“I swear,” Emma piped in, vibrating with excitement.
Remy smiled, satisfied with our vow. “There are paper towels over there if your hand is still bleeding.”
I looked at mine and saw that it had already dried since the cut was so small. Emma made no move either.
“Come on,” Emma pleaded, “the suspense is killing me.”
Remy laughed and rubbed her stomach. “His name is Liam Maxwell Wade.”
“Awwww,” Emma clapped her hands together, “I love it! It’s such a strong name.”
“We think so too.” Remy beamed.
“It’s adorable,” I piped in, because I felt like I needed to say something.
“Thanks.” Remy smiled in my direction. “Now get back to work,” she shooed us, “Mathias will get suspicious.”
Emma reluctantly returned to organizing the pots and pans while I finished with the utensils.
Several hours later all of us were tired and starving, so we took a break and ordered pizza.
We sat around on the floor of the family room, using paper towels as our plates. Emma and Maddox talked quietly together. Remy and Mathias were absorbed in their own little world as Mathias sang lovingly to her stomach in-between bites of pizza.
That left Ezra, Hayes, and me as the odd ones out.
Good times.
I sat sandwiched between the guys, eating my pizza in small dainty bites compared to the way they gobbled it.
Ezra stretched out his long legs and picked a piece of pepperoni off his pizza. He handed it to me and I gobbled it up greedily. I loved pepperoni.
“Thanks.” I bumped his shoulder with mine.
“So, how have you been?” Hayes asked. “I haven’t seen you since…” He scrunched up his nose, thinking. “New Year’s? Whoa, has it really been that long?” He muttered the last part in disbelief.
I turned to the band’s guitar player.
Josh Hayes was a good-looking guy, with angular cheekbones and sandy dirty blond hair that he kept swept away from his face. He was put together in a way that looked effortless, but you knew it actually took him quite some time to achieve it.
“Yeah, that long.” I took a sip of orange soda.
He shook his head in disbelief. “What have you been up to?”
“Catching my fiancé fucking someone else.”
Hayes shook his head. “Uh, yeah, Ezra told me.” He awkwardly scratched the back of his head and glanced over at Ezra, as if he was worried he wasn’t supposed to admit to knowing this bit of information.
“I’m pretty sure the whole town knows,” I mumbled, spinning the white soda bottle cap between my fingers.
“I’m sure it’s not the whole town.” He cracked a grin. “I bet those old ladies that Maddox knits with don’t know.”
“Hey!” Maddox glared, pointing a finger at Hayes. “Those ladies are my friends, don’t diss them.”
Hayes raised his hands in surrender, laughing under his breath.
“They’re sweet old ladies,” Maddox continued, “who not only teach me how to knit all the things, but they also bake me pie. Do you have pie, Hayes? I think not!”
We all busted out laughing, even Maddox.
I wiped tears away from eyes and said, “If you had a super power you’d be The Knitter.”
“And I’d knit my little minion creatures.” He grinned.
“Oh God,” Hayes laughed, “do you realize if our fans heard half the shit we talk about they’d realize what a bunch of nerds we are.”
“Speak for yourselves.” Mathias glared, huffing under his breath.
“Dude,” Hayes waved a hand in Mathias’ direction, “you wear fucking suspenders and look at those glasses you have on. You’re a nerd too.”
Mathias frowned and whispered something in Remy’s ear. She said something back and he kissed her, a smile tugging up his lips. In all the time I’d known the guys I’d never, not once, used the word happy to describe Mathias, but he definitely was now.
“So,” Hayes turned his attention back to me, “now that you’re single we should go out.” He grinned, waggling his brows.
Ezra stiffened beside me, but said nothing.
“Uh…” I started. I had no idea what to say.
“Come on,” he said, when I took too long to speak, “I don’t bite and I hear I’m a lot of fun.”
I laughed at that. “I don’t know.”
“Give a guy a chance, Sadie,” he pleaded, grinning at me, “don’t bruise my ego. It’s a gentle, easily hurt, thing. It’s just dinner.”
“Fine,” I agreed. I wasn’t ready to date, but I figured one night out with Hayes could be fun. He was a nice guy.
Ezra stood up and threw away his pizza crust, mumbling that he was going to the bathroom.
“Did I piss him off?” Hayes asked. “If y’all have something going on I don’t mean to butt in.”
“No, nothing’s going on,” I said quickly.
Hayes seemed appeased by my words and smiled broadly. “Good. I’ll call you.”
Across from where we sat Emma’s gaze seared me to the spot. She was mad.
I turned to look at her and mouthed, “What?”
She didn’t respond and instead continued to glare.
Ezra returned to the room, not making eye contact with anyone. “I have a few things I need to do.” Finally his gaze dropped to me. I couldn’t read anything in his brown eyes. They were flat. Emotionless. “I’ll drop you off at your car.”
“Uh…yeah, okay.” I stood up, putting the slice of pizza back in the box that I hadn’t finished yet.
Hayes stood up too, looking between Ezra and me. “I can take you to your car,” he said.
I knew he was only trying to be helpful, but I really wanted to kick him in the shin right now.
Ezra smiled weakly. “Great, Hayes can take you then.” He clapped his hands together and somehow it felt like a gesture that he was washing his hands of me.
Before I could respond Ezra turned sharply on his heel and stalked out of the house.
I was left there wondering what I had done to piss him off.
“I’m really sorry,” Hayes apologized yet again, “I didn’t mean to make things awkward for you. You said there was nothing going on with you guys, and he said he had somewhere he had to go. I was trying to be helpful,” he rambled.
“I know,” I assured him. “I don’t know what’s going on with Ezra.”
While Ezra might’ve been one of my closest friends, there were still times where I felt like I didn’t know him at all. Today, being one of those days. Sometimes he retreated into himself and there was no prying his thoughts past his lips.
Hayes parked his truck beside my car and turned the volume down on the radio. “So,” he started, “it’s still okay if I call you?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” I laughed lightly, reaching for the door.
“You don’t feel weird about it, right? I mean, I know you just broke up with Braden, so I don’t want you to feel pressured.”
His sincerity was endearing.
“Just dinner?” I confirmed.
“Only dinner,” he nodded, “and then we go from there.”
“I’m okay with that.” I gave him a small smile.
He nodded. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Bye.”
I slipped out of the vehicle and into my store. I was feeling better and determined to put a dent into finishing up my paperwork and doing inventory.
Hours passed and when I finally left it was after six in the evening.
Once again, the whole day had managed to go by without me realizing it.
Ezra wasn’t at his house when I got there.
He wasn’t there when I made dinner either.
He still wasn’t home when I went to bed.
And I couldn’t help feeling that his absence was my fault.
I SAT AT the kitchen island, eating a bowl of cereal, and flipping through a magazine when Ezra walked into his house.