I smiled to myself. “Logan just wanted me to rest.”
“I know.” She relaxed, her shoulders sagging as she stood in front of me. “I was just hoping you’d do so after calling your best friend and telling her you’re all right.”
Before I could reply, her arms were around me. She dragged me in for a hug, her anger a thing of the past.
She pulled back, tears glistening in her eyes. “I’m sorry for freaking out. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through. Tell me what I can do—anything.”
“Honestly?”
She nodded.
“You can go to school. The last thing you need to be doing is missing a day of work—you’ll be missing plenty I’m sure once the morning sickness hits. You’ve never been good at handling yourself sick.” I smiled, relieved to see her shoulders deflate further.
“I can handle myself just fine,” she retorted, holding back a smile. “And I wouldn’t be late if I didn’t have to wait forever for Logan to leave. He’ll be lucky if Oliver makes it on time.”
“You waited for him to leave?”
“Yeah, I sat in your driveway next door. Didn’t want him standing over us, trying to convince me to leave.”
Where did that come from? “He wouldn’t. He knows I’m feeling better—and don’t try to change the subject. How are you feeling? You’re already such a baby when you’re sick, and now you’re having one.” I laughed wholeheartedly, basking in the comfort I felt from teasing her. “It’s a good thing I got plenty of rest. It’s going to be a long nine months.”
“Funny.” Hilary turned her attention to the foyer, surveying the area before walking toward the living room. “Your man has some good taste.” She stared up at the massive painting of Oliver as a toddler playing with wooden blocks, which hung in the center of the room. “And a seriously cute kid.” She turned back to me. “You make the perfect addition.”
Addition? “Meaning?”
She slouched down in the leather chair. “I’m just saying—you fit in here.”
“Hardly,” I scoffed. “This house is not me.”
“Maybe not yet, but I know you, and I was the one getting an earful the other day from a man crazy in love—a man that wasn’t going to let anything happen to you. It’s inevitable—before you know it, your painting will hang on one of these walls.” An abrupt giggle caught in her throat. “I’m guessing the first will be hanging in the bedroom: a scandalous nude.”
I rolled my eyes and sat across from her. Was this my future? My relationship with Logan was technically new, but with everything we’d been through, it felt like I’d known him forever. I couldn’t recall a time when he wasn’t in my life, and I didn’t want to. And Oliver…I didn’t want to confuse him.
My thoughts were interrupted.
“So has he…you know…” Her brows rose suggestively.
“No, I don’t know.” What is she getting at now?
She released a disappointed breath. “Has he painted you? Caleb said models hire him. I mean, I think....I don't know.” Her brows pinched together, her features sympathetic and her words rushed as she tried to back pedal the subject. "Forget I said anything."
“No, he hasn’t painted me,” I said, ignoring the burn of jealousy. A grin covered my lips as I added, “Yet.”
She relaxed. “I don’t know why I even brought it up.” Crossing her leg over her knee, she tried to grab my attention again, which was fighting the pull to drown in thoughts of Logan surrounded by beautiful supermodels. He’d better not have kept those paintings.
Logan loves me, supermodel or not, I reminded myself, brushing off my silliness.
“So how long are you staying here?”
I sat up in my seat. “Going home tomorrow. Do you want something to drink?”
“No, you’re right, I better get to school. I just needed to know you were okay.” She stood and fastened the top button of her coat—one she’d hidden in the back of her closet when her mother bought it a few years earlier, claiming it was too bulky. It was too early for her to have a bump, so why was she trying to cover up?
“Have you told Caleb yet?”
She shook her head. “I’ve only known a week. I need more time.” She pulled her gloves out of her pocket and focused on them instead of my inquisitive stare. “Call me when you get settled back home and I’ll come over. We can do a girls’ night.”
Oh no, she isn’t going to avoid this. “You need time to what?”
She sighed, dropping her head. “I don’t know…to think. Let’s not worry about it right now. After everything you’ve been through, we shouldn’t even be talking about my issues.”
“No, I want to talk about it. Tell me, what is there to thin—”
My words fell away at the sudden, somber drop of her expression.
“I better go.” She tightened her scarf back around her neck and headed toward the door.
“Wait! Hilary, I’m serious, we need to talk about this. I know you’re nervous, but making a rash decision isn’t—”
“I can’t be a mom, all right!? Not yet, anyway. That’s what you always wanted.” Her shoulders fell as she blew out a breath of air. “Damn it, Cass, let’s not do this right now.”
“Sit down,” I ordered curtly. “If you want to know what you can do to help me, you can talk to me, because right now you’re all I’m concerned about.”
Slowly, she moved back to the sofa and sat. “There’s the Cassandra I’ve been missing,” she mumbled with a small smile.
“Talk,” I prompted, sitting beside her.
“You know I love Caleb and I always dreamed one day I’d make him mine, but beyond that…I never gave it any thought. Dumb, I know, but I just want to have some fun with him before we settle down with kids and responsibility.”
“You’re going to make a wonderful mother.” I placed my hands on hers and squeezed gently. “Look at me. I’ll be here—anything you need, I’ll be here to help, so please don’t do what you’re thinking of doing.”
“I would never. I thought about it, but I can’t.” Her gaze fell to her stomach, where she placed her hand. “It’s a little Caleb in there.” A smile touched her lips as she looked up, but it was brief. Her next words flew out in one rapid breath. “Adoption is the only way. I have to wait till I’m beginning to show, then leave. I have family up north I can visit till the birth, then—”
“Whoa whoa whoa! Hold up!” I shot out. Was she serious? “You can’t just disappear for six months and expect no one to ask questions—for Caleb not to ask. This isn’t 1950! Are you insane? This is the real world. You have a job, and…” I shook my head, flabbergasted we were having such an outlandish conversation. She couldn’t leave. She couldn’t just give up the baby without telling Caleb. That wasn’t even legal.
I stood, needing space to comprehend.
“You’re my friend, Cassandra—my best friend. I need you to keep this secret.”