nap too.” She starts walking to their limo where Charles is standing. I wave and he waves back.
Rich joins the embrace and somehow manages to smuggle Carson from it, dragging him to another limo with a driver I don’t know standing next to it. Carson shouts something and earns a middle finger from Lori and Brady.
The boys break up their huddle and separate, each walking in the direction of us girls. Brady scoops Nat up and kisses her as he fishes the keys to his SUV from his pocket. She giggles and I smile as Lori gets the door for me.
Before I can get in, he pins me to the frame and kisses me once, inhaling the way he does. It’s not a passionate kiss. It’s more like those first couple of seconds on the therapist’s couch where you try to gather your thoughts and prepare to unload.
“Let’s go home,” he mutters against my cheek and kisses once more.
“Okay.” I nod and climb into the car. He waves and shouts something I can’t fully hear before he gets in and sits for a minute, staring at the parking lot.
There’s a slight decompression that happens in the silence. My mind is stuck on the baby I don’t know how to cope with. I notice a lingering amount of guilt, almost as if I believe I am trapping him. It’s uncomfortable but I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve done this to him. I’m ruining his life.
He sighs but his words surprise me, “That was a crazy awesome wedding.” He turns to me and smiles but it’s not the grin. There’s too much emotion for him to be cocky or funny. His eyes flicker from my face to my belly and he swallows a lump in his throat. “Are you seriously going to sleep in the guest room?”
“Do you want me—”
“No.” His answer is breathy, almost a whisper. It takes me too long to realize what this is. It’s the end of the wedding. I promised him we’d talk about me leaving. I assume he’s scared and avoiding the conversation but also wants the closure of knowing.
My eyes lower to my stomach. It’s insane that I’ve leased the space to someone else and now the decisions I make affect all three of us. “You don’t have to worry. I’ve already turned down the job in Van. I’ll stay in New York and find a job and an apartment, and we can figure this out. Because even if we don’t work as a couple, we should be close by to co-parent.”
He exhales deeply, his hands do that flexing thing. “But you’ll stay with me for now?” He sounds hopeful.
“If that’s okay.”
“More than okay.” He reaches over and takes my hand in his, swallowing it up. His is clammy and heavy suggesting the nerves have him sweating now too. I can relate. “I’ll have your movers put your stuff in my storage for now.”
“Did you already email them?” I arch an eyebrow. “Is that why they canceled?”
“What?” He does that high-pitched, super guilty tone he and Brady have mastered. The cocky grin joins the conversation. “That would be presumptuous of me.” He starts the car. “Anyway, we can figure out your stuff at a later date.”
“When I move into my own place after I have a job.” I laugh at his presumptuousness.
“Not to be a downer, but do you think anyone’s going to hire you pregnant?” He glances at me as he slowly pulls out of the parking lot.
His words sink in and I bite my lip. “Stan will.”
“You’re not working for Stan again,” he says it as if he has a choice in the matter.
“You don’t get to tell me who I can work for.” I laugh but the statement is a serious one.
He laughs too but it’s throaty, almost a growl. He revs the engine and pulls out onto the street, driving too fast and making me grip the seat. “You would take that job back?”
“Not the NHL part of it. But the company is massive. I could work anywhere there, and Sukii said Stan is basically waiting for me to come and ask for my job.”
“After everything he said and did?” He sounds disgusted.
“It’s an option and like you said, who’s going to hire me pregnant?” I shrug, hoping he’ll let the conversation die.
He does but the results are unpleasant. He’s quiet and annoyed, his driving reflects it. When we pull into his parking spot at the Plaza, he gets out