Ben lets out a low whistle. “No fucking way. Did he put up a fight?”
“Not much of one. I told him to get his ass in the car and he folded like a house of cards.”
“You know I’m right here, right?” A second voice comes from the phone, this one low, rumbly, and laced with irritation.
“You sure are,” Jeremy says. “Right where I want you, even if you have been speaking in grunts and sighs for the last four hours.”
“Fuck off,” the other voice says. “I’m here. What else do you want?”
“A little gratitude for rescuing you from that hellhole of concrete and tourists you call home maybe?”
“Forget it, he’s too grumpy for gratitude.” Ben smiles at the phone. “But at least his ass is in the car. What’s your ETA?”
“About two hours. Gather the troops—it’s family time.”
“You got it,” Ben says. “See you then.”
“Later.”
“I can’t believe Jeremy got him in the car,” Hallie says the second the phone disconnects.
“Uh, can someone fill me in, please?” I ask, my gossip meter blaring. I fucking love a little gossip, and whatever is going on here seems top tier.
Hallie answers me. “Jeremy drove to New York last night. He somehow talked Jordan into getting in the car to come here to visit. I think he used the babies as an excuse.”
“When was the last time he was here?” I ask, turning this information around in my head.
Jordan is Ben’s other college best friend. He used to live here and was part of Hallie and Ben’s group of friends. Two years ago, his fiancée, Allie, died tragically, and he left Pittsburgh a few months later to move to New York. Hallie and Ben and their friends have been to New York a few times over the last two years, but I don’t know when his last visit here was.
My last memory of him is from the day of Allie’s funeral, slumped in a chair at a table in the bar Ben and Jeremy own together, with messy hair and shattered, red-rimmed eyes, as his three brothers tried, unsuccessfully, to get him to talk. I remember thinking that if I knew him better, I would have gone to sit next to him. Seeing someone hurting and doing nothing about it goes against every instinct I have.
“He hasn’t been back since he moved,” Hallie answers.
“Never?” That surprises me. I can’t imagine having a group of friends like they have and not wrapping myself in their comfort when the worst happens.
“Nope,” Ben says, fumbling his phone as he tries to type one handed. “But he’s coming now, so I’m going to let everyone know to come here tonight. That okay with you, Hal?”
Hallie nods. “For sure. I can just sneak away when I need to feed the babies and put them down, for however long they’ll stay asleep.”
I glance down at Caitlin, who is now fast asleep in the crook of my arm, the wheels turning in my head. Then I look back up at Hallie. “Do you ever give them bottles?”
“Yeah, we do formula at night so Ben can do some night feeds, and I’m not attached to a baby twenty-four hours a day. Why?”
“Good. I’ll stay and handle the babies tonight. Let Jordan and all your friends fuss over them, and then when they need to eat, I’ll take them upstairs to feed them and put them down. It’ll give you all some time to be together. Jordan should have all his friends with him for his first time home in two years.”
“Are you sure, Jo?” Hallie asks.
“Two babies are a tall order.” Ben studies me intently like he’s trying to discern whether I’m capable of keeping his children alive.
I smile at his concerned parent voice. “And yet you guys have done it every day for the last month.” I cuddle Caitlin closer, pressing a kiss to her downy head. “Seriously, guys, you have to learn to share. Be with your friends. Let me hang with my tiny besties. If there’s some kind of issue, you’ll be right here, but I promise there won’t be. Despite the fact that I’m currently dressed like a teenager and probably have paint in my hair, I swear I am a fully formed adult.”
Hallie laughs and turns to Ben, who smiles and nods. “You’re on, Jo Jo. Consider yourself our first babysitter.”
I grin at them, jazzed for some one-on-one time with my favorite babies. “I love this for me.”
CHAPTERTHREE
JORDAN
