by Phoebe Mills
Carter chuckled softly. “Your mom spread that love around, too—don’t forget that.”
“She’s good at that. She’s good at a lot of things, which is probably why my dad just let her do it. But that’s the thing—she did it all. And as much as I love my dad, you know I don’t have a real close relationship with him because he wasn’t there for us in the thick of things. That was my mom. She’s always been the rock. But I don’t want the family Gia and I have to be like that. I want it to be an equal partnership where we’re both there. I don’t want to just be a babysitter, you know? That’s my kid, too.”
It was hard not to feel an ounce of jealousy toward the kind of family Marco was talking about, because it was something Carter hadn’t had in so long. His mom had been like Marco’s, too. Had taken on nearly all the child raising and household responsibilities. And then she’d gotten sick and things began to deteriorate. She’d been their rock, the foundation upon which their family was built. And then when she passed away, the entire thing crumbled around them without her.
“Have you told her this?” Carter asked.
“Yeah. You were there at Last Call both times. I tried telling her, but she won’t listen.”
He stared at his friend for long moments, dumbfounded, before finally saying, “You’re an idiot.”
“No doubt,” Marco said without hesitation.
Carter snorted and shook his head, setting his beer mug down on the tall table they’d commandeered off to the side. “Now remember, I’m not a marriage expert, so take this with a grain of salt. But it seems to me that you might have a better reception with your wife if you approach this when neither of you have been screaming in the past hour. Wait until tempers have cooled, and you can both think clearly. Then you can have an actual, productive conversation.”
Marco eyed him skeptically over the rim of his beer mug. “You think we just need to talk it out,” he said, doubt ringing clearly in his tone.
Carter lifted a shoulder. “I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt if you brought her some flowers, too, or maybe some chocolate. Or whatever she’s been craving—if pregnancy cravings are actually a thing.”
Marco tossed his head back, his booming laughter raining down. “Oh, it’s a thing. You have no idea how far I had to drive the first time it happened, because every place around here was already closed for the night. But it didn’t take long for her cravings to shift into a pattern, so now I just keep extras stocked in the basement. She hasn’t gotten wise to it yet because I’ve cut her off from going down there.”
“Why? Is that where you hide the bodies?”
Marco attempted a scowl but ruined it when he chuckled. “Watch out or you might find out. Nah, I’m building a rocker for the nursery so we’ve got somewhere to sit for middle-of-the-night feedings—as long as she’ll let me help—and I want it to be a surprise.”
Carter marveled at the genuine happiness that radiated from his friend when he talked about the surprise addition to their family. There was no doubt Marco was completely invested in this kid, even though it hadn’t been in the plans for them yet.
“Well there you go.” Carter glanced at his watch, noting the time and that the stores in town had long since closed. “Maybe you can sneak downstairs and grab something from that stash tonight before you talk.”
“Good idea. Hopefully the girls have set up in the living room for the night—then there’ll be no sneaking needed. I can just slip in the back door and head straight down.”
“The girls?” Carter asked, attempting to school his voice into bland interest, but from the smug look Marco shot him, he hadn’t been very successful.
“Yeah, Savannah and Abby came over tonight for an impromptu girls’ night. Speaking of talking shit out, maybe you should come with me.”
Carter pressed his lips together in what he hoped passed for a smile, tense as it was, and shook his head. “Been there, done that. Abby and I talked, and we’re good now.”
Marco’s eyebrows hit his hairline. “Good-good, or good-nice-knowing-you-see-you-in-another-ten-years-good?” The blatant sexual innuendo from his first good was hard to ignore, and Carter’s smile wasn’t quite so forced anymore.
“That first ‘good-good’ was damn near filthy, man. You do realize that, don’t you?”
“I do indeed.” Marco shot him a blinding smile before lifting his mug in Carter’s direction. “And you’re avoiding the question.”
Carter sighed and turned his back on the pool table, leaning up against it. “Somewhere in the middle?” He said it like a question, even though he knew that was exactly where they were.
He and Abby had been on each extreme, and they couldn’t make it work either time. He just hoped they could find a lasting relationship now that they’d landed somewhere in the middle.
Marco stationed himself at Carter’s side, both of them facing the thin crowd at the bar tonight. “Look, man, I’m not trying to get in the middle of whatever you guys have going on. You’re adults and you can handle it.”
“But…”
“But, you’re the most driven person I’ve ever known, and I know those goals guide you. I just don’t want you to regret your choices five years down the line. Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans, and you excel at that distraction.” He reached out and clapped a hand on Carter’s shoulder, squeezing lightly. “Take it from me—sometimes the best things we never knew we needed are the ones that just fall into our laps. But you have to be willing to break from the plan and run with them.”
* * *
When Abby and Savannah had arrived at Gia’s house, their arms weighed down with enough ice cream to feed an army, she’d never been more grateful for the close friendships she’d cultivated with these two amazing women. Two amazing women who were ready to drop everything in deference to an emergency girls’ night.
A couple hours prior, at evening pickup, Becca had casually mentioned that tonight was Carter’s last night in Heart’s Hope Bay. At the time, she’d worked hard to maintain her composure, not allowing her true feelings to show on the outside, but beneath the surface, she was reeling. Heartbroken that Carter’s time in their little town was truly over. Of course, she’d anticipated this from the beginning. From the very first day he’d showed up in town, she knew it wouldn’t be lasting. But knowing it and seeing the reality of it were two very different things.
Savannah had been within earshot, and without giving Abby the option of arguing, she had called for an emergency get-together. Abby knew better than to argue. Besides, she needed this night as much as Savannah thought she did, because without it…without the support of her friends to lean on…she’d be spending the evening doing exactly what she was now—sitting on the couch, face-first in a carton of ice cream—except she’d be doing it all alone.
And as it turned out, Gia needed the support just as much.
“So what happened after you guys left Last Call the other night?” Savannah asked.
Gia blew out a breath and dropped her head back to rest on top of the couch cushions. “Nothing.”
Abby and Savannah shared a look over Gia’s head before Savannah said, “Nothing?”
“Nope. I beat him home, and by the time he got inside, his pillow was on the couch and I was locked in the bedroom.”
“That’s…definitive,” Abby said hesitantly, unsure how well Gia would receive any sort of advice.
But Gia answered that question in the next breath when she groaned. “I know. It was stupid, wasn’t it? If we’d just talked then, we probably would have figured it all out. But I just get so mad when it’s in the heat of the moment. And it’s not even anger, really, it’s hurt.” Gia’s voice cracked on the last word, and both Savannah and Abby immediately wrapped an arm around their friend, making a Gia sandwich.
“Oh, sweetie,” Abby murmured. “I don’t want you to be upset anymore.”
“I don’t want to be upset anymore. I hate that this time—which is supposed to be magical�
�is filled with tension and arguments and frustration. I want to be happy with him. I want to talk with him about what’s going on and what I’m feeling without fear of him swooping in and making a decision for me.”
“Ugh, men are the worst at that,” Savannah said. “My brothers try to do it to me all the time.”
“They really are. I get that he just wants to fix everything all the time, but sometimes I don’t need that. Worse is when he dismisses me and the research I’ve done and the work I’ve already put in and comes up with what he thinks is the best solution. Like with the breastfeeding thing…If he would stop and listen to me, he’d know that I’m not against pumping and bottle feeding eventually, but I want to make sure the baby is firm with exclusive breastfeeding first. And if he’d just listen for two minutes instead of questioning everything and thinking that he knows best, this all could have been avoided.”
“Well, it sounds to me like he’s suffering from a case of Men Are Dumb.” Savannah dipped her spoon into her pint of ice cream. “Honestly, they are all afflicted by it.”
Abby laughed, unable to deny the truth of that. Although the one man she was basing her assessment on just happened to be Carter, and he just happened to be breaking her heart at the moment, so she may not have been the most reliable witness.
“I’ve just been trying so hard to figure out a way through the situation that we didn’t plan for,” Gia said into her ice cream. “Everybody tells me I just need to go with the flow more. That’s not how I work! When chaos gets thrown my way, I want to have Plan A, B, and C ready if I need it. And I think, considering these circumstances, I’m doing pretty good.”
“Of course you are!” Abby said reassuringly, rubbing a hand up and down Gia’s back. “I know Savannah isn’t going to get this because she doesn’t even like to plan what she’s having for dinner—”
Savannah laughed, completely unoffended because it was the truth.
“But having a plan makes us feel more in control.” Abby didn’t want to admit the reason she felt she needed that plan in the first place—that life with her mom had been chaotic and ever-changing, and always having a plan helped her mitigate that. Yet while it had helped her make it through her life thus far, she also hadn’t obtained what she’d planned for—a family of her own. A perfect husband and a dozen perfect kids.
And even though she was only twenty-nine, she couldn’t help but wonder if that was something she’d ever have in her life. After all, how many once-in-a-lifetime loves did a person really get? She’d already had two. With the same person, true, but at different points in their lives. She didn’t know how realistic it was to think that she could ever have that with somebody else. But more than that, she wasn’t sure she even wanted that with someone else anymore. Not when she feared she would be constantly comparing that person to Carter and comparing their relationship to the blink of time she and Carter had shared when he’d been home.
Tears stung the backs of her eyes, and she blinked hard to keep them at bay. She’d already cried enough this past week, and she was damn near dehydrated.
Even without her plan coming to fruition, she had to admit she’d done well with the cards she’d been dealt. She had an amazing career she loved and got to spend the days with kids who may not be her own, but who she loved all the same. While, true, her mom couldn’t be bothered to be a part of Abby’s life, her grandma loved her enough to make up for anything she may have been lacking. She wouldn’t trade that for the world.
And her friends? She looked at them, laughing as Savannah bemoaned another tense run-in with Noah, and felt a tug on her heartstrings. She loved them, wholly and completely. More so, even, than many people loved their blood families. She realized then that forging a bond as strong as the three of them had was more powerful than a “real” family could ever be. They hadn’t been forced to be with each other—they’d chosen each other. They’d stuck it out together through fights and disagreements, arguments and frustrations, not because they had to, but because they wanted to. So if she ended up being an eighty-five-year-old spinster, she’d be okay as long as the friends she’d collected along the way were still by her side in the end.
“You’re awfully quiet over there, Abby,” Savannah said with a raised eyebrow as she dug into her mint chip ice cream. “I think we’ve scared Gia into talking to Marco tonight, but what about you?”
“I’m not sure talking with Marco will solve my problems.”
Gia laughed and slapped Abby’s knee. “You know what she means.”
She did. But unfortunately, Abby already knew a conversation wouldn’t be the answer for her. At least not in the way they meant. She and Carter had had that conversation—the first one in which Abby had actually listened to him and his wants and needs. She felt sick that it’d taken so long for her to do so, and she wished she could go back in time and tell her younger self to pay attention to what other people needed and actually listen to their answers instead of plowing ahead with tunnel vision focus on her own goals. Maybe knowing that would’ve changed the outcome of her and Carter’s relationship. Maybe it would’ve preserved it.
Abby was saved from voicing any of this by the back door opening. She met Savannah’s gaze and tipped her head toward the door, eyebrows lifted in silent question.
Savannah nodded and pushed to stand. “Sounds like that’s our cue.”
The three of them strode into the kitchen, capping their empty pints of ice cream before tossing them in the garbage. Savannah hugged Gia before turning her over to Abby and grabbing her purse off the counter.
Abby squeezed her friend tight and whispered, “Now’s the perfect time to talk. Neither of you are mad, you just had a pep talk from your girls, and you’re fueled with ice cream.”
Gia laughed and nodded, pulling back and dropping her hands to rest over the tiny baby bump that had just begun to appear. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“It’s going to go great,” Abby assured her as she and Savannah gathered their things.
They’d made it to the back door just as Marco ascended from the basement, jerking to a stop when he saw them in the room. “Oh, uh…evening, ladies.”
Abby glanced down, noticing the box of chocolate-covered cherries Marco carried, something Gia had been craving nearly nonstop during her pregnancy, and smiled. Maybe Marco’s time with Carter had been equally productive, and Carter had knocked some sense into his friend and sent him home with instructions to talk.
It seemed both she and Carter were good at helping their friends. She only wished they’d been as good doing it with each other.
Chapter Twenty-Five
It felt weird to be leaving Heart’s Hope Bay with only the single suitcase Carter had packed in a rush to get to Becca. He might have only been in town for a couple months, but it felt like his life had irrevocably changed in the time he’d been there. He just didn’t know if it was for the better.
He set his suitcase by the front door, his heart breaking when Sofia ran over to him and threw her arms around his legs.
“I don’t want you to leave, Uncle Carter! I want you to stay. You’re my favorite.” Emotion shook her voice as fat tears rolled down her cheeks.
He squatted down to her level and wrapped his arms around her small frame, gathering her close. This time with her had been something he’d never thought he’d have, and what he’d told Abby the other night about him being glad that Becca had broken her ankle hadn’t just been because of the time he’d gotten with Abby. Since he’d been back, he might have had to deal with unsavory things like his father, but he also got bonus time with his sister and his niece. Time that would have taken him years of weekend visits and summer vacations to account for. So while some parts of his stay here had been painful, the trip as a whole hadn’t been nearly as challenging as he’d thought it would be. The good far outweighed the bad.
He placed his hand on Sofia’s back, rubbing soft circles. “You know something? You’re my favorite, too.”
/> She just tightened her arms around his neck, unwilling to let go.
“Your mom and I have already talked about when you guys can come visit me again. I don’t know if you remember, but my condo has a pool.”
Sofia sniffed, pulling back and swiping her hand across her nose, her eyelashes glittering with unchecked tears. “It does?”
“Yep. And it even has a slide.”
Sofia’s eyes lit up, her emotions flipping like a switch, happiness erasing the sadness in a blink. If only it was so easy for everyone. “Slides are my favorite!”
“Then you’re going to have a lot of fun when you guys come visit me.”
“Why don’t you grab the picture you drew for Uncle Carter, bug?” Becca said.
Sofia’s eyes grew wide, lighting up as she smiled before running down the hall to her bedroom. Carter stood and had to force himself to meet his sister’s eyes, not wanting to see the sadness or disappointment he was sure would be there. Bracing himself, he met her gaze straight on and was surprised to only see the former, despite her holding out hope that he and Abby could have something more permanent.
“Even though you leave your clothes in the washing machine for days at a time and never rinse out your crusty bowls, I’m still going to miss you,” she said.
Grinning, he hooked his arm around her neck, tugging her to him as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Admit it—you love me.”
She glanced up at him and rolled her eyes at the same time she pinched his nipple and twisted.
