His words don’t make sense at first. “Really? You talked to her? Did she sound upset?”
“No, not at all. I’m learning that Maggie’s resilient as hell, but if it makes you feel any better, I’ll go over there in the morning.”
A huge wave of relief hits me. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“No problem. Kick some Wildcat ass tomorrow.”
When I get off the phone, I swear to myself that no matter what storms lie ahead of us, I’ll never lose my temper like that with Magnolia again. Because, at the end of the day, she’s the only thing that matters.
67
MAGGIE
Once I get off my feet, I feel better, but there’s no way I can make it up the stairs again. I snooze on the couch, relieved when those contractions stop.
This has been my whole pregnancy in a nutshell. I stress out over something, those Braxton Hicks come at me with a vengeance, and I have to go on bed rest. This time, I don’t even bother calling my doctor. She’ll just tell me what I already know. Hydrate, rest, and stay off my feet. If that doesn’t make them stop, go to the ER. Yada yada.
Exhausted, I watch the sun come up through my front window. My back aches worse than it did yesterday. Sleeping on the couch doesn’t help.
The sound of a car door slamming wakes me up later in the morning. “Magpie Poopy-Pants! Open the door.”
Bash.
“Hold on!” I do a slow roll off the couch.
Shuffling those few feet leaves me sweating. I’m sure I look like a mess, but my brother won’t care. He probably won’t even notice.
I open the door, excited to see him. We’re overdue to hang out and get over our weirdness. I don’t want to be this person who harbors old hurts. I may be angry at Olly, but I know it’s my bad habit of letting emotional injuries fester that helped turn our relationship into a cesspool of revenge and animosity. That’s not the kind of foundation I want to build in my life. I’m ready to bury the hatchet with my brother.
“Bash, hey—” I gasp as a gush of water hits the ground beneath my feet.
My brother’s eyes go wide. “What the… Are you… Oh, fuck.”
We both stare at the mess and then look at each other. A contraction, a real one this time, hits so hard, I yelp. I would hit the ground except Bash catches me around the shoulders.
“You’re gonna have the baby.” He sounds terrified.
“Two, actually. Holy shit, it hurts.” I let out a wail that probably wakes my neighbors.
That’s when the twatwaffle runs up my steps. Amelia sees me, sees the mess, and snarks, “I knew you were in labor!” She whips out her phone and starts dialing.
“Who are you calling?”
“911. You need an ambulance.”
“Are you crazy? Do you have any idea how much that’ll cost? My brother will take me.”
She turns to look at him, like she hasn’t noticed the giant man holding me up. “Oh, hi. I’m Amelia.” She gives him one of her gorgeous smiles, complete with batted lashes.
“Do not flirt with my brother!” He’s staring at her like he’s starstruck. “Sebastian, this is Michael’s ex-girlfriend. She will ruin your life and make you rue the day you met her. Please don’t take the bait.”
He blinks a few times and turns to me. “Uh, what? Yeah, I, uh…”
The man can’t even string together a few words. I roll my eyes. “Take me to the hospital.”
“Right!” He helps me down the front steps. “Hold on.” After disappearing for a second, he returns from the trunk with a gym towel. “For the seat.”
He loads me up, and once I’m buckled in, I close my eyes and rest my head against the window. Bash’s door slams, but then I hear a second door slam shut. No.
