Page 57 of Code Violation

Nay

Have you told him yet?

My sister really is the most impatient person on the planet. However, she also gives the best advice. It’s funny how talking something through with someone you trust can help part the clouds in your mind.

Me

No, Naomi. I only texted him fifteen minutes ago. He’s heading over now so we can talk.

Nay

Ah! I’m nervous.

Me

Me too. Thank you for being there for me these past couple of days.

Nay

That’s what sisters are for, especially ones who have absent mothers. I only wish I could board a flight and hug you. Oh, and also throttle Kane.

Me

Join the long line of Kane haters.

Nay

Gladly.

Is he there yet?

Me

Since you last asked two minutes ago? No. I’m busy wiping down the bar and cashing out the register.

Nay

Okay, I’m going to bed before the sun starts to rise.

P.S. I’d pour him a stiff drink if I were you.

Chuckling at my sister’s last text, I start typing out a reply when there’s a knock on the door.

My stomach somersaults as I set my phone down on the bar top and quickly check my reflection in the mirrored glass display set behind the bar.

It’s hard to summarize the way I’ve felt these past thirty-six hours. For large parts of it, my head has been at war with my heart. I’ve always wanted to be a mom—from when I was a young girl, playing with dolls alongside my sister, to the second Silas asked me to consider holding back on taking emergency contraception.

Back and forth, I’ve thought about how my world could change if I didn’t take the pill and equally how I could go on to regret it down the line if I did.

The biggest decisions in life are always the hardest and often the ones that creep up on us without warning.

I never saw Silas coming, even though I’d known him for so long.

But as I unlock the door to find a towering hockey player standing on the other side, hands in the pockets of his black jeans, I feel sure that I’ve made the right decision.

Hopefully for us both.

“Hey.” His voice is noticeably shaky—and understandably too—as he walks into the bar area and spins in a circle. “This place is fucking huge when it’s empty.”