The vibration startled me, even though I should’ve been expecting it. It was another message, from Adam’s number:
Hello Sunshine! How’s Trix?
I couldn’t help but smile. My twisting stomach was instantly filled with a girly excitement.
Had a nice relaxing weekend. What about you?
I never really knew what to say with these things. I was always awful.
Worked, slept, hung with the guys. But all we could talk about was you.
The butterflies took off again. I sat up a little straighter on the couch, enjoying the tingles.
I’m flattered. All good stuff, I hope?
I followed the last line up with an angel emoji. The one with the halo.
Only the best.
Adam’s reply had a grinning emoji attached to the end. Followed by a thumb’s up, and a little red heart. Then:
Your note was cute. But hey, what was up with the ‘B’ thing?
I squinted down at the message for a long moment. The ‘B’ thing? The ‘B’ thing…
Realization struck me like a bucket of ice water to the face.
Holy fucking shit, Brooke! You idiot!
I’d signed a ‘B’ in the heart, when I left the message in their kitchen. Instead of an ‘H’, for Hannah.
The ‘B’ was for baby. Sorry, just being stupid.
It was the only thing I could think of. The first thing I came up with, at a moment’s notice.
No reason to be sorry. That’s not stupid, that’s kinda adorable.
Whew! A huge wave of relief crashed over me, even as I silently cursed myself. Wow… what a fuckup.
We’d love to see you again. How about Thursday?
Thursday seemed way far off. Especially with Chloe breathing down my neck.
What about sooner? Patience was never really my thing.
It was bold and forward and left a molten hot feeling somewhere deep in my belly. But I’d typed it. And I’d already hit send.
Dante and I are out of town until Wednesday. Sorry. Seeing a friend.
I was half bummed, half jealous. I wondered if the friend were female, and whether or not that should matter. Somehow, it did.
What about Trey?
My heart was pounding now. I couldn’t believe I’d typed it! Yet I really couldn’t wait. There was no way I could go four more days without advancing work on the article.
Trey will definitely be around. You want his number?
Between the two sentences, he’d inserted the devil emoji. The one with the horns.