Inflame

It’s not long before Kale joins me in the car, and I can feel the tension rolling off him. I want to lean over and comfort him, to let him know that I’m here, but I force myself to sit still. I’ve told him that plenty of times, given him many chances to open up, and now that it’s been brought to the surface, I have no desire to discuss it. I don’t want him telling me the truth just because his ex decided to do it for him.

This is supposed to be one of the happiest days of my life, a celebration of the life we created together who’s not that far off from entering this world. The last thing I want to do is have this conversation in the car on the way to his mom’s house, so when he tries to talk to me, I put a stop to it. I’m so close to breaking down into sobs, but I bite the inside of my cheeks in an effort to keep the tears at bay. It’s a lost cause though, because when Kale leans in close and presses a soft kiss to my cheek with a promise of his love, I have nothing to say as a lone tear spills over onto my cheek.

Chapter 32

Kale

AS WE ride back to Mom’s house in silence, I rack my brain trying to figure out how I can fix this. Lucy’s silence speaks volumes, and I have to keep myself from trying to take hold of her hand. I don’t think she’d appreciate my touch, even though I’m craving hers. I need to feel her, touch her, taste her to know she’s still with me, but the way she’s staring out the window lets me know that she’s a million miles away.

When we pull up to the house, I take in a deep breath when I see Kalli’s car. I silently hope that my surprise for Lucy will be enough for her to at least be able to enjoy the day, no matter how she’s feeling towards me. She hops out of the car before I’ve even have a chance to shut the engine off. I quickly race after her, placing a hand on the small of her back as I lead her to the house. It’s a small victory because she doesn’t shy away from my touch, but she doesn’t look at me either.

Taking the cake box from her hands, I gesture for her to open the door. She finally glances up at me with a curious look on her face then complies.

As the door swings open and she steps inside, the sound of a loud “Surprise!” echoes throughout the living room.

She stands there in shock as she takes in the sight of Charlie, Knox, Xavier, Lily, Jace, and Lexi. Looking at each one of them then back at me, she immediately bursts into tears and runs to Charlie. Everyone exchanges curious glances as Charlie wraps her arms around her best friend, rubbing her back.

“Hey, Lucy, I knew you’d be happy to see us, but no need for the waterworks,” Knox jokes, causing Lucy to pull back from his fiancée to give him a watery smile.

“Sorry. Hormones,” she says weakly. “I just didn’t expect you guys to be here. Seriously, you didn’t have to come all this way.”

Charlie shakes her head and uses her thumbs to wipe away Lucy’s tears. “Are you kidding? I wasn’t going to miss my best friend’s baby shower.”

Lexi moves in to give Lucy a hug, her own small baby bump having now formed. “Same here. Plus, Jace’s family lives less than an hour from here, so we decided to make a quick trip to visit before our own little one comes.”

As Lucy greets all the new guests, I feel Xavier’s eyes on me. I walk back towards the kitchen to get give Mom the cake, and he trails behind me.

“What’s going on, man?” he asks, and I pretend like I have no idea what he’s talking about.

“Nothing, Z. Everything’s all good here. How’d Lily do on the flight? Have her headaches gone away?” I ask, trying to change the subject.

“How many times do I hafta tell you she’s fine before you finally believe me? She hasn’t had a headache in weeks and she was given the all-clear. Now quit stallin’. Those weren’t tears of happiness, and I could see the apprehension on your face as soon as you walked in the door.”

Sighing, I run my hand through my hair before heading to the refrigerator to grab a couple of beers. I hand him one then pop mine open. “We had the misfortune of ru

He stops mid-drink and sets the beer down on the counter. “And let me guess? Lucy still had no idea there even was a Tara?”

I groan, leaning across the counter, trying to ignore his look of disappointment as I relay the entire encounter for him. He called this, and I brace myself for the ‘I told you so,’ but it never comes, even though I know I deserve hearing it on repeat.

“Man, I fucked up. I kept putting it off and putting it off. She gave me so many openings, but I was a little bitch and kept it all in. Part of me thought I was doing it to protect her, but I know I was being a coward.”

“Well, looks like you have your in now. I don’t really see any way around it, especially if you didn’t get a chance to explain.”

“I know, but I can’t do it here, around everyone. She asked me not to talk about it today, and since I’ve waited this long, what’s another day?”

He looks at me and just shakes his head. “Just don’t wait too long, Montgomery. That’s what got you into this mess in the first place.”

Nodding, I swallow, my chest tight. “I won’t. As soon as we get home, I’ll be an open book and tell her everything she wants to know. For now, I’ll just hope she has enough family and friends around her to keep her happy. God knows I’ll try.”

Xavier slaps a hand on my shoulder. “Hey, man, you’ve got a good woman, and at the end of the day, no matter how upset she is, she’s always go

As much as I want to believe him, I saw the devastated look on Lucy’s face when Tara’s words sank in, and it’s killing me not to drag her upstairs to get the whole story out in the open once and for all. But like I told him, the least I can do right now is respect her wishes and try to ensure that she still enjoys herself at the baby shower. I have no fucking idea if I’ll succeed, but I’ll try like hell.

Lucy

I WAS holding it together in car fairly decently after that one tear, but when I walked in the door and saw my closest friends intermixed with my family, I couldn’t hold back the tears, and I ran for Charlie, hopefully convincing everyone that I was just overwhelmed by the fact that they’d all shown up. That’s one great thing about pregnancy. You can cry at the drop of a hat and no one bats an eyelash at it. Thanks, hormones.

As I introduced Mom, Steve, and Marisa to Knox, Lexi, Jace, and Lily, I noticed that Kale had disappeared into the back of the house with Xavier in tow. An unsettled feeling curled up in my stomach from knowing that they were probably discussing what had just happened, and the fact that Kale turned to Xavier instead of me further caused my heart to sink. Fortunately, Lily chose that moment to climb up on the couch next to me, alleviating some of my anxiety. Looking around the room, I realized I had so many people here to love and support me, so I decided to grow a pair and push all things Tara and Kale out of my mind so I could enjoy the shower.

As the shower began, Kalli insisted I sit in a chair in the middle of the room, where I could be the center of attention. I tried to protest, but she wouldn’t hear it. Xavier and Kale returned from the kitchen, and as Kale approached me, I could see the sadness in his eyes. My heart yearned to reach out and comfort him, yet at the same time I wanted to push him away. Not wanting to give anyone any clues that our relationship might be in distress, I didn’t hesitate to allow him to take my hand when he sat dutifully beside, the ever-present father-to-be.