Chapter 100

Emma’s words hung in the air, stopped cold by the knock on the door. Will prepared himself for another altercation with Spencer, just in case. Emma opened the door.
“Hey girl! I brought you some…” Sabrina trailed off when she saw Will in the apartment. Her bouncy demeanor deflated. Anger and confusion leaked into her words. “…I brought you some things to pack in your hospital bag. So, um… what the hell is going on here?” She gestured between Emma and Will. How in the world had he found her?
“How… interesting to see you here, Sabrina,” Will said with a tight smile. She narrowed her eyes at him. While Sabrina usually brought an air of intimidation around her, all Will could feel for her at that moment was betrayal. He’d ask her about one hundred times if she knew where Emma was. And clearly, she lied every time. It made him wonder if Alex knew as well. That was something that would have to be addressed at a later time.
“Don’t give me that look,” Sabrina said to him. “I’m her best friend, not yours. I have no loyalties to you.” She crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes dared him to counter her. Spencer had pinned him to the side of building to express his anger and distaste. Without a doubt he knew Sabrina would throw him out a window.
They stared at each other, neither willing to back down. Will wasn’t sure how to feel though. His bravado was a mere façade to hide the tornado of emotions that wanted to overtake him. Sabrina was right. She had no loyalties to him at all. That woman was a fierce protector and would fight to the death for her friend with a smile on her face.
“I guess you don’t.”
“What does that mean?” Emma asked, looking between them. Sabrina looked about ready to snatch Will’s eyes from his head. If she didn’t intervene soon, there may be a murder in her apartment.
“Nothing,” Will said.
“Damn right, nothing,” Sabrina affirmed, backing down a bit. “But seriously, what the hell are you doing here? What the hell is he doing here?” she turned to Emma. “And who is that?” she motioned towards the chef.
“Yeah,” Emma scratched the back of her head. “It’s been a pretty eventful few days. And that is Chef Ty Lung.”
“Hello!” he greeted from the kitchen. “I’ll prepare another portion for your lovely friend, Mrs. Stewart.”
“Mrs. Stewart?” Sabrina raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah…” Emma rolled her eyes. “Come on.” She grabbed her friend’s hand and dragged her back to her bedroom. Sabrina settled herself on Emma’s bed, and Emma took a seat in a chair. It was getting harder for her to move around these days. She was ready to pop any day now. Her belly looked like it grew every minute.
“Girl,” Sabrina smirked. “You have a huge mess here.”

“Do you mean this,” she rubbed her belly. “Or the mess out there?” she gestured towards the kitchen.
“Ha!” Sabrina laughed. “Funny. I mean that man. The one you ran away from. The one that put that baby inside of you.”
“You don’t even know,” she sighed. “I’m still trying to process everything.” She rubbed her belly again, and the action calmed her down.
“So, what happened?”
“He just showed up a few days ago. I have no idea how he found me. Spencer and I had come back from getting some groceries and there he was. Just parked across the street. It was terrifying. Spencer grabbed him by the collar and pinned him against the building. I’ve never seen him aggressive like that.”
“I bet it was sexy as hell,” Sabrina wiggled her eyebrows.
“You’re impossible.”
“What? Him going all feral to protect you like that? I would have lost my mind. Probably thrown myself at him right there in the street.”
“Sabrina!” Emma laughed. “You are horrible.”
“Yes, but I’m right and you know it. For the life of me, I’ll never understand how you resist him. He’s hot as fuck, smart, sexy, sweet, fine…”
“Don’t you have a man?” Emma was exasperated but amused by her best friend’s assessment of Spencer.
“I sure do. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have eyes. And my mouth is going to talk about when my eyes see a sexy man. What happened next?”
“I told him I didn’t want him, or anything to do with him. But he won’t leave.”
“The baby,” Sabrina asked. “He knows, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah. I blurted it out without thinking. It said something like it was the only good thing he gave me. I was angry and wanted to hurt him. I didn’t mean to. These damn pregnancy hormones have my emotions all over the place. But now he knows, and he won’t go away,” Emma grumbled.
“Did you expect him to? He may be an asshole, but he’s not a bad person. He wants to take care of his child.”
“Since when did you take his side?” Emma whined. “Not ten minutes ago you looked like you were about to murder him!”
“I am not taking his side. I’m just saying that he’s being a good person. Doesn’t mean I like him. And that man, any man that comes into your life for that matter, needs to know what I’m willing to do if they harm you in anyway.”
“You’re crazy,” Emma shook her head. “How does Alex deal with it?”
“He loves it. Part of me suspects he’s happy we had a son and not a girl that could turn out just like me,” she laughed. Sabrina’s son, Damian was the exact copy of his mother physically. “Don’t think he’ll win that battle though,” she smiled. “So, what else happened?”
“Grace was here earlier,” Emma said, her face twisted into an angry expression and her hands twitched.
“What was that devil bitch doing here?”
“She was here to spread some of her devil bitchery,” Emma said. “She came to threaten and insult me basically. Called me a tramp and accused me of stealing Will from her. Her eyes were crazy.”
“What did you do?”
“I slapped the shit out of her. Twice.”
“That’s my girl!” Sabrina celebrated. They gave each other a high five. “I knew you had it in you.”
“Will showed up after and told Grace to leave. He told her to never come around here again and that she would be getting the divorce papers in a week. Pushed her out and slammed the door right in her face. Then I told him to leave, but he just won’t leave!”
“Do you really want him to leave?” Sabrina asked.
“Yes!”
“Girl, it’s me. Tell me the truth. Do you want him to leave?”
“I want…” Emma hated that Sabrina could always see right through her. It was taking everything in her to keep her real feelings at bay. But there was no hiding from Sabrina. “I should want him to leave.”
“Mmmhmmm. So, what are you going to do now? He’s the father of your baby. Where does that leave you and him and Spencer?”
“I don’t want a relationship. With anyone. I mean it!” she said in response to Sabrina’s sly smirk. “Stop looking at me like that!” she threw a cushion at her friend. “Seriously. Caring for my father and my baby are all that matter. A man doesn’t fit into my equation.”
“That may be true, but you’re not going to be able to keep that man,” she pointed towards the kitchen. “out of your life. You two have a kid together. That’s pretty binding. I mean look at him.”
Sabrina popped the door open so they could peek through. Will was scurrying around the kitchen, taking orders from the chef, and setting the table. There was an openness and a softness in his eyes that Emma didn’t know. He seemed to glow from within, moving around with purpose.
The top buttons of his shirt were undone, and his sleeves were rolled up. For a moment, Emma could feel those arms wrapped around her. Those arms that pinned her beneath him, that brought her the only pleasure she’d ever known. That had brought her both ecstasy and desolation. Could she envision those arms cradling their child? Was he capable of that?
…I wanted to try…
“Just look at him,” Sabrina pointed out. “He’s… different.”
“Different may not be enough.”
Will was certain the girls were talking about him in the bedroom. But he couldn’t concern himself with that. He did his best to help Ty in the kitchen and set the table.
“You call that a place setting?” Ty scolded. “Have you ever set a table in your life?”
“No, I actually haven’t. Pampered, rich brat upbringing and all that. You know?” Will teased.
“Ugh. You poor little rich boys,” Ty shook his head. “At least you’re trying, I guess. Here. Use this photo as a guide.”
Ty shoved a phone at him, and Will did his best to replicate the picture.
A baby, he thought. I’m going to be a father. The thought both excited and terrified him. But more than anything, he knew he would be a better parent than his were. He had to prove to Emma that he was capable of loving someone. That he could pour his whole heart into caring for another person.
BUT WE ARE NEVER EVER, EVER, EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER! The song played loudly suddenly, startling Will and Ty. Sabrina chuckled behind the door.
“Seriously?” she teased her friend. “That’s your ringtone?”
“It’s my favorite song,” Emma groaned from behind her hands. Her face was hot with embarrassment.
“Sure, it is. Sounds more like a message to me. Sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself.”
Will frowned at the phone. The song kept playing and he couldn’t help but feel attacked by it. A name popped up on the screen and it further upset him. He snatched it off the table and walked it to the room. Sabrina ducked behind the door, holding back a fit of giggles. A knock came to the door shortly after. Emma rolled her eyes at Sabrina and opened it.
“You have a call,” his tone was sullen and dark. It was a direct contrast to the light, buoyant spirit he had moments ago. Emma looked at her screen and immediately understood why.
“Hey Spencer.”