It’s too early for the pregnancy glow. I know that. And yet it doesn’t stop me from believing it as I greedily drink in the sight of her.
“How long until he gets here?” she asks, picking up her coffee and then placing it down without taking a sip. It’s like she doesn’t know what to do with her hands.
“It should be any minute—”
The apartment’s buzzer interrupts me. Madelyn’s face drops, her jaw clenching.
“Oh, God.”
Reaching across the table, I take her hand and squeeze softly. “We’re going to be together forever. Remember that.”
“But what if he doesn’t approve?”
I shake my head. I don’t have an answer for that. I simply cannot let that thought into my head.
“I better go let him in.”
My mind fills with pathetic instincts as I walk across my apartment. It tells me to pretend I’m not in, to text Steve and tell him I need to rain check.
Something, anything so I don’t have to face this.
But Madelyn and I are going to be together for the rest of our lives. She might already be pregnant with our first child.
Ignoring those childish instincts, I press the intercom buzzer.
“Hey, Max,” Steve says.
“I’ll buzz you up.”
Madelyn is in the living room when I return, wringing her hands, her lips pursed and her eyes glimmering. Striding over to her, I place my hand on her shoulder, squeezing supportively.
“We can do this.”
“We have to do it,” she says, nodding. “But I feel like I’m going to be sick.”
I sigh and nod. “Me too. But he deserves to know the truth.”
The elevator beeps and Madelyn steps away from me. It shouldn’t hurt. It’s not like we can let Steve walk in and see me with my hand on his daughter’s shoulder, not before he knows the truth. And yet it stings, a reminder that we’ve still got a huge hump to overcome before we can be together.
Steve limps into the living room, his face tight. I feel a pang in my chest, remembering again the day he got the injury, he was so happy with our business he couldn’t stop himself from jumping around like a madman.
He pauses, narrowing his eyes as he looks at Maddie. “Well, this is a surprise.”
He walks over to her and gives her a hug. I stare at the two of them, a pit opening in my stomach, my heart pounding and my throat suddenly dry.
After hugging his daughter – my woman – he turns to face me. “What did you want to see me about, Max? And what’s Maddie doing here?”
“I think we should sit down.”
Steve shrugs and the three of us sit. Without discussing it, Maddie and I sit next to each other on the couch, and Steve sits on one of the armchairs, the coffee table separating us.
It’s like we’re getting ready for a standoff.
Steve’s eyes narrow. It’s like he already knows if the way he’s looking at us is any indication.
But how could he?
“Dad, I love you.” Madelyn blurts out. “I love you so much. I want you to know that. You need to know that.”
“I love you too,” he says, gaze flitting between his daughter and me, his best friend.
Fuck.
This is so much harder than I thought it was going to be.
“Nothing will ever change that,” Steve goes on. “You know that, don’t you, Maddie? There’s nothing you could say to make me stop loving you.”
That’s too much for Maddie to handle. Maybe she wishes he would get angry, defensive, say, or do something to make this easier. His understanding is difficult to endure.
She buries her face in her hands. My fingers twitch, urging me to reach out to her, to comfort her. But I can’t do that before Steve knows the truth.
“Steve, you’re my best friend,” I say. “You’re the person I’m closest to, I trust the most, my business partner and…”
I trail off, biting down as the pit in my stomach grows, sprouts teeth, gnashes up my insides. Steve is looking at me with so much patience and acceptance, as though there’s nothing I could say to spoil the connection we share.
“There’s no easy way to say this,” I go on, pushing down on the terror inside. “Maddie and I… we’ve started a relationship.”
Steve stares at me for a long moment. I expected some sort of extreme reaction, maybe disbelief, but he just keeps staring.
“I see,” he says after a long pause. “What sort of relationship?”
“Oh, God,” Madelyn whimpers. “Dad… a relationship, as in he’s my boyfriend. I’m his girlfriend. I know it’s going to sound crazy to you. But it’s not as simple as you might think.”
Steve folds his arms, looking at us with an unreadable expression. It’s impossible to tell if he’s angry or upset. It’s like he’s purposefully concealing his emotions.
“Explain it to me,” he says.
I glance at Madelyn, silently asking if she wants to take the lead. But she stares back at me miserably, giving a soft nod of her head.