Chapter 83
“Is everything okay?” Spencer asked as Emma got back into the car. He noticed that she seemed distracted.
“Oh, yeah. Saying bye to my dad was harder than I thought. Thank you for this,” she said.
“Please, Emma. I’m glad to help you in any way I can.”
And he meant it. The next few weeks had gone better than before. Emma was loving her team, and they were doing amazing work together. Emma had started to show, and her coworkers loved to dote on her. Her father was flourishing at The Ivy Gardens. He loved it there and she visited every weekend as promised. She brought him a copy of the ultrasound of the baby. He showed it off to all of the other residents.
Her fears about her relationship with Spencer remained unfounded. They stayed friendly, and he kept everything professional and light between them. Help from him never came with any conditions. He was in the office every few days to check on things, and always made sure to check in on Emma. He was truly concerned with her and her well-being. She was lucky to have him as a friend.
But as amazing as he was, he couldn’t take the place of her best friend, Sabrina… who was coming to visit her that night. She was vibrating with excitement to see her friend. They had so much to talk about.
“Why don’t you go home early today?” Spencer offered. “I know you’re excited about your friend coming over.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Your team is ahead of schedule, so I was thinking of letting everyone go home early. You’ve all been working so hard. You deserve a break.”
“That would be great! Sabrina is coming over today and so going home early is perfect.”
“Great! Would you like a ride?”
“No, that’s okay. It’s a wonderful day and I feel good. The doctor said that I could take long walks as long as I don’t feel like I’m pushing myself.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely! Thanks for offering. Will you be here next week?”
“No actually. I’ll be at the home office all next week. We have a big project deadline coming up and I want to make sure that all runs smoothly.”
“You’ll have to tell me all about it when you come back this way,” Emma said. Spencer smiled at her enthusiasm. She always wanted to hear about new projects and contracts. He admired her passion and dedication to her work… as well as a few other things about her.
“You know I will. Have a good weekend.”
“You too. Bye!” Emma walked home with a spring in her step. She hadn’t seen Sabrina since her move. When she arrived home, she prepared a light meal and some snacks. A bottle of wine was chilling in the refrigerator. She wouldn’t be having any of course, so Sabrina would have to enjoy it on her own.
Sabrina arrived with flowers, cake, and a small plant.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes!” Sabrina called when she entered. She put down her gifts and hugged her friend.
“I’m so happy to see you! Let me get you a glass of wine,” Emma turned towards the refrigerator.
“Wait! About that… I have something to tell you.” Emma turned back and watched as Sabrina took off her jacket. Emma’s eyes widened as she eyed a very telling bump.
“Sabrina!” Emma’s eyes welled up. “You too?”
“Hold up, too? What do you mean? Are you…”
“Yeah,” Emma sniffled.
“Oh my God!” They hugged and cried from joy. They moved over to the balcony since the weather was nice.
“The baby is Will’s,” Emma said once they settled back down.
“I have to be honest with you. He’s been a mess. He’s asked me at least forty times if I’ve heard from you, if I know where you are. Are you going to tell him?”
“No. I’m going to raise the baby by myself. Daddy moved into an assisted living facility, so I focus on my pregnancy. And Spencer has been really helpful.”
“Do you like him?”
“I should, right? He’s smart, successful, sweet, handsome… I should like him.”
“You still love Will?”
“I… don’t know. I just know that I don’t have room in my heart for another man right now.”
“Girl, what am I going to with you? Everyone can tell he’s into you. This smart, sexy man wants you and you’re still hung up on William fucking Stewart?”
“It’s not that I’m hung up on him… it’s that…”
“Stop lying to yourself, Emma. You fell hard for that man, and you’re still trying to get up. And now you have a piece of him with you.”
“You see right through me, don’t you?” Emma chuckled sadly. “I know it’s going to be hard, but I’m going to raise my baby without him. I can’t have him in my life anymore.”
“You’re not going to tell him?” Sabrina was shocked.
“No.”
“I’ll kill him,” Sabrina raged suddenly. “I will fucking murder him. He hurt you so bad that you’re going to raise this baby by yourself.”
“Sabrina, no. This is my choice.”
“Sure. But it’s one he drove you to.”
“That may be true, but I’m okay with this,” Emma said, rubbing her small baby bump. “I’m happy. I’m excited.”
“Well, all I know that our babies are going to be best friends. And I can’t keep coming over here for secret playdates. I’m not saying you need to get back together with him, but I don’t think you’re doing the right thing by keeping this baby from him.”
“I know people are going to disagree with me. But I know it’s what’s best for the both of us.”
“I’ll support you no matter what, you know that.”
“I know you will. But enough about me. Tell me about you! How does Alex feel?”
“Girl, his whole family lost their damn minds. His mom had offered me like, two million dollars to leave him. I told that bitch hell no. And then I threw up all over their living room.”
“She tried to buy Alex from you?”
“She’s fucking crazy, but yeah. But after she found out I was pregnant, she was singing a different song. That lady loves me. She won’t let me lift a finger. I’ll tell you what, she’ll probably have the damn military out searching for me at some point tonight,” she laughed.
They talked and caught up for hours. They planned each other’s baby showers, and decorated nurseries. Ideas for names were discussed, and future playdates were scheduled. The sun had set long ago before Sabrina realized how late it had gotten.
“I better go. I’m sure Alex is out looking for me.”
“He’s a good man,” Emma commented.
“He is. Who knew I’d met the man of my dreams by punching him the face?” she laughed.
“That checks out for you,” Emma giggled.
“Take care of yourself, okay?”
“I will.”
Emma hugged her friend and watched her leave. The warm, happy feeling lingered in her heart.
In the meantime, Will had still been trying to find Emma and hadn’t had any luck at all. He spent as much time away from Grace as possible. She had been clingy and insecure. She called him all day, every day. She spent a lot of his money and tried to take up all of his time.
Grace had moved into Will’s home, but he had her stay in a separate room on almost the opposite side of the mansion. Grace hated it. Ever since his and Emma’s divorce was finalized, he seemed to be in another world. He threw himself into work, and barely spoke to her. It was as though they were roommates. She was convinced that Will was actively avoiding her.
Months had gone by like that. Will felt hollow. Living with Grace was not what he envisioned. He was sitting in his office when his father came by. His parents had been trying to insert themselves into his life. At first, he hated it. He had them removed from the office a lot. But as time wore on, he didn’t care. He didn’t care about much of anything anymore. He was like a flame that had been put out a long time ago.