Page 54 of Afterglow

Mom follows my gaze to them—Eric having also joined in to wipe down the counters. “He seems like a good man.”

And there it is. “We’re just friends,” I say with a sigh, like the words will somehow protect my heart from the one thing I’m most afraid of.

“I know,” she insists, and my eyebrows raise. “Jenna told us—after she saw you two Friday. And your dad also asked Bryce what his intentions were with you as soon as he walked in the door…”

“He did not.” I cringe and hide my face in my free hand.

“He did, but in a funny way.” She chuckles, and I shift my fingers so I can see her soft smile. “You know your dad; he’s protective of his girls. But Bryce said he was here for you and the baby however you needed him and that you both agreed being friends—‘partners’ was the other word he used—was the best way forward.”

I put down my mug and shift in my seat to avoid her curious gaze. “It’s the smart choice. I don’t want things to get messy.”

“Babies are messy, Annie.” She’s not being condescending, just honest, and she should know—having raised three of them herself.

“Yeah, but this is messy enough as it is.” I chew my lip and glance again toward the kitchen to find Bryce’s gaze already on me.

His beard twitches and he mouths, You good?

I offer him a short nod and Mom follows my line of sight over her shoulder.

“I don’t know. It looks like he’s pretty good at handling the mess,” she offers, her attention returning to me when a soft chuckle escapes my lips. “It’s good to hear you laugh. I’m so sorry about how everything happened last week. I would have never brought up…” She catches herself before she speaks Craig’s name. “Well, I would’ve gone about things very differently had I known. And you’re right, we should’ve given you space to tell us when you were ready.”

She brushes her fingertips across my cheek and I lean into her touch, closing my eyes.

“I didn’t know how to tell you… about any of it. And I don’t really want to get into the details tonight, but I would like to tell you what really happened—another time.”

She nods, a silver sheen around her lashes. “We’re here for you, Leanne. And nothing about tonight was faked. We’re excited for you—truly. You’re going to be a wonderful mother, and it looks like you’ve got a pretty decent partner to raise this baby with.”

I swallow hard, my gaze pulled back to Bryce like he’s gravity. “He’s nothing like I thought he was.”

“Sometimes those are the best men… The ones who can surprise you.”

“No really, we have to get going,” I say, fighting a yawn.

Bryce holds my jacket out for me to slip my arms into as the Kole clan—plus Eric—huddles around the entryway. We’ve been trying to leave for thirty minutes and my eyes are struggling to stay open.

“We’ll see you next week?” Mom asks with her hands on my shoulders. Then she tacks on, “You’re welcome anytime too, Bryce.”

“Thank you, Kimberly. I appreciate it.”

“And thank you again for the gift,” Dad says, firmly shaking Bryce’s hand before wrapping me up in one last hug. Over his shoulder, I can see where they set the frame, right in the middle of the mantel over the fireplace—a place of honor.

Bryce and I finally step onto the front porch, a bag of leftover grilled cheese and soup in hand to last me through tomorrow’s lunch and dinner, and the door closes behind us. His free hand finds mine and I tell myself not to think about how perfectly they fit together.

“Thank you for tonight,” I say as he leads me toward my car. “I can’t believe you did all this.”

“It wasn’t all me. Jenna was the one who reached out to see if there was anything she could do to fix what happened. When I suggested this, she got everyone else on board.”

“Still, it means a lot that you threw yourself into the lion’s den so I could have that moment.”

He scrubs the back of his neck with his free hand. “I know it probably still wasn’t what you always imagined, but I hope…”

I cut him off. “It was… Or at least, it was more than I thought I’d get considering the circumstances. It was always going to be a bit of a shock. The frame was a sweet touch.”

“It was the least I could do.”

I scoff. “No, it was beyond that. You always do so much more than I expect of you, and that’s not really fair.”

He squeezes my hand. “How about you keep those expectations nice and low so I can keep exceeding them.”