Carrick didn’t immediately reply and when the silence lengthened, Sadie fought the urge to break it.
“I’m going to miss you.”
So good things did come to those who waited.
His voice was sandpaper rough, coated with emotion and his few words, quietly uttered, were the equivalent of him handing her the moon. Conscious of her audience, Sadie softly told him that she’d miss him, too.
Carrick cleared his throat. “Oh, by the way, I think you left some pills on the bathroom counter.”
Sadie frowned. “I don’t think I did. I scooped up all my toiletries when I left.”
“Well, I’m holding a bottle of vitamins for pregnant women and another container labeled as folic acid.”
Her pregnancy vitamins. Dammit. She’d forgotten all about them. “Ah, dammit.”
“What’s folic acid?”
Happy to be talking to him, and still hearing the emotion in his voice, Sadie placed her elbow on the table and rested her cheek in her hand, allowing her hair to be a barrier between her and the outside world.
Sadie smiled at his pronunciation of the vitamin. But she couldn’t explain; Beth and Tamlyn were listening to her side of the conversation. “Suffice to say that its necessary for the proper development of the process.”
“Ah. Then you shouldn’t miss a dose. Where are you? I’ll bring them to you right now.”
Sadie grinned at the concern in his voice. “That’s really not necessary. I can easily pick up more.” She glanced at her watch. “And I have to leave in the next ten minutes if I’m going to make my flight.”
“Don’t rush. Stress is bad for the baby. And for you.”
His concern, and his tenderness, melted her from the inside out. “I’m fine, really.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard. Try and get some rest on the plane.”
Touched, Sadie didn’t point out that it was a ninety-minute flight from Boston to Richmond. “I’ll keep in touch.”
“I’m about to go into a series of meetings so I’ll be going dark for pretty much the rest of the day. But be safe, okay?”
“Will do.”
“Hurry home, sweetheart.”
Sadie heard his call disconnect and closed her eyes, wanting to hold on to the dizzy-making, soul-jumping feeling. This was what falling in love felt like, this deep-in-her-heart feeling of completeness. Suddenly, the impossible—a future together, being together as they raised their child, living and loving and fighting and touching—seemed possible.
It was a heady feeling...
“You’re crazy about him.” Tamlyn’s words were coated with accusation.
Yep, she was.
“Are you insane?” Beth’s question sounded a tad screechy. “Has nothing we told you about him penetrated your stubborn head?”
Without Beth’s trust and support, Sadie didn’t know how they could continue to be friends. As for working together... Beth was a great virtual assistant but she was also privy to all Sadie’s personal information. If she couldn’t trust Beth on a personal level, could she trust her with business details?
Sadie shook her head. “Beth, your determination to interfere in something that has nothing to do with you is hurting our friendship and our working relationship. It needs to stop. Right now.”
“Don’t talk to her like that, Sadie. She’s just trying to help you. Carrick is bad news. What will it take for you to believe that?”
Beth sent Tamlyn a panicked look, obviously caught in the middle. Sadie wasn’t going to ask her to choose between her and her sister—she’d probably lose if she did—but she wouldn’t tolerate them bad-mouthing Carrick.
But neither did she need to give Tamlyn any information to spread around.