Forever Bonded (BWWM Pregnancy Romance) (3 page)

“If
this is about Nate…you really have nothing to worry about. He’s perfectly happy
with Audrey, I assure you.”

“It’s
not that,” Evan replied, scratching his jaw. “It’s just…you’ve been spending a
lot of time here lately, and we’ve been together almost a year now. I think
it’s time we have a talk about the next phase of our relationship. You know,
the phase where you move in with me.”

And
there they were. Those three dreaded words that never ceased to fill Zoë with
fear of the unknown. Those three words that almost always sent her running.

The next phase.

“Wait,
what?” Zoë questioned, setting down her coffee to keep from spilling it and shaking
her head in disbelief. She was sure she’d heard him wrong. She must have. There
was no way he was doing the very thing Aniyah claimed he would. She wasn’t that
insightful…was she?

Evan’s
expression made it clear to Zoë that her reaction wasn’t the one he’d been
hoping for, but he continued speaking anyway. “You heard me,” he said, looking
her square in the eye. “I want you to move in. You’re already here all the time
as it is. It wouldn’t be that big of a change, would it?”

When
almost a full minute passed without Zoë saying anything, Evan swallowed hard
and looked away from her. “Forget it,” he said, standing up to clear her plate.
“I knew it was too soon.”

Zoë
tried her best to convince herself that this was no big deal. It wasn’t like
Evan had asked her to marry him or something. It was just living together. Good
ol’ fashioned cohabitation. And yet, Zoë couldn’t deny the overwhelming feeling
of suffocation that had settled over her. She liked her space, and her
cluttered apartment, and the privilege of being able to come and go in Evan’s
life as she pleased. She couldn’t imagine how claustrophobic she’d feel if all
of that was suddenly taken away from her.

“Look,
I’m not saying no,” Zoë finally spoke up, finding her voice. “I just need a
couple days to think it over.”

Evan
nodded and gave Zoë an optimistic smile before continuing to load the
dishwasher. At that moment, her phone vibrated on the counter, saving her from
any further awkwardness. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and thanked him
for breakfast before making her way into the other room to answer it.

Aniyah
began rambling as soon as Zoë picked up.

“Hey
boo, look I know this is kind of short notice, but I was wondering if you’d be
up for lunch with Audrey and me. This wedding shit is driving me up the wall. I
could really use a girls day out.”

Zoë
sighed inwardly. It wasn't that she didn’t want to spend time with Aniyah. She
was just really hung over, and the prospect of seeing Audrey again so soon after
what had transpired the previous night wasn’t one that sat well with her. “Did
you have to invite her?” she complained, taking a seat on Evan’s couch and
pulling her legs up under herself.

“Zoë,
come on,” Aniyah pleaded. “Remember what I said about playing nice?” When Zoë
didn’t respond, she spoke up again. “Look, I know she ain’t exactly your
favorite person in the world, and yeah she’s a little bit irritating, but she’s
Nate’s girl. I think we owe it to him to at least give her a chance, don’t you?”

Zoë
sighed in defeat.

“Thatta
girl,” Aniyah said in an encouraging tone. “Anyways, I thought we could meet at
that little French restaurant down the street from your place. Galatoire’s.
Does 2:30 work for you?”

Zoë
shrugged and chewed at the pad of her thumb. “Yeah, that’s fine,” she mumbled,
failing to state that she’d already eaten.

“Great,
and Zoë?”

“Hm?”

“Try to
be nice, alright?”

“Alrigghttt.”

Aniyah’s
laughter was the last thing Zoë heard before the line went quiet. Wonderful.
This was just what she needed. Another perfectly good day wasted on the likes
of Audrey Daniau.

Chapter five

Nate
awoke with a start and groaned as he came into contact with the harsh sunlight
leaking its way through the large bay windows in front of him. Disoriented, he
sat up and looked around in an attempt at gauging his surroundings. It wasn't
until he noticed a familiar red dress strewn across the floor that it finally
clicked.

He was
in Audrey's parent's pool house.

Nate
sighed and dropped his head back down on his pillow as his stomach rumbled for
carbs to soak up all the excess alcohol in his system. He also had a raging
headache, no doubt a side effect of the previous nights rocky events.

“Nate?”
a feminine voice called out from across the room.

Nate rolled
over to find Audrey standing in the doorway in his t-shirt, which was really
more of a dress on her.

“You
okay?” she questioned, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and grazing her
fingers down his back.

“Uh…yeah,”
Nate managed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he attempted to push away the
very vivid memory of Zoë's body against his. He was almost convinced it had all
been a dream. “Just a little hung over.”

Audrey
eyed him for a moment before deeming his answer as an acceptable one. “Well I have
a question,” she continued. “I was going through your wallet trying to find the
card for Galatoire’s so I could make a reservation, and I ended up finding a
bunch of receipts from Café du Monde instead. Care to explain?”

Nate
sighed and pulled a pillow over his head. He felt shitty enough as it was. The
very last thing he needed right now was Audrey hitting him with the third
degree over a couple baked goods.

“Nate!”
Audrey exclaimed, frowning at his reaction. “I thought we went over this the
last time I was here. That place is bad-carb hell. In no time at all, it'll
take this sexy body of yours and make it fat. I mean…they're called 'donuts'…as
in
dough
. Why would you ever eat
something that implies fat?”

Unbelievable.

Nate
zoned Audrey out as she continued with her rambling. Quite frankly, he didn’t
care for her opinion on this particular subject. Café du Monde was one of his
favorite places in the city. Ever since he'd moved back home after ending a
short sports anchor stint in Manhattan, he'd gotten into the habit of starting
his mornings with a beignet and Café Au Lait prepared by Zoë's younger sister,
Erica, who worked there as a means of putting herself through college.

The
sugary treats had become one of Nate’s favorite ways to start a day, but if he
was being honest, it was the small chance he had of bumping into Zoe during her
morning commute that appealed to him more than anything.

“Nate,
this isn't funny,” Audrey said with an elongated sigh, taking notice of the
faint smirk on his face. “This is about your
health
. It's no laughing matter.”

“I
know,” Nate said. “I just think you’re being a little dramatic, that’s all.”

Audrey
pulled her hand from his back and gave him an offended look, but she bit her
tongue and remained quiet when she realized she wouldn’t be winning this
battle. There were far more pressing matters on her mind anyway. “So I know
this is going to sound totally paranoid,” she began, speaking cautiously. “But
I have to ask. There’s nothing going on between you and Zoë anymore, right?”

Nate
furrowed his brows at the question. Of course there was nothing going on
between him and Zoë. They were done and over with.

Weren't
they?

“Because
she was all over you last night,” Audrey continued, speaking rapidly. “It didn't
seem very platonic to me. It actually made me feel pretty awkward. Like the
third wheel in my own relationship or something.”

Nate
tensed up at the reminder of the very compromising position Audrey had found
him and Zoë in. She was right. There was nothing platonic about the way they
were dancing, but that sure as hell didn’t mean he was about to admit it.

“Nate?”
Audrey pressed when he didn’t say anything, forcing him to meet her gaze. Her
unease was as clear as day.

“Look,
that really wasn't what it looked like,” Nate lied, finding his voice. “We're
just friends. That whole thing last night was…well…it was just dancing. It
didn't mean anything. You're the only woman I have feelings for. I promise.”

Audrey
studied his face for a second before giving him a relieved smile and snuggling
into the crook of his arm. They laid in silence for a while, but it wasn’t long
before she spoke up again. “I can’t believe Aniyah is getting married,” she
said with false nonchalance. “It must be so weird for you. You guys have known
each other your entire lives, haven’t you?”

Nate
shrugged and reached for the mug of coffee Audrey had set down for him on the
nightstand. He could tell what she was angling at, and he was going to need
some caffeine in his system if he was going to get through this discussion
unscathed. “It's definitely something,” he said between sips, keeping his tone
as lighthearted as possible.

Audrey
let out a dreamy sigh. “It must be such a nice feeling,” she continued. “You
know…knowing you've found the person you're going to spend the rest of your
life with.”

Nate
nodded and continued the charade of not knowing what she was hinting at. “Yeah,
I'm happy for her. Caleb’s a good guy, and it's obvious that he's crazy about
her.”

Audrey
let out an exasperated sigh and turned from her side onto her back. Her
reaction was that of a fisherman who’d spent all morning with his line in the
water only to come up empty handed. “What about you?” she questioned after a
moment of silence, opting on the straightforward approach instead.

“Me?”

“I
mean…don't you ever think about it?” Audrey questioned with hopeful urgency.
“You know...marriage, kids, a house with a white picket fence. That's the end
goal for you, isn't it?”

Nate hesitated.
He couldn’t muster up the courage to say what he was really thinking, which was
that while he did want those things, he wasn’t so sure if he wanted them with
her. So he opted on silence instead.

The
disappointment in Audrey’s expression as Nate stood up to get dressed was
impossible for him to ignore. He could feel her burning holes into his back as
he searched the room for his wallet and keys, and he had a sinking feeling that
she wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily.

“Nate,
I’m serious,” Audrey spoke up, proving him right as per usual. “Do you think
I’m it or not?”

“It?”

“You
know…the one…”

Nate
sighed inwardly. He knew the answer without having to think about it, but the
cruelty associated with that kind of bluntness never was his flavor. He liked
Audrey well enough, but spending the rest of his life with her was never
something that crossed his mind organically. The only time he ever thought
about it was when someone brought it up, and more often than not, that person
was her.

Nate
tried to picture his wedding day. He tried to envision himself in a tux
awaiting Audrey at the end of a long aisle, but it didn’t feel natural, and it
didn’t take long for his train of thought to shift to Zoë the way it always
tended to.

It
didn’t make any sense. Of course Nate didn’t want to marry Zoë. They had been
done and over with for years.

Right?

“Well?”
Audrey prodded.

Nate
pulled on his t-shirt and hesitated before turning to face her. His head
pounded as he considered his response. If he said no, it would be sure to lead
them into an argument that could last days, if not weeks. However, if he said
yes, it would be a stone cold lie that would do nothing but fill her head with
fantasies that would never become a reality.

Ultimately,
for the sake of his sanity, Nate decided on the latter. As soon as he nodded,
Audrey sprung up and jumped his bones, causing him to tense up beneath her
grip. He wasn’t sure what he’d gotten himself into, but he was well aware that
it wasn’t good.