Winning my Best Friend's Girl - Piper Rayne Page 0,58
I definitely don’t need more complications in my life right now.
“Hey, Hol, I came by to see Austin. Does he have an off period soon?”
She waves me in. I grab a few more butterscotches before I follow her.
“Thanks Fay,” I say and wink.
“Any time.”
I knock on the counter. “And nice to meet you, Violet.”
“You too.”
Holly waits for me to go into her office first and shuts the door behind her. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just need to talk to someone.”
“Can I ask what about?”
Holly’s great. I couldn’t pick a better sister-in-law. She stays out of my business, she doesn’t judge my decisions, and she makes my brother happy. But I’m not going to ask for relationship advice from her. She doesn’t know the situation well enough. She wasn’t here when I was growing up.
So all I say is, “Stella.”
“Oh.”
See? That one word tells her this is a subject she doesn’t want to tackle. It’s like someone inviting you on a hike and then you’re staring at Mt. Everest when you arrive.
“I’ll dial him up really quick,” she says. “He has lunch next period, but I think he’s helping a student with their science project.”
She picks up the phone, and however he answers makes her cheeks flush. Amazing that after one kid and all their years of marriage, he still can pull that reaction out of her.
“I have Kingston here… No. He’s fine… He wants to talk to you about Stella… Okay… yeah… Sounds good.”
She hangs up, and I slide to the edge of the chair. “I know my way. Same room?”
She holds up her hand to stop me. “He said we can go to him after this period and you guys can talk in his classroom.”
“Oh.” I glance at the clock above her head. “And when is that?”
She bites her cheek. “A half hour.”
I nod. What the hell am I going to do here for a half hour? I point over my shoulder. “I can wait outside.”
“Nonsense. You stay here.” She looks over my shoulder and back at me. “Would you mind if…” She stands and shuts all the blinds.
“Hey, Holly, I know I can look a little like Austin, but I can’t fill his shoes in every way.”
She laughs. “No. It’s just… sometimes all these people are so nosy.”
“Okay. But my brother might beat my ass for just being in here with you when the blinds are shut.”
She puts her hand on my shoulder when she passes by. “I need a favor.”
My heart rate increases when she pulls her blouse from her skirt. I cover my eyes with my arm. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Uncover your eyes.”
I raise my arm and peek out, seeing she’s still dressed.
“All the way.” I lower my arm and she pulls out a lunch cooler, unzipping it without saying anything. She pulls out a syringe and a vial. “We’re trying again for another baby, and we started the shots on Saturday, not even thinking that to keep up with the timing, I’d have to do them at school. We were just so excited to start.”
“Okay, but you’ve done them before, right?” Easton was conceived with the help of fertility treatments.
“It’s stupid, but I’m kind of afraid of needles. Austin always does my shots and I told him I could do this, but I’m not sure I can. It’s really important to stick to the right timing.”
“I’m sure a half hour won’t affect it too much, right?” I shift in my seat and look behind me at the closed door.
Her shoulders slump. “It scares me. I just want to do everything right, you know? Do you know what they call a pregnancy for someone my age? A geriatric pregnancy. It’s so insulting. I’m not old, but the doctor said it’s going to be even harder this time around and you know all the trouble we had the first time. I don’t want to mess it up. You’re a paramedic. Will you please just give it to me?” Tears fill her eyes.
I saw the heartbreak with both Austin and Holly while they were trying to conceive Easton. “Of course I’ll help.”
She pulls out antiseptic and a pair of gloves.
“You’re so prepared.”
She shrugs. I shouldn’t be surprised, Easton always has his snacks ready in a neat container, his juice cup and a change of clothes neatly packed in a bag. She’s an uber-organized mom.
I sanitize my hands and put on the gloves. While I pull the fertility medicine into the syringe, she raises her blouse. There are