Page 133 of The Cornerstone
“Good temperature, easy surf. We’ll get out there and go for a walk after you eat,” he said. “Patrick called a little while ago. He wants to take a look at the progress in the dining room, and it’s hot as hell in the city, so he and Andy are coming up for the day.”
Somewhere between the college Bowl Championship Series and March Madness, Will and Patrick became best friends. They engaged in all manner of masculine activities together: surfing, sports viewing, distance running, ocean swimming, eating as if it was their last meal. They wouldn’t let me hire a tradesman to restore the patio because they were hell-bent on doing it themselves. It was fair to say Will wasn't bored with his post-SEAL life.
I kind of loved the bromance between my two favorite guys.
It made it easier to scale back at the office, too. Pregnancy didn’t agree with my seventy-hours-a-week schedule, and by July, I’d delegated more tasks than I thought possible. There were hiccups, and not everything ran smoothly, but Froggie didn’t give me many options in the matter. I still handled all the buying and selling, all the finance and contracts, but I transferred much of the external affairs to Tom.
Will pulled a chair out from the table and held my elbow as I sat. Even though I had two more months to go, I couldn’t see my feet and was known to knock things over with my belly. Everything about me was huge and uncomfortable, but I’d never been happier.
“What do you and Froggie want for breakfast?” He set a plate of pancakes in front of me and waited, knowing my meals included multiple courses.
“Scrambled eggs with spicy peppers. Bacon. Pineapple. And if there’s any spinach dip left, I’d be excited about that, too.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Much to my surprise, Will loved running command at Redtop. It was sexy as hell to watch him in his darkened office, studying the wall of computer screens, wearing his headset, and barking orders. His work was different now, and there were situations when he was locked in that office for several days at a time, but he adored it.
And I adored him.
I rubbed my belly again, reveling in the feel of Froggie’s sharp kicks. There were nights when I sat in bed, my hands glued to my skin while Froggie rolled and hiccupped and fluttered, and I thought about my mother. I missed her terribly, and I would have given anything for her to sit by my side and smooth my hair, and tell me that I could do this. That loving and protecting my family came naturally to me, and this would be no different. That everything, everything,everythinghappened for a reason. That it would be scary but I was strong. That I’d know what to do when that baby was placed in my arms.
I hadn’t seen any of this coming—the love of my life, the beachfront home far from my city, the baby growing inside me—and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
