Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33555 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33555 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“I love you, Carly,” Sarah said.
She put down her spoon, shoved out her chair, and then rounded the table to hug Sarah. “I love you too.”
This time, much to Carly’s guilt, Sarah burst into tears.
“I’ve been so afraid of you hating me. I just can’t stand it. I love you and I want what’s best for you and Nate. Please don’t be angry with him.”
She held onto her friend, and knew deep in her heart she couldn’t be angry with him.
Chapter Eleven
One Week Later
Carly paid the driver and then climbed out of the cab. She had already told the man to leave, as he didn’t need to be waiting around for her. She’d be done very soon. Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep breath and then started the long trek toward Nate’s front door.
She absolutely loved his home and had even encouraged him to buy the place when he showed it to her. Now, as she approached Nate’s front door, she watched as the main door opened and Reese came out of it, closing it behind himself.
At first, she stopped and just looked at him, and then she moved closer. Reese looked up to see her, and she was pretty sure she saw relief in his eyes.
“Hey,” she said.
“It’s about time you came.”
She frowned and looked behind him at the closed door. “Is Nate in?”
“Yeah, he hasn’t moved since you left. Well, he has moved, but he hasn’t left the house.”
Carly frowned. “You haven’t come to see me.”
Reese shrugged. “I figured you could be pissed all you want because you clearly got the wrong end of the stick. Yes, Nate paid us all, but if you had used common sense, you’d have known that we love you.”
“If this had happened to you, you wouldn’t have had your doubts?” she asked, not quite believing him.
“No, I wouldn’t.”
She put her hands on her hips and started to glare at him. “I call that bullshit.”
“You can call it what you like but it doesn’t change the fact, it is what it is. If none of us loved you, Carly, we wouldn’t have waited around for you. We’d have left the home and been gone twelve years ago. Instead, we all stuck it out, and not because Nate demanded it either. If we didn’t love or care about you, all of us would have left you and Nate back then. We didn’t, why? Because you’re our family and we all love you, and no, I’m not going to apologize for taking some extra money. In case you didn’t know, I’ve got a baby on the way and a wedding to plan.” Reese shrugged. “Just because we took the money didn’t mean we needed it to hang out with our bestie. Now, are you here to break Nate’s heart or to fix it, because without you, he’s kind of … well, I’ll let you go see for yourself.”
Carly held up the stick and kept a smile on her face.
“Just do yourself a favor and don’t inhale too deep,” he said.
Okay, that wasn’t exactly comforting or great advice.
Reese left, and she heard him get into his car and start to drive off.
It was now just her and Nate.
Squaring her shoulders for the second time that day, she entered his home and immediately saw the problem. There was mess everywhere. She spotted a couple of empty pizza cartons, empty beer bottles, and there were also signs of Nate losing it. Broken ornaments, vases, and even some pictures were on the floor.
She checked the dining room, and that didn’t look great. He’d clearly gotten angry, and there was a mess everywhere. She moved into the kitchen, and it was strange because there was barely any mess, just a sink full of dirty dishes.
Nate wasn’t in his office, nor the sitting room, not even the movie room, and much to her surprise, she found him in the library.
“Why don’t you fuck off and leave me alone? There is nothing wrong with a man drowning his sorrows in some good whiskey.”
“Yeah, and from the smell, you’ve not even taken a shower,” Carly said.
This made Nate lower the glass and look at her.
She put her hands on her hips, and the hurt, anger, and betrayal just seemed to melt away as if it wasn’t there. Nate looked so lost, so alone, and she couldn’t help but feel responsible. This was her fault.
“Carly,” he said.
“Nate.”
“Have you come to throw more accusations at me?” he asked.
This was classic Nate. She had seen him like this with the others but never with her.
“No, I’ve not come to throw more accusations your way. In fact, I came to give you this.” She handed him the stick she’d taken this morning. Carly had thought he would be there when she took her pregnancy test, but then everything had gone to crap way too fast, and now she needed to fix it. “You’re going to be a daddy.”