Page 118 of Embracing the Beat
“I have some maternity clothes from when I was pregnant with Ken. Would you be interested in any of them?”
“I-I’d love that, thank you.” Now I won’t have to worry about scraping together the money to buy some. My regular clothes won’t fit much longer, and I refuse to let Mia or Sawyer spend any more money on me.
“Great!” Her face brightens. “Whenever you want to see them, let me know.”
“What is taking so long? Ken and I are ready for pizza.” I’ve only seen Nick’s wife Meredith once before at the awards show, but she’s still as pretty as I remember with her darker skin and long corkscrew curls. Ken’s chubby fingers are wrapped in them as she babbles from Meredith’s arms. I study Meredith for any resemblance to Mike and find it in her astute gaze when it lands on me.
“Dude, we’ve got fifteen minutes max before hangry Meredith comes out to play,” Jax jokes to Nick.
“On it.” He cringes and pulls out a phone, opening an app and mumbling about toppings. “All set.”
“Do you want to stay for pizza?” Charlie asks me.
I’ve been so caught up in watching their interactions, watching the love they have for each other, I hadn’t thought about dinner.
“Oh, um…” My phone vibrates against my leg, and I check it.
WEST: Here in LA. Can I please see you?
WEST: I want to talk.
My heart pounds in my chest. Do I want to see him? Talk to him?
Hell yes! Why is this a question?
Nerves. Nerves make me hesitate. But only for a moment. I need to see him.
“Rain check?”
“Do you need a ride home since Sawyer’s out of town?” Nick asks.
I shake my head. “Nah. I’ll order an Uber.”
Meredith and Charlie leave first, Ken making faces at me over Meredith’s shoulder while Nick and Jax turn off the lights and lock up the studio.
“You’re sure?” Nick asks.
“I’m sure.” I nod, thinking about the texts burning a hole in my pocket.
Phone in hand again, I pull up the app and order my ride. Everyone keeps me company until it pulls up to the gate and Jax buzzes her in with an app on his phone.
“Fancy,” I tease.
“Don’t get him started,” Charlie groans.
“They’ll show you all their gadgets,” Meredith adds. “Hours. Hours about apps and phones and—”
“You love my apps.” Nick presses a hard kiss to her lips, and she melts, blinking slowly when he finally pulls away.
“Let me know about the lunch,” Charlie reminds me as I step toward the car, opening the back door.
“I will.”
Sliding into the back, I wait until the car is down the street before I stare at the texts again.
MICHAELA: Okay.
His response is immediate, like he’s been watching his phone, waiting for me to say something.
