“I’m so happy for you,” Lennon squealed as she tossed her arms around Hailey’s shoulders. “How could you not have told me this? How far along are you?”
“Not even twelve weeks yet, which is why I haven’t told you.” Hailey grinned into her friend’s hair, holding her tight as her eyes filled with tears. “I wanted to, though. We weren’t going to wait the full twelve weeks. Just until we’d been to the doctor.”
Nash high-fived Hunter, then pulled him into a hug and thumped him on the back. “You sure got that done fast. We’ve been talking about starting to try for longer than you’ve been married.”
Hunter’s head fell back as he laughed. “Yeah, well, we realized there was no reason to wait. What were we supposed to have been waiting for?”
“Nah, there’s nothing to wait for.” Nash reached for Lennon’s hand when they released the happy couple. When he glanced at his wife, she nodded and I braced myself for the next announcement. “We’ve decided to start trying. As of this month, there’s no goalie in the way.”
More cheers rang out and more hugs were exchanged, and I finally managed to get to my feet to congratulate my brother. “I’m so fucking happy for you. You guys are going to be the best parents in the world.”
“Thanks, man,” he said gruffly. “Don’t tell Mom, okay? We’ve got a little surprise planned for the grandparents.”
I mimed zipping my lips. “Your secret is safe with me, but if I’m not going to be there, record her reaction for me. She’s going to be thrilled.”
“I hope so.” He stepped back after letting go of me. He wrapped his arms around Hailey and held her close while Lennon went to the kitchen for champagne flutes.
“We’ll fill yours with water,” she said to Hailey before she left. “There’s got to be a toast for this, though. Even if you guys don’t have any champagne. We’ll just have our regular drinks in fancy glasses. Don’t any of you start talking about how you found out before I’m back.”
She flitted out of the room and the rest of us sat back down, the board game forgotten. Nash, Hunter, and Hailey started talking about her symptoms so far, but I zoned out for a minute. I’d never thought about it as much as I had this week, but I wanted what these couples had so badly I was almost aching for it.
As if she’d heard mypouty, as she’d put it, thoughts, Isabella chose that moment to text me. My phone vibrated on the table, and when I looked down, it was to see her name with a message on my screen.
Isabella Atkins: Good evening, Parker. I’d like to see any correspondence you have with the investors you’ve been in contact with. I’m looking over the financials you provided now. If you can get the correspondence to me before Monday, I’d appreciate it. We can discuss it all then. Thank you, Isabella.
Despite how achy my insides were, I chuckled when I read the message.God, I wonder if she even realizes it’s after nine on a Saturday night.
Me: Are all your texts so formal? And wait, doesn’t texting count as an informal method of communication? No prob. Will send 2moro. Or are you finally going to take a day off? If so, you can always look at it on Monday.
My screen lit up again not a minute after I hit send, but it was with an email instead of a text this time.
Subject: Your attention is required
Dear Parker,
Tomorrow will be fine. I will be working all day. Please feel free to send it at any time.
My apologies for the text. You are correct. It is an informal method of communication. I don’t know what I was thinking texting you, but please forgive me. It won’t happen again.
Kind regards,
Isabella Atkins.
Laughing softly, I shook my head and opened my texting app. Once I’d opened our thread, I tapped out a reply there instead of on email.
Me: Texting is fine. It was a joke. Consider your apologies accepted, but don’t expect any from me over replying here. I have a serious question for you.
Isabella Atkins: Go ahead.
Me: Are you a robot?
Isabella Atkins: Why do you ask?
Me: Because you’re always working. Don’t you ever just switch off and kick back a little?
Isabella Atkins: I can relax like anyone else.
Me: Prove it.