Page 36 of The Best Friend Problem
Were they being robbed?
Heart in her throat, she turned to her roommates. Mo’s face had gone pale as a ghost, Lilly had her cell in her hand, fingers already dialing for the authorities, Pru assumed. As quietly as she could—she didn’t want to alert any bad guys to their presence, she’d seen her fair share of crime shows, that was how a B&E turned into a homicide—she started to back away from the door when a familiar voice shouted a very creative curse.
“Wait…Finn?”
“Why are there no words to go with these stupid instructions!” the voice bellowed down the hallway to the open front door.
Yup. She knew that voice. That was definitely her best friend.
“Finn?” she called louder into the apartment. She was pretty sure it was him, but she wasn’t stupid. She hovered in the apartment hallway with her roommates, ready to run if her ears were playing tricks on her.
“Pru?” Finn’s voice called back to her.
“Oh for the love of—” Lilly shoved her phone back into the pocket of her black slacks. “Pru, what is Finn doing here?”
She shrugged, as clueless as the rest of them. “How should I know?”
“He is your best friend,” Mo said. “And the father of your unborn child.”
She scowled at Mo. Yeah, but he never came over without informing her, and though they had keys to each other’s places for emergencies, he’d never used his before.
She entered the apartment and marched down the hallway to discover Finn in her bedroom surrounded by…
“What is all this?”
A large, empty cardboard box lay on her bed displaying the picture of a beautiful crib with a happy baby smiling in the middle of the perfectly put together furniture. The contents of her bedroom looked nothing like the picture on the box.
Pieces of wood and screws were strewn about the floor. A screwdriver stuck out of Finn’s back pocket as he crouched over a large white piece of paper with some sort of building instructions printed on it. And then there was Finn, looking stressed and worried, like a kid who got his hand caught in the cookie jar ten minutes before a nice healthy dinner.
He grimaced, lifting one shoulder. “Surprise?”
“Finn, what are you doing?”
He stood, paper still clutched in his hands as he faced her. “Um, I bought you this crib. I mean, I bought it for the baby. I bought the baby a crib. It was on sale, and I saw it and just… I don’t know. I wanted to put it together while you were at work and surprise you with it, but the instructions don’t have any words, just pictures, and I can’t make out what half of these damn doodles mean.”
She shook her head, the tiredness weighing down her limbs replaced with vibrating annoyance. Heat rose on her face as she took in the situation. His heart was in the right place, she knew that, but sometimes Finn overstepped his bounds.
“I never asked you to buy a crib.”
His brow rose. Okay, maybe she said that a tad bit harshly, but she was exhausted and didn’t have the energy for this right now.
“I know. I wanted to buy it. To surprise you.”
Tears threatened, but she willed them back. Damn pregnancy hormones. “Look, Finn. I know you like taking care of people and all, but this is my thing. This baby…” She placed a hand over her stomach, watching as his wary gaze followed her movement. “I’ve planned for this baby. It may not have happened the way I wanted to begin with, but everything from here on out I have a plan for, a system. It’s too soon to buy a crib.”
The first trimester was the most dangerous. So many things could go wrong. She’d only told her roommates and Finn about the baby. She didn’t plan on telling anyone else for at least another two months. And shopping for anything was out of the question until after the first appointment. When she could have a solid confirmation that things were going well.
She. Had. A. Plan.
“I just wanted to help,” he said, voice unsteady as he glanced around the room.
“I don’t need any help.” This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. This was her baby. Mine.
Mo’s hand reached out. “Pru, sweetie—”
She brushed off her friend’s touch. A storm of emotions churned inside her. She had to leave now, before she lost it in front of everyone. What was going on? Why was she feeling this sudden panic, this fear? A ringing filled her ears, bile rising in her throat. Pushing past the worried faces of her roommates, she ran to the bathroom, slamming the door and crouching by the toilet as the tears flowed.
What was wrong with her? All Finn had been trying to do was something nice for her, for the baby. Why did she turn into such a raging bitch and go off on him like that?
