“You’ll always be in mine. Someday, I hope you find someone who will love you the way you deserve to be loved. You deserve that.”
“I thought I had, but I had to let her go.”
“There’s still someone out there for you. I truly believe that. It wasn’t me.”
“Only time will tell,” he remarks, letting his arms fall away from me.
“Bye, Pierce,” I say, putting a couple feet of space between us.
“Bye, Ms. Fields.”
When I look up, he has the look of sorrow. This is a forever goodbye, and we both know it.
I hurry out, running back to the same bathroom I’d been in before stepping into Pierce’s office. I cry for a few minutes because in some ways I just lost my best friend.
In another time, he could have been the one, but my heart belongs to Blake. It always will.
After straightening myself out, I head to Reece’s desk to break the news to her. It’s not going to be easy, but I’ll still get to see her after I leave here.
She’s staring at a drawing on her computer and doesn’t see me coming. “Reece.” My voice is quiet in an attempt to not scare her.
“Jesus, Lila. I’m supposed to be the one scaring you.”
“Sorry, I was wondering if you could come over tonight before your date for a little bit? Mallory will be back, and I’d like you to meet her.” And there’s something else I need to tell you, I think to myself.
“I should be able to. I don’t think our dinner reservation is until 7:30. Do you want me to bring anything?”
“No, I’ll have a bottle of wine chilled, though.”
“Now you’re talking. Do you want me to ride home with you?” she asks.
“No. I mean … I’m going to leave early today because I have a few things I have to take care of.”
“You’re okay, though, right?”
“More than,” I say, smiling. There’s a lot to look forward to.
“Does six work?”
“Perfect. I’ll see you then.”
I head to my desk next, throwing the few personal belongings I have into my bag. As I walk away, I glance back at my desk one last time, putting it into memory. I always thought this was my dream, but it wasn’t really. My dream was to be happy, and I’m finally there.
I drop an envelope off to Jane with Pierce’s name on it that holds my keys and passwords inside. For the last time, I step in the elevator and ride to the lobby. It’s just another moment where I hope I’m making the right decision. Another one of those darn forks in the road.
Blake isn’t home when I open the door, but Mallory is standing in the kitchen making cupcakes. I feel like we’re right back in college again. She drops her mixer and pulls me in for her signature bear hug.
“I haven’t done that in over a year.”
I laugh. “I hope you didn’t break my ribs.”
“Are you hungry?”
“What are you making?”
She practically skips back to the kitchen, pouring chocolate chips into her bowl. “Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese, chocolate chip filling and a ganache on top.”
My stomach growls. Nothing has stayed down yet today. “I’ll have a few crackers and some ginger ale while they bake. I’ll be more than ready by the time they’re done.”
She grimaces. “Is that a new diet I haven’t heard about?”
I clear my throat and take a deep breath. Might as well just get it over with. “No, I’m pregnant.”
The spoon literally clanks against the metal bowl as she looks up at me. “What?”
“I’m going to have a baby. I just found out last week.”
She grasps the edge of the counter, mouth hanging open. “Who—”
“It’s Blake’s. I had an ultrasound last week when I went back home. There’s no question about that.”
“How did he react? You told him, right?” she asks, shoulders falling forward.
I nod. “We’re fine. More than fine actually.”
“You’re talking about Blake Stone, right? My Blake Stone.”
“Of course. The jerk I fell in love with because you neglected to tell me I was going to have a roommate when I moved here.”
She stirs frantically. “Do you know where he is? I got in a little after noon and haven’t seen him.”
“He was heading to the studio today to work on a few things. I’m actually going to run over there if you want to join me.”
“I’d love to, but I’m so tired of traveling. Besides, I think I need a few minutes to process all this before he comes home. I don’t know if I want to hug him or kill him.”
I give her my evil eyes. “Don’t kill him. He’s my baby daddy.”
“Gross,” she gags, stirring even faster.
“By the way, my friend Reece is coming over at 6:00, and I’m going to call my friend Dana, too. Want to join us for a few minutes? I kind of had something I wanted to tell everyone all at once.”
Her eyes widen. “There’s more?”
“It’s not a big deal … not compared to the other news.”
“Do I get my bed tonight?” she asks.
“It’s all yours. I’m curling up with Blake.”
“You can go now.”
“I feel so loved!” I yell as I walk out the door to hail a cab.
I find a ride easily since it’s only two o’clock on a Monday afternoon. When I came to Chicago, I was running from my emotions—from the past. I found a new home, but it had nothing to do with where I’m at, but everything to do with the people I met. They could go anywhere with me, and it would be home.
As we continue down the familiar city streets, I call Dana, asking if she can meet us at the apartment tonight. Not much to my surprise, Charlie agrees to give her the night off because it’s Monday and all. I mention the baby because I want her to hear it from me before she steps into the apartment tonight. She’s surprised, but like everyone else, she’s supportive, telling me she’ll do whatever I need. Her kindness makes leaving even harder.
After paying the driver, I run up the metal stairs. Blake is standing right in front of me with his arms wide open when I walk in.
“Hey, baby. How did everything go today?”
I bury my nose in his T-shirt, breathing in his familiar scent. Home. “It wasn’t easy, but I have no regrets.”
“Did you tell the girls?” he asks, rubbing his hands up and down my back.
“They’re coming over at six. I figured I’d tell Mallory then, too. I told her about the baby.”
His hands stall for just a second before they continue massaging my back. “What did she say?”
“She thinks we’re nuts.”
“We are.”
I laugh, standing as tall as I can to kiss him.
I notice his paintings stacked against the wall. “What are you doing with all those?”
“I’m keeping some and putting others in a gallery to sell. We’re not going to have room for all of this.”
“Which ones are you keeping?” he points to the smaller stack, and I immediately walk to it. The first is the picture of me, then a few I don’t recognize, and the last is the one he’d done in the apartment several weeks back. The one that was very unlike his usual work. “Are you going to tell me about this one?”
“The day I painted that was the day she was supposed to be born two years ago,” he responds, coming to stand behind me.
“She?”
“Yeah, the blood work determined the baby was a girl. For some reason, it really hit me that day. Finally letting myself mourn Aly while I was gone for all those months let me mourn her. I even gave her a name.”
I reach my hand back, tangling my fingers with his. “What is it?”
“Anna. Aly always loved the name Anna.”
It’s a simple gray tree with no leaves, only branches. To the right sits four little pink birds. What I never noticed before were the letters etched inside each that spell Anna. My eyes well up just thinking about how lucky our baby is going to be to have a dad like him. He’s a little hard on the outside, but all kinds of sweet on the inside.