“He shouldn’t have put his hands on you,” he said between clenched teeth.
“He didn’t realize what he was doing. Jace was upset. He didn’t mean to hurt me.”
“Why are you defending him?” Nate demanded, his eyes going to my wrist where faint bruises had formed.
“Because Jace isn’t like that. He would never touch me with violence, and he didn’t last night. He was just freaking out, and he didn’t understand he was holding me so tight.” I pushed my hair back from my face, frustrated they were turning on Jace.
Was I pissed at him? Yes, there was no doubt about that. But I didn’t want people villainizing him. He’d broken my heart—repeatedly—but he wasn’t a bad guy. If anything, I was hoping we could at least find some middle ground and be friends, if for no other reason than our shared responsibility of having a goddaughter.
My bagel popped up, and I dropped it onto a saucer, turning my back to the two guys as I smeared cream cheese over it.
“You’re right,” Nate said after another tense few moments passed. “Jace would never hurt you. I know that. I just don’t like seeing you with bruises, Kin.”
“I’m not fragile,” I told him with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood. Lifting one half of the bagel, I bit into it.
“I’m actually surprised you left him standing, from what Amara told me,” Cash said as he plated the rest of the food and handed a dish over to Nate. “I know you’re not fragile, honey, but don’t let him touch you like that again, or he’s going to end up with a few bruises of his own.”
As he passed, he dropped a kiss on my forehead and carried his loaded plate back toward the bedrooms. It was so much like Caleb would have done that it made my eyes sting.
“That goes double for me, sweetheart,” Nate told me with a wink as he followed after the rocker.
I stood there, waiting until both Riley’s and Amara’s bedroom doors shut before I tossed my bagel in the trash and downed the rest of my coffee. I was no longer hungry, and what little I had already eaten felt like a stone sinking to the bottom of my gut.
Sighing, I grabbed my keys and purse and went out the door.
First stop on my list was a maternity and baby boutique downtown. I’d reserved a present for Lucy weeks before, once everything on her baby registry was finalized. I paid extra for them to wrap it for me, and I just needed to pick it up.
Walking into the popular little store, I wasn’t surprised to see the many women in various stages of pregnancy out shopping. This place had some pretty cute clothes for pregnant women and their expected bundles of joy, all of which was one of a kind that couldn’t be found in big chain department stores around the country. Everything from nursing bras to cloth diapers and monogrammed pacifiers.
Lucy and I had found this place after her first doctor’s appointment just a few weeks after her wedding. Ever since, she’d been coming back at least once a month. She restricted herself to only buying the small things like onesies and gender-neutral blankets and clothes, knowing her family and friends would want to buy her all the major things. Especially her dad.
She and Harris had already picked out the crib, which they’d put up the month before and she’d sent me pictures of while I was still in Tennessee. Once they knew they were expecting a girl, they went from buying everything in yellow and white headfirst into everything pink and purple and glittery.
As I approached the sales counter, I noticed the guy standing there talking to one of the managers I remembered from previous shopping trips with my best friend.
Jace.
My heart rate picked up as I contemplated coming back later to pick up my present for Lucy. But even as the thought was forming, I clenched my jaw and squared my shoulders. No. I couldn’t be a coward and just keep avoiding him. Not if we were going to try to be friends.
We weren’t together anymore, but our best friends were married to each other. We were going to be Hayat’s godparents. I needed to get used to being around him because we were still going to be connected through Lucy’s precious baby girl.
As I drew closer, he seemed to sense me behind him and turned his head. When his eyes landed on me, I saw the heat that instantly filled his eyes along with the relief. His gaze skimmed over me from head to toe, and his throat bobbed as he completely turned to face me.
Diverting my gaze, I was welcomed with a smile from the manager who was tending to Jace. “I’ll be right with you, miss.”
“She’s with me,” Jace informed the woman without looking away from me. “Thank fuck you’re here, baby. I’m trying to get Lucy something for tomorrow, and I don’t understand what any of this shit is on her registry. Harris said just pick something but…” He blew out a frustrated breath. “Will you please help me?”
He looked so adorably helpless, I couldn’t tell him no. Unfortunately, that was something I’d never really been able to do in the past either. Sighing, I moved up beside him at the counter. “What’s left on the list?” I asked the woman behind the counter.
“I was just telling Mr. St. Charles there are still several items that any first-time mother would be happy to have,” she said with a smile. Typing something into her computer, she turned the screen to show us what items hadn’t been purchased yet.
By several, the woman was overstating the small list dramatically. Of the hundred or so items Lucy had picked, there were only three items left, and all of them would make the badass rocker beside me blush at giving them to his best friend’s wife.
Biting back a laugh, I shook my head. “I think we’re going to go off-script for his gift,” I told the woman. “Excuse us while I help him shop.”
She beamed at me. “Take your time. We do have a sale going on right now on pamper goodie bags for mommies-to-be. That includes everything mom needs during and after baby’s birth.”
“Thanks, we’ll keep that in mind,” I told her with a giggle as I pushed Jace toward the back of the store.