Inside Out - Lauren Dane [117]
“So you get this thing that’s like the best kind of high ever, this thing that fills you up, makes you whole and fuels you. You never expected it, you watched your friends find it, but what it looks like, no matter how good it looks from the outside, you can’t understand just what it feels like to have it yourself. You get used to it. Find a rhythm that’s totally natural. She fits me; I fit her.”
Adrian nodded. “Yeah? So what’s up your ass? This all sounds good to me. Did she dump you?”
Cope snorted. “No.” At least he didn’t think so. “What if I lost her? I’ve never been in a long-term relationship before. What if I fuck up, and she breaks up with me? What if I drive her away? What if we do stay together and she has problems with her pregnancy and I lose her and the baby both? What if she realizes I’m just a pretty face and no substance?”
“She told us about the house. We went over there, you know? You were at work. I went into the shop to get a touch-up, and we went to your house and peeked through your windows. She was right; you’re so much more than what most people see. She gets that. She gets you. You’re going to walk away from that now just in case she might die in a freak accident or you stick your dick into another woman for some unforeseen reason? Come on, Andrew, be real with yourself. She’s solid, and you are too.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“Go to her. Talk to her. She looked very sad last night. She loves you, Andrew. Let yourself be loved.”
Adrian turned and flipped him off as he walked back up to the house.
“Fuckin hippie,” Cope called out.
“Whatever. Remember what I said: punch in the face, and then I will find out what it means to love the beautiful Ella Tipton.”
“Just because you’re a rock star doesn’t mean I won’t kick your ass.” He got back in his car with a smile and headed toward Ella.
She woke up slowly, trying to ignore the way his absence felt. It wasn’t like he’d spent every night with her. He hadn’t. But they had at least spoken to each other, and last night had left her unsettled.
He’d been upset over the whole scene with his father, with her most likely, with Erin’s health situation. She didn’t like knowing he was upset and not having any real chance to help. Today she’d seek him out to talk, to work things through.
She started water for the French press and stumbled her way to the shower. She knew she’d need to check in at the hospital soon, but, as she washed her hair, she figured she’d give them some time to wake up. Hospitals were busiest first thing in the morning. She knew this because she’d been in one long enough to have the memory cemented into place.
So Erin would most likely con Todd or Ben to go grab her a real breakfast at one of the restaurants nearby. They’d assent and bring her back not the bacon, hash browns and two eggs she’d asked for, but something healthier and in line with the dietary restrictions she had due to the blood pressure problems.
She laughed to herself as she dried off and pulled on clothes. Those three were made for each other. Her men would be sure she took care of herself, and she’d do it for them, as well as for the baby. A boy.
Erin had this strong feeling the baby was a girl. Only Todd had known the gender, but the beans had been spilled the day before at the hospital. Ella’s baby gift was that she’d made up three weeks of meals for the three of them, all now safely ensconced in the huge freezer at their apartment. Easy stuff to pop in the oven. She didn’t have a lot of extra money, but she had the time, and she’d made them all in the larger kitchen of the café.
She’d babysit, of course, though she had a very strong feeling Erin wouldn’t want to leave the baby much. After losing Adele, how else would she act?
It was brave.
Ella poured the hot water into the press and dropped bread into the toaster.
A few months back, Erin had told Ella she thought Ella was brave. But Erin had come to her after the attack. Erin, whose reasons for hospital aversion were far more devastating