“Who’s that?” I glanced at each of them as they shrugged.
“It’s your apartment—how the heck would we know?” Harper helped me up, wiping my eyes with a tissue.
I looked through the peephole to see Trace standing there with long-stem roses.
“It’s Trace,” I told them with a gasp.
All three stood at attention.
“Open the door,” Annie instructed as Trace knocked again.
Slowly, I turned the knob. “Trace, you’re home early.”
I awkwardly stood in the doorway, glaring at him. My heart was pounding, my palms sweaty.
“I took an earlier flight to surprise you. I missed you so much, Sawyer,” Trace rattled off quickly. “Is this a bad time?”
I pushed the door open more, welcoming him in. “I was just having a night in with the girls. I guess this as good a time as any for you to meet them.”
Trace walked in, waving. “Hi,” he muttered. “Should I leave?”
The air was thick as we all scrambled.
“No,” Harper spit out. “We were just about to leave. It was nice meeting you.”
They dove for their purses and rushed out without even a goodbye, leaving me to fend for myself.
“These are for you.” Trace handed me the flowers.
“They’re beautiful,” I mumbled.
“Is everything all right? You seem less than pleased to see me.” Trace rubbed the back of his neck as I forced a smile.
“No, I am so thrilled you’re home early…just a little surprised.”
“Are you sure?” He took a step closer, grabbing my hand.
“I’ve just been really tired lately and I have to be up so early tomorrow. Well, so do you.” I rambled on, trying to figure out if I was ready to tell him he was going to be a father in nine months.
“I can go if you want.” His eyes and smile melted my heart. Even though I was scared shitless, seeing him was so perfect.
“No. Stay. It’s been lonely without you,” I admitted, curling into his arms.
“Let me just run to the bathroom real quick and then I’ll open us a bottle of wine.”
Without thinking about it, I pointed to where my bathroom was and sank onto the couch. It wasn’t until I heard the door shut that I remembered the pregnancy test sitting out on the counter.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Wide-eyed, Trace darted out of the bathroom with the pee stick clutched in his hand.
“Sawyer?” he stammered. “Are you…?”
I wanted to lie. I wanted to tell him it was Harper or Annabelle, but the look on his face wasn’t anything but joyful as he stared at me.