The Pickup (Imperfect Love 1)

We both go silent for a moment, and then Nick says, “How about instead of trying to copy stories that have already been told, we write our own?”

I take a deep breath. “I can do that.”

“Good. Chapter one begins tomorrow morning. I’ll pick you and Reed up at seven to catch our flight.”

“I’m pretty sure chapter one was our one-night stand.”

He laughs. “Fuck no, it wasn’t. That was the prequel. Our story doesn’t begin until now.”

We hang up, and I lean back against the wall next to the elevator, closing my eyes for a few seconds while taking several much needed calming breaths. It’s really happening. I’m actually going to attempt to date the father of my son. Not so long ago I didn’t think I would ever even see Nick again. He’s right, though. This is our story, and therefore, we get to write the chapters. Pushing off the wall, I press the button for the elevator. I’m watching as the numbers slowly increase when Nick’s door creaks open.

“So, I’m not sure what the hell Nick is talking about, but I believe he just called me an evil witch.” I turn around, and Celeste is leaning against the doorframe. “Although, it might have been an evil bitch.” She shrugs, and her head tilts to the side slightly. “I think we got off on the wrong foot.” She steps out of the doorway and walks toward me. I hear the elevator open, but instead of getting in, I meet her halfway.

She extends her perfectly manicured hand. “I’m Celeste Leblanc, the friend.”

I stare down at her proffered hand for a second before I take it in mine and shake hers. “I’m Olivia Harper, the…baby mama.” Yep, I totally just said that.

She throws her head back in laughter. “If you ask Nick, I think he would call you more than that. Why don’t we go inside? Nick called, and after yelling at me for closing the door on your face, said he’ll be home soon. But I don’t think he realized you were still here. Otherwise, he’d probably be hauling ass home sooner.”

I take her up on her offer for no other reason than curiosity. I’ve never been in Nick’s place before. We walk inside, and there’s a woman taping up boxes and stacking them in the hallway. Celeste doesn’t say a word to her, but instead grabs a bottle of wine and two glasses and nods toward the back of the room. There’s a set of French doors, and when she opens them, they lead out to a terrace. It’s smaller than mine, but large enough to have a table and a few chairs. We both sit, and Celeste pours us each a glass of white wine.

“I’ll get straight to the point,” Celeste says, handing me one of the glasses. “I don’t know you, and I wouldn’t know the first thing about being a mom or what you’re going through. I had no right to judge you, and for that, I’m truly sorry.”

“Damn it!” I take a sip of my wine.

“Excuse me?”

“I said ‘Damn it.’” I shake my head. “I was prepared to hate you…hell, I did hate you. You’re beautiful and elegant and successful, and you talked shit about my parenting. You were engaged to the father of my child, and did I mention you’re beautiful? I was supposed to hate you. I even threw away all the makeup with your name on it.” I take another sip of my wine. “And that shit isn’t cheap.” I raise a brow and she cracks a smile. “Then you had to go and apologize. So yes, ‘damn it’.”

“My makeup is worth every penny.” She winks playfully. “And apologizing is a bad thing?” She laughs.

“Well, yeah…because now I’m going to have to forgive you, and since I don’t have a lot of girlfriends, we’re totally going to click and become besties. Then my best friend Giselle will wonder why I’m constantly ditching her for someone else and insist on meeting you, and the three of us will all have to hang out, and you’re totally going to be that friend who brings us free makeup and jewelry from all your current lines and introduces us to all of the famous people you know.” I shrug, and Celeste laughs harder.

“What are you? A fortune teller? Care to tell me my future while you’re at it?” She smirks, taking a sip of her wine.

“Oh, that’s easy!” I giggle. “Nick is going to hold you to the pact you guys made, and Giselle and I will bug the shit out of you to find a guy for you to fall in love with. You’ll argue you aren’t capable of falling in love, and we’ll argue you are. Then one night when we’re all out, you’ll meet him and fall in love. You’ll resist at first, but we’ll be there to push you. You’ll finally come to your senses, and we’ll all live happily-ever-after.”