“What are you going to do?” Shelby asks quietly beside me.
“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.