I’d be impressed and excited about my future. If I’d never met Shane, I’d be more or less in exactly this same spot. Once I worked him out of my system, I’d reclaim the excitement I had at the start. I could do that. It would take some time and focus, but I’d get there.
Chapter Thirty-One
I didn’t see much of Ash for the next several days. Despite her sister-in-law’s dislike of her, Ash offered to stay with the couple to help them transition into parenthood. But on Sunday, when Jo sent her an invitation to come out for an outdoor party, she jumped at the chance. “I need to get away. Just tell me when and where.”
Jo offered to send her driver to pick her up, and I got in on that ride, too. I wanted to be with Ash when she arrived. Of course, she realized the minute we pulled up where we were going. She recognized the front of Adam’s townhouse from the gossip pages.
“I’m impressed,” I confessed. “These places all look the same to me.”
“You don’t remember that video of Jo passing out in the sidewalk right here?” She pointed at a tree, and then I did remember it. In my defense, it had been ages ago. Plus, it was a pretty nondescript tree.
She grabbed my elbow. “Oh, my God. Come the fuck on.”
I had to laugh. “Be cool, okay?”
“Are you fucking kidding me? Is he here?”
“Yeah. I think so.” She slipped off a yoga wrap to reveal that, of course, she had on a Walking Disaster T-shirt. I sighed.
We rang the bell, and Eden answered. She had the baby cradled in one elbow. “Hey! You must be Ashley. I’m Eden. This is Joshua.”
Ash didn’t freak out. She touched the baby’s hand and said, “Are you a big boy?” She looked up at Eden and asked, “Does he sleep through the night yet?”
Eden moved out of the way and let us in, answering, “God, I wish. Though what you call night varies . . .”
They went on ahead of me, talking about babies like they were picking up a conversation they’d left off before. I guess having spent days with her brother’s baby had left Ash wanting to talk about nothing else.
Zion was behind the kitchen counter, but Ash already knew him, so she waved and said, “Hey, Zion!” Like it was no big deal. I laughed at how easily she’d managed to adjust to all this.
That was before we went out back. I decided to sit back and watch her transform into psycho fan. Adam stood in the yard, hammering together some kind of small wooden swing set for babies. Ash walked straight up to him, and said, “Oh, my God.”
I held my breath, but she shocked me.
“Where did you find this? It’s perfect!”
She got down on her knees and studied the instructions laid out on the ground. Adam dug out the front page, with the manufacturer information and held it up. “I ordered it from here.”
Next thing I knew, she was holding a complete conversation about how hard it is to find quality children’s play equipment. “I was just looking at those little musical chairs for my nephew—he’s only three days old—but they seem too advanced for any baby.”
Adam paused and scratched his chin. “Oh, yeah. They’re okay for nap time, but forget about using them to entertain the baby for any length of time.”
I sat in a chair on the porch, absolutely mesmerized by her ability to do that. Jo placed a lemonade in front of me and sat. “Taste this. It’s amazing and low in sugar.”
I took a sip. “Is that strawberry?”
“Strawberry and lemon. Good, huh?” She followed my gaze out to the yard. “Your friend seems to have made herself at home.”
“Yeah. I’m quite shocked.”
“What about you?”
I turned to face her. “Me?”
“Have you made yourself at home? Do you like it at Zion’s?”
Eden joined us. “Did you ask her about Shane?”
Jo shook her head. “I wasn’t sure if I should.”
“You guys can ask me about Shane. I don’t have anything to say, but I’m an open book.”
Eden dropped her chin on her palms, elbows on the table. “So, did you ever respond to him?”
Jo said, “It’s okay if you don’t want to. We can be friends with both of you, whatever you do.”
“Respond to him about what? I haven’t heard from him in a week.”
They exchanged a glance. “You haven’t heard anything from him?”