Page 5 of Silver Linings
“Flat-out ask her, Gia! I want you to make it clear that she’s got a safe place here if she ever needs it. Maybe offer her more hours. Tell her she can spend the night here if that’s something that she would be interested in.”
“I have asked her! I’ve begged her to come stay with us. I even showed her an ad I found for apartments downtown. There isn’t much more I can do until she’s ready to tell me what’s going on. If anything is going on.” Gia slid a knife through a cucumber, chopping aggressively before pointing the knife at Gunner. “Why do you care so much?”
“I won’t sit around while a woman is fucking taken advantage of, G. Especially a pregnant woman who is our childhood friend.”
“We don’t know what’s actually going on. People can talk shit and ruin marriages with rumors like that. I have to trust that Lily will tell me if something is wrong, or if she needs help.”
“Just tell her she’s got more hours here if she wants them, okay?”
“Okay. I’ll text her while you work on dinner.” A sly smile spread across her face.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ve got it.” Gunner waved her away, trying to push the worry for Lily out of his mind.
Three
Lily cringed as the check engine light came on in her car.
“Come on, come on. I know you’re tired, but so am I. I just need you to last a few more weeks, okay?” Was she begging the car she’d had for over ten years to keep going? Yes, yes, she was. Because by then, she’d hopefully be in an apartment in the middle of town, where she could walk everywhere with the baby.
The car clanked loudly in response to her request, making Lily groan. An unexpected mechanic’s bill was the absolute last thing she needed. Well, that, and to go into labor early.
“Don’t even think about it, Sprout.” She laid her hand over her belly, where her daughter rolled. “I know you’re the best little girl. Mommy loves you so much already, but it would really be helpful if you waited until after your due date to arrive, okay?”
Lily pulled into the driveway of the home she shared with her fiance, James, and tried not to let the anger coursing through her veins affect her as she parked next to his brand new truck. She’d nearly lost her mind when he’d brought the stupid thing home a few weeks before. It didn’t even have a full cab, so there was no place to safely put the baby.
Jesus, she was feeling flustered. She’d known Gunner was coming home for days, so why was it hitting her so hard? It had been years since she’d seen him, but there was still that same sparkle in his eye that had always taken her breath away.
And why, why did he need to come out of his room looking like a freaking demigod, with his tanned body still dewy, making the tattoos that covered nearly every inch of his torso stand out like delicious little treats? She’d even drooled a bit at the veins that bulged in his arms as he carried the laundry basket down the hall for her.
Tears stung her eyes when she thought about how he’d been back five minutes and was already being kinder and more considerate of her condition than her own fiance.
When was the last time James had even asked her if she needed help with a chore, let alone actually gotten up off his lazy ass to help?
“Where have you been?” James sneered as she walked in the door. Her eyes drifted down to the bottle of beer in his hand. Great.
“Working. You know, the thing you should also be doing.”
“I spent all day looking for a job.”
Lily turned to face the wall as she rolled her eyes. Right. And she was the Queen of England. “You need to start putting in more applications, James. The baby is going to be here in less than a month and we don’t even have her room set or any of the things she’ll need. You could always talk to your dad about?—”
“Don’t even fucking suggest it, Lily. You know I’d rather die than join the family business.”
“I don’t understand why, James. He charters fishing trips. You don’t even have to go out on the ocean if you don’t want. You could just work in the office booking clients! Anything would help.”
“I said no, Lil. That’s final.”
“So, you’ll just let your pregnant fiance take care of everything? Do you even know how hard I’ve been working every day? How much my body hurts when I lay down for the night?”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have been such a selfish bitch, and let my mother throw us a baby shower. How about that? Her uppity friends would have been more than happy to give us everything we need for the baby, but no, you just couldn’t give my mom the credit she deserves.”
“James, I am not going to have this argument with you again.” Lily moved across their living room, towards the kitchen. She knew she’d need to cook dinner, but seeing Gunner, trying to put on an act that everything in her life was perfect when it was all really falling apart, had drained her of all her energy. “I don’t think it’s smart for us to owe your mother anything, and I’m happy with my stance on that. I’ve been saving a lot in our account. You know Gia is paying me well over what she should for the hours I’m working.”
“Then why the fuck would I need to get a job if you’ve got such a great one?”
“Because you are thirty-four years old, James! Because I’m about to be your wife and you’ve got a baby on the way! You have responsibilities to take care of. I’ll be out of work for at least six weeks after the baby is born, and then after that we are going to have the cost of childcare on top of the bills we almost can’t cover now.” Lily sat in a kitchen chair, rubbing her throbbing temples. She must not have had enough to drink that day, and the stress of arguing with James was making her headache worse.
“Then let’s move in with my parents. You know they have that cottage on the back of their property. Mom offered it to us, and I know they would let us stay there rent-free. She would be happy to watch the baby?—”