“We are going to get together tomorrow and talk.” I let out a huge sigh.
“Can I come with you?” Presley asks, and all I can do is shake my head.
“Okay, ladies, people are starting to look at us,” Shelby says. “Let’s get out there and pretend that you just didn’t meet your baby daddy after five years.”
“Easier said than done,” I retort, following them to my seat beside them, which is at the other end of the room. I avoid Stefano the whole night, sticking to my seat. Only when Avery finds me, rubbing her eyes, do I get up.
“I’m going to head out,” I tell the table, and the three of them get up. “I’ll be fine.”
I walk out of the venue with my head down, hoping no one, or better yet, Stefano doesn’t follow me. I make my way over to the little house I have for the night, slipping the dress off Avery before sliding out of my own dress.
I don’t sleep the whole night, and when Avery wakes up, I feed her quickly and head out of town.
The two-hour drive home feels like it takes five hours. Grabbing all of our bags, I walk up the stairs, heading to our apartment. I try to balance all the things while I wait for her to make her way up the stairs. “My legs are tired,” she complains to me as she takes each step with both feet, instead of one at a time. My hands burn as I try to hold on to the bags before they slip out of my hands.
“It’s hard being a princess,” I huff as we finally make it to our front door. A bag slips out of my hand the minute the next-door neighbor’s door opens.
“You’re back,” Mrs. Drummond says, walking out. “How was it?”
“I was a princess,” Avery declares. “Can I show her my dress?”
“In a little bit,” I say to her, opening the door, and she walks into our place. “Mrs. Drummond, I have a meeting this afternoon, so would you be able to watch her for a couple of hours?” She has been my next-door neighbor for the past year, and she loves Avery like her grandchildren. They just live far away, so she is always happy to spend time with Avery.
“Anytime, dear. Bring her dress over so she can try it on,” she says with a huge smile.
I walk into the house, making my way to the bedrooms and dumping off the bag, then going back.
My nerves are fried at this point. I try to get settled, but I just can’t, so I grab my phone and pull up his contact I stored last night when I couldn’t sleep.
Opening the text messages, I type.
Hi there.
I stare at it for a second and then erase it. My stomach feels like it’s going to come out of my throat. “Just text him if he’s free.”
Hey, it’s Addison, are you free?
I’m about to press send when it dawns on me. “Are you crazy?” I ask myself. “What if his girlfriend sees it?” I look at his number. “I’m just going to call him.” I press the green button and I freak out after it rings once, hanging up. “Oh, he must have missed my call.” I put the phone on the bed beside me. I rub my face with my hand, my eyes burning from not sleeping all night. The phone rings beside me, and I jump out of my skin, looking over and seeing his name on the screen. “Don’t answer it,” I tell myself, but my hand doesn’t listen.
“Hi,” I greet, trying to act nonchalant as if this isn’t killing me deep down inside.
“You hung up.” His voice is light and makes my stomach get flutters.
“No,” I lie through my teeth, “it went to voicemail.” I close my eyes, hoping he believes me.
“Did you leave a message?” he asks me.
“Um, yes.” I close my eyes.
“No, you didn’t.”
“No, I didn’t,” I finally admit. He laughs softly, and my vagina decides she wants to come out of hibernation.
“Anyway, I’m home, and I got someone to watch Avery.” I try to change the subject. “So, I have an hour, are you free?”
“I can be.” I hear rustling in the background and wonder if he’s still at the farm or in a hotel. “I’m at Matty’s house now,” he says, and I spring off the bed.
“What?” I ask, shocked.
“Where do you want to meet?” He avoids my freak-out.
“How about we meet at Luke’s—” I start to say.
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” he agrees without skipping a beat.
“Great. See you there.” I don’t say anything else because he hangs up the phone.
I don’t bother looking at myself in the mirror because if I see how horrible I look, I won’t even think of going.
I grab Avery’s dress from last night and find her on her bed sleeping. I walk out softly, going next door and knocking on the door. Mrs. Drummond opens a second later. “She’s sleeping,” I tell her.
“I’ll come over there,” she replies, grabbing her phone and following me out.
“Thank you so much. The princess dress is on the couch when she wakes up.”
I walk down the steps and turn right, heading over to Luke’s. It’s a five-minute walk, but every single step feels like there’s cement in my shoes. I pull open the door to Luke’s and step in, taking a look around to see if he’s here or not. The tables are mostly empty, which isn’t a surprise since it’s two in the afternoon. After the lunch crowd and before the dinner rush.
“Hello.” The hostess comes over. “Are you dining in or out?”
“Um, in,” I say, “for two.” I hold up my hand with two fingers sticking up. My hand shakes like a
leaf.
“Right this way.” She smiles at me and turns to walk toward the table.
“Is it possible to get a booth in the back?” I point over at the booth where we usually eat when we come here since it’s close to the kitchen, and Luke frequently joins us.
“Sure.” She zigzags through the empty tables to the back and puts the menus on the table. “Your server will be right with you,” she tells me as I slide into the booth, facing the door.
My hand taps the table as I look around, the nerves are eating me up. “I should get a drink,” I say, holding up my hand and then quickly putting it down. “What if he thinks I’m an alcoholic raising his kid?” I don’t have a chance to think anything else because the door opens and my head turns to face it.
He walks in, his black hair pushed back, a white T-shirt showing off his toned arms, and with his aviator glasses on his face. The only thing coming out of my mouth is, “Damn.”
stefano
. . .
I walk into the restaurant with my palms sweaty and my heart racing so fast I feel as if I ran here instead of taking Matty’s car. The hostess stand sits empty, and when I step up to it, I look around to see if I find her. Most of the tables are empty. My eyes go to the bar, seeing one guy sitting there.
I’m about to take out my phone and text her when I hear a woman’s voice.
My head flies up to see the woman walking toward me and to the back of the hostess stand. “Are you dining in or out?”
“I’m meeting someone here,” I say, looking down at my phone. I’m about to call her when I look up, and I spot her looking my way. She holds up her hand at me. “Found her,” I tell the girl as I walk toward Addison. The nerves are running through me. All night I kept thinking about this talk right here. I tossed and turned all night, never settling. Asking the questions in my head over and over again. But now that it’s here, now that I’m going to be able to ask the questions, my mind is drawing a blank. Maybe it’s seeing her again that is throwing me off course.
She’s sitting at the table all the way in the back. I zigzag through the tables, coming to the booth she is sitting at. “Hi,” I greet her as I slide into the booth in front of her.
“Hi,” she returns softly.
“Have you been waiting long?” I ask her, putting the phone down on the table.
“No.” She shakes her head. “I just got here.” I can tell she’s nervous. Her hands are on top of the table, crossed together as her thumb beats against her other thumb.
She looks like she’s about to say something to me when the server comes over. “Hi there.” I look up at the server. “Can I get you guys anything to drink while you look at the menu?”