgotten the message I left for Katie. She finally returns my call after ten that evening
Katie is whispering as she speaks. “Hi Andy. I got your messages.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Why are you whispering?”
“I waited until Mike was asleep to call you.”
“Oh.” Katie is quiet on her end. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay.”
“I haven’t talk to him about anything,” she tells me with a hesitant tone.
I sit up in bed, startling Tiger, who jumps to the floor. “I’m not judging you, Katie. What you do is up to you.”
“Have you talked to Bryn?” she asks.
“No. I haven’t really been in the mood to talk to her.”
More silence from her end. I’m trying to think of something to say that will make her feel better, or at least make things okay with us.
“I’m pregnant, Andy.”
I inhale sharply. “What?”
“I’m pregnant.”
“Oh wow,” I say. “How long have you known?”
“I took a test a couple of days ago.”
“You didn’t say anything yesterday.”
“I haven’t told anyone. Mike doesn’t even know yet. We didn’t plan it or anything.”
“Have you seen your doctor?”
“No.”
“Are you sure you’re pregnant?”
“I took a lot of tests once the first one turned positive, and I can feel it. I am.”
“Wow,” I say again, not really sure how I’m supposed to react and wondering if I should congratulate her. “What are you going to do?” I finally ask.
“I was actually happy when I found out. I was just waiting for the right time to tell Mike.”
“Does he want a baby?”
I hear her sigh. “We’d planned on having kids in the future. I thought he’d be surprised and maybe taken aback, but happy overall. Now, I don’t know.”
I rub my hands over my face. “I’m so sorry about yesterday. I probably shouldn’t have said anything. If I had known...”
She interrupts me, “Do you want to hear something awful? I considered telling him