looks over at Billie, and the two of them share a secret smile.
“See?” she says to him. “I told you.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, you were right, princess.”
I glance between the two of them, utterly confused. “What the fuck are you two talking about?”
Billie meets my annoyed gaze. “Do you still love her?”
“What?”
“If you ever want me to leave your house, you’re going to have to answer the question,” she responds. “And I should remind you that I’m getting very close to my due date. I have a feeling you’d prefer I don’t deliver my baby in your kitchen.”
“Christ, Billie. You’re killing me here.”
“Just answer the question, Andrew. Are you still in love with my sister?”
Fucking hell. These two are quite the duo.
“Andrew,” Billie shouts, and at the shrill sound of a pregnant woman on the brink, I just break.
“Yeah, I am, okay?” I sigh and run a frustrated hand through my hair. “Even though I don’t want to, I still fucking love her. I spend all fucking day trying not to think about her. Trying not to call her. Trying not to just show up at her rental like a psycho. It’s not something that just goes away in seven fucking days.”
Truthfully, up until now, I don’t think I’ve ever been in love with anyone before.
And even though I hate to admit that Luca is right, the fucker is right. Birdie is the first woman I’ve ever let all the way in. Though, now, after this, I’m starting to wonder if maybe I’ve been doing things right all along. Because, fuck, if falling in love with a woman ends like this, I’m having a hard time understanding the point in it all.
You say that like you have a choice to just fall in love with someone else, you fucking amateur. She’s it for you. You’re going to be pining after her for fucking years.
Christ.
“She’s a mess, you know,” Billie says, her voice a soft inclination over her words. “A total fucking mess.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, she looks exactly like you look right now. Which should tell you everything you need to know.”
I hate how quickly my heart latches on to that little ray of hope she just provided.
But it does.
And the damn thing picks up a rhythm inside my chest.
“Ever since she got back to LA, besides trying to help me get ready for the baby, she’s done nothing but mope around and be miserable. Whenever I try to talk about you, she completely shuts down and gets insanely pissed at me.”
Sounds about right for Birdie. Her anger has a quick trigger.
“And what exactly do you think I’m supposed to do with this information?”
“I think you need to man up and really tell my sister how you feel.”
An incredulous laugh escapes my lungs. “I’m not just going to show up at her house out of the blue, Billie.”
She shakes her head. “Not her house. Our house.”
“You completely lost me.”
“I’ll lay the groundwork for bringing you two together,” she explains. “Just be ready to come to our house on Saturday.”
“And then what?”
“And then,” she answers without reluctance, “the ball is in your court. So, you can either be a fucking man and tell my sister how you really feel about her, or you can be a little bitch and stay miserable for the rest of your life. And hell’s bells, I really hope you’re not going to be a little bitch about this,” Billie explains and proceeds to use Luca’s shoulder to help her stand to her feet. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to take my pregnant ass back home and spend the rest of the day lounging on the couch and complaining about being uncomfortable.”
“Dude? A little help?” I look at Luca, but he just flashes a stupid smirk in my direction.
“Don’t be a little bitch, Andrew,” he says, and that stupid smirk only grows. “Thanks for the coffee, and I’ll see you real soon.”
And then they both leave me standing in my kitchen, completely confused by what just transpired.
What in the hell was that?
Birdie
I can’t wait until my sister delivers this baby. Not only because I’m simply excited to meet my future niece or nephew, but also because I’m ready for her to stop being so damn demanding. I’ve been back in LA for a little over a week, and Billie has managed to commandeer just about all of my time.
Yesterday, while Luca was busy with a press junket for an upcoming film, I went to the