I nodded without hesitation.
“And you know he loves you. If you don’t want to move to Boston, you know damn well he will stay wherever you do want to live. I think you owe it to him to at least consider Boston as an option.”
I sighed, knowing she was right. It was selfish of me to not at least start the discussion with Tyler. Yes, the idea of having to move to a completely new city scared me, but wasn’t that part of being in a relationship? Making sacrifices? Stepping out of your comfort zone? I would have been lying if the thought of Triple B growing up in Tyler’s gorgeous house hadn’t crossed my mind once or twice over the past few months. And maybe that was what was most important. Not what was best for me or Tyler, but what was best for our baby.
“I’m not saying yes, but I’ll think about it.”
“That’s my girl,” Brayden said, helping me up from the glider.
“But you promise you’ll both come visit every chance you get?”
“Of course! We can’t have Friday girls’ night without you!” He nudged me.
I wrapped my arms around both of them, pulling them in close. “Thanks, guys. I love you wholes.”
“And we love you, too, Mack,” Brayden said, kissing my forehead.
Mackenzie
SATURDAY WAS A PERFECT day. The air was crisp and warm, the sun was shining, a few clouds adding a beautiful texture to the sky, and the summer tourist season was over, leaving the island calm and peaceful for a change. On the outside, it appeared as though everything was just as it should be. But inside, I struggled to fight back the uneasy feeling growing stronger with each passing second.
As I stood on the sidewalk outside my restaurant, listening to Tyler’s voicemail pick up for the seventh time that morning, I struggled to control my anger. I had tried to reach him yesterday evening before girls’ night, but got no answer. At the time, I shook it off, knowing he’d be at my baby shower today. But now that it was thirty minutes past the time the shower was scheduled to begin, I questioned my entire relationship with him. I had told him how important it was to me that he be at my side today. I didn’t know what to think anymore.
“Mack,” Jenna’s voice cut through. I spun around to see her stepping outside.
“Hey,” I said, my expression dropping.
“I’m sorry, Mack, but it’s time.”
She placed her hand on my arm in a consoling manner and led me toward the front doors. “I’m sure there’s a very good reason he’s not here,” she offered. “He wouldn’t just not show up. That’s not like him.”
“Apparently, he’s not the man I thought he was,” I hissed. Pausing, I put a fake smile on my face, not wanting all my friends, who had traveled from far away, to see how upset I was about Tyler’s absence, especially Colleen and Olivia.
“There she is!” Brayden exclaimed, wrapping his arms around me as I entered the dining room of the restaurant that had been decorated in pastel blues and yellows. I blindly followed him as I approached each table, thanking everyone for coming. I tried to put on a smile, but my brain was elsewhere.
“Is everything okay, Mackenzie, dear?” Colleen asked, placing her hand on my arm as we sat eating lunch. I had barely touched the food in front of me.
“Hmm? What?” I responded, trying to snap out of my thoughts. I could feel the eyes of everyone sitting at our table, Olivia and Melanie included, on me.
“Are you okay?” she asked in a hushed tone.
“I’m fine. Just tired.” I continued to move my salad around my plate, a lump beginning to form in my throat.
“Does this have something to do with the reason my son’s not here?” she whispered.
I tore my eyes from my food and sighed. “I suppose.” I lowered my voice. “He asked me to move to Boston with him…”
“He did?” she replied in shock, her voice rising in pitch before she lowered it. “I had no idea he was thinking that. I thought he’d want to stay here.”
“Join the club,” I responded flatly.
“It threw you for a bit of a surprise, didn’t it?”
“Yes, but Brayden and Jenna smacked some sense into me after I told them I may have overreacted when he asked me. Now he’s just ignoring me.”
“Well, don’t worry. When I see him next, I’ll give him hell for missing this. He’s already missed so much of your pregnancy. Even if he is upset, he has no reason not to be here today.”
I placed a bit of lettuce in my mouth, a sick feeling in my stomach as I tried to swallow. I couldn’t shake what Jenna had said earlier. Tyler wouldn’t simply miss this. I never considered anything could be wrong, but I was now consumed with the idea that something had happened.
Our lunch plates were cleared and I proceeded through the spectacle of opening gifts in front of grown men and women, as if I were still ten and celebrating my birthday. Clothes, diapers, wipes, strollers, car seats… It was all there, and then some.
Finally, the guests began to trickle out. As grateful as I was to everyone for coming, all I really wanted was to go home, crawl into bed, and forget about the last two days.
“We may need a truck for all of this,” Brayden joked after the last guest had left and it was just him, Jenna, and me. I looked at the overflowing gift table. I had no idea where I was going to put it all.
“Do you want to keep all of it here for now?” Jenna asked. We shared a look and I knew she could tell I was having trouble reconciling why Tyler had missed today. “That way, you won’t be tripping over all this stuff at your place. The back storage room is empty, so we can just put it in there.”
“Do you mind?”
“Not at all,” she said, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the exit. “Now, go home and relax.”
“But the gifts… I can help move them.”
“Not a chance in hell,” Brayden said. “The only lifting you need to be doing is that of your feet and a spoon as you gorge on ice cream.”
I stared at him, wondering how he knew what I intended to do when I got home.
“I know you, Kenzie,” he explained. “Since you can’t seek comfort in a bottle of wine right now, it’s our other best friends to the rescue.”
“At least Ben and Jerry have never stood me up,” I mumbled, grabbing my purse.
“I’m sorry, Mack,” Brayden said, planting a kiss on my forehead. “But don’t worry. When Tyler shows his face again, he’s going to regret missing today. You can count on that.”
“Thanks, boo.” I stood on my toes and kissed his cheek.
After making plans to get together at my place tomorrow to watch football, which was just an excuse to order pizza and check out built men with nice asses, I said my goodbyes and drove the short distance back to my condo.
As I walked into the lobby, I paused briefly when I saw Martin sitting at the security desk. I should have known he’d be there. He was there when I left earlier. However, at that time, I was under the impression Tyler would be attending my baby shower. Now, I needed answers.
“Where is he?” I asked, my eyes fierce.
“Who?” Martin replied in an uncertain tone. He tilted his head, his lips pursing as he studied me with a furrowed brow.
“Tyler. He was supposed to be at the baby shower today and he never showed up. What do you know? Is he still upset I didn’t agree to move to Boston with him? If that’s the case, I tried calling late last night and early this morning to talk about it, but he refused to pick up!”
“Wait. Slow down, Miss Delano,” Martin said, getting up from the desk and pulling me to a corner that led down to a back hallway. “You haven’t heard from him?” His eyes were intense, his grip on my arm harsh.
“No,” I replied, my voice softening. “The last time I saw or spoke to him was yesterday morning. Why? What’s going on?”