“Later.” She smiles. “Tell me about you. How have you been?”
At the very question I lose my smile and my heart begins to pound. I stare down at my hands, not sure if I should be telling Autumn.
“Hey,” she says, shifting and crossing her legs. “That’s not a good look. What’s happening?”
I sigh and put my head in my hands. “Things haven’t been great.”
“Tell me,” she pleads.
I go over everything that’s happened with Reign and I, then I get to the last part and I hesitate. I swallow, taking two or three calming breaths before saying, “I’m pregnant, A.”
She says nothing for so long I actually lift my eyes to see if she’s heard me. She’s watching me, eyes narrowed, a deep expression on her face. Then a slow smile spreads across her face and she squeals, throwing her arms around me. “Congratulations. Oh my God, I’m going to be an aunty.”
Not what I expected.
“I . . . what?”
“Are you happy?” she asks, pulling back and rubbing my belly. “How are you, little cutie?”
“Are you talking to my baby?” I ask, eyes wide.
“We’re all going to be so happy together,” she coos.
“Okay, hold up, mother hen,” I say, removing her hands. “Reign doesn’t even know.”
Her head snaps up and she gasps, “What? Why?”
I sigh. “Because I only found out today, because he’s still hung up on his ex, and because I don’t know if it’s what I want.”
Her eyes widen. “That’s your little baby.”
“I know that,” I say, my voice low and emotional. “But I have to think about every angle here, A. Reign is still obsessed with his ex, she’s causing problems for me and she’s quite possibly going to be in my child’s life. I don’t know if I can deal with that.”
“It’s your baby,” she says again.
My lip trembles. “I know.”
She cups my face. “Your baby, honey. This is your tiny little miracle.”
Tears roll down my cheeks.
“Tell him; you know you have to. It won’t matter how long you take to get your head around this, you have to tell him. So do it; tell him.”
“I don’t know how. What if he hates me?”
She shakes her head. “You just told me the reason he’s hanging onto his ex is because of the baby thing. Do you really think he’ll run from this?”
I shrug. “I don’t honestly know.”
“Tell him, honey.”
“You done here, babe?”
I squeal at the sound of a male voice and my head jerks up to see Wrath, the biker I saw outside Autumn’s house the day she left, standing at the door. Autumn’s cheeks pinken and she gives me a guilty look. “I told him to wait downstairs, sorry.”
My mouth opens and closes. “Y-y-y-y-you’re still with him?”
She gives me a smile that pleads with me to understand. “We . . . connected.”
“You’re an . . .” I take a deep breath. “Old lady?”
Wrath walks in, his big boots thumping on the floor. “She’s my old lady, correct.”
I gasp. “Seriously, Autumn?”
She shrugs, staring up at him with a look in her eyes I’ve never seen.
“Oh hell no,” I cry, leaping up. I stalk towards Wrath, who crosses his arms and stands his ground. I press a finger to his chest. “You listen to me, buddy. You can’t just come in here and steal my best friend. You were going to hand her in to some psycho and now you’re here, in my house, trying to take her from me.”
He leans down, placing a big hand on my shoulder. “Firstly, the shit that went down is between Autumn and I; it’s got fuck-all to do with you.”
My mouth opens, and then shuts because he keeps going, not allowing me to speak.
“Second, you don’t get a say-so in how this goes, so you can either accept it or lose your friend because, babe, she’s with me, like it or not.”
My mouth is hanging open now.
“And third, I’d never, not in a thousand years take her away from the people she loves.”
I cross my arms, taking a step back. “Yeah, well . . . bite me.”
Autumn bursts out laughing and Wrath grins. “Savin’ that for Autumn, babe.”
I roll my eyes and turn back to my friend. “You’re so going to tell me what went down with you two, and you’re going to like it.”
She laughs, getting off my bed and tucking her tiny frame into Wrath’s arms. Damn, the man is fine. “And you’re going to tell Reign what he needs to know, aren’t you?”
I stop smiling and nod weakly.
“We’re going to go, because I’m starving,” she says, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around me. “Call me later, tell me how it goes.”
“Where are you going to be?” I ask her, glaring at Wrath over her shoulder. He winks at me. Prick.
“At my house.”
“Don’t leave me again, Autumn, promise me that.”
She hugs me tighter. “I swear.”
I pull back, taking a deep breath. “Then I accept this relationship.”
Autumn laughs and Wrath mutters, “No one was givin’ you a choice.”
“Pipe down, biker,” I say. “You still owe me.”
He raises a brow. “Owe you? For fuckin’ what?”