One More Chance (Chance, Part 2) (12 page)

“Wait what? It’s
only the middle of July,” I say confused.

“I know, but you are getting closer and closer to your due date and unless you want to have your baby in London, I think it’s probably be
st you get home and get settled, that way if she decides to come early, you’re prepared.”

“Are you sure?  I can stay
longer; I don’t have a problem with that.”

“I do.  You have done wonderful work here and anytime you want to come back and visit
, the doors are always open.”

“Thank you, Sir.
” I say before leaving.

I finish my day of work and head home to tell
Kenz the news.  I walk through the door to the flat and smell some amazing food. “That smells delicious,” I say as I walk into the kitchen to find Kenzie cooking away.

“Hey, it’s almost ready,” she says excitedly.

“So, I have some news,” I say as I take a seat at the table.

“What’s that?”

“I’m done at the end of the month.”

“What? Why?”
she asks in utter shock.

“Aidan said I need to get back home and be prepared in
case Lily comes early.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and soon I won’t be able to fly.”

“S
hould we look for a flight home?”

“Yep.
  Oh guess what else,” I say excitedly.

“What?”

“Aidan offered me a job, as long as I graduate with my Sports Management degree, I’ll have a job when I’m done,” I say happily.

“Here?”

“No, in Michigan.  It’s a sister company.”

“Wow, that’s awe
some.  Congratulations,” she says looking truly happy for me.

“Thanks.”

“Should we call and let everyone know?”

“No.  We can surprise them.”

“I like that idea.  Is it cool if I stay with you until I need to go back to school?  I want to be there when Lily’s born.”

“Absolutely, you always have
a place with me, but you do know school will be back in session before she’s born, right?”

“Yeah, but if you end up having her early, I’ll be here to see her.”

“Sure, that’s fine with me,” I say with a smile.

“Thanks.  Well let’s eat and then we can start packing
, two weeks will be here before we know it,” she says as she takes the food off the stove. Kenz made garlic chicken with broccoli and rice.  We eat and then start packing everything up that goes home with us.

Before I know it
, the week is going by and we’re making plans for the weekend.  This is the weekend Liam is getting married.

“Hey,” I say to Brody.

“Hey Hails,” he says sounding annoyed.

“Everything
okay?”

“No, but I don’t want to be the one to tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

“Liam and Nina had to push their wedding back three weeks.”

“Why?”

“Something about
him having to meet with the coaches or some shit like that.”

“So
, why didn’t you want to tell me that?”

“
You really need to tell him.”

“I said I would,” I say now getting annoyed.
“I’m not telling him until I come home anyway, so it’s fine.”

“You should leave and come home early
Hails,” he states.

“Why?”

“Because you shouldn’t be traveling, while you are that far along.”

“I’m fine Brody.  I’ll be home before you know it,” I say
, wanting to end this conversation.

“Good.  Well Quinn and I are heading out soon, so I’ll talk to you later,” he says before disconnecting the call.

I can feel things changing between Brody and me because I haven’t told Liam yet.  I understand why Brody’s mad, but understand where I’m coming from too.

“What’s wrong?” Kenzie asks.

“Brody’s been acting different and I know it’s because I haven’t told Liam about Lily.  Oh and his wedding isn’t happening for a few weeks, which means we will be home before he gets married.  Just lovely.”

“You could always try to stop it
,” she says with a smirk.

“Because I’m that kind of person
, right?”

“No, but yeah
, I don’t know.”

“I said I would tell him when we get home and I will.”

“Good.”

Friday comes and goes and before I know
it, Saturday is here and we are being driven to the airport.  It’s a long flight home, but we decide it’s still best to not tell anyone.  We’ll have a taxi take us to the house.

It’s the middle of the afternoon by the time we get to the house
, because of the time difference.  We pull our bags out of the taxi as Quinn comes running out.  “You’re here,” she screams as she throws her arms around me in a hug.  I can’t help but laugh out loud.

“Surprise,” I joke.

“You’re early.”

“Yeah, they told me to leave early in
case Lily decides to come early.”

“I love them,” she says as she takes a good look at me, “Look at your belly, you look so cute,” she says as she rubs my big belly.

“Thanks.”

“She wears pregnancy well
, doesn’t she?” Kenz says.

“You sure do.  I hope I look half as good one day.”

“Oh please,” I say as I grab a bag.  Quinn grabs some bags as does Kenzie and we head inside.

“So, how’s everything been here?”
I ask as I set the bags down on the floor inside.

“Good.”

“Any issues?”

“
Nope,” she says with a smile.

“Good.  God it feels so good to be home.”

“Just wait until you see the nursery,” Quinn says excitedly.

“You didn’t have to do that, I told you that already.”

“Please, I wanted to do it.”

“Well thank you, I know I’ll love it.”

“Let’s go see it,” Kenz says excitedly.

“Okay,” I say as we head towards the stairs.  It takes me a few minutes
, but I make it up the stairs and down the hall walking into Lily’s nursery. “Oh.My.Gosh. It’s beautiful,” I say as I take in the wonderful nursery.

The walls are painted white, with a farm animal border that’s soft
with fluffy animals in pastels.  There’s a crib already put together and set up, it’s dark cherry and has pink bedding that matches the border and the same with the mobile.

“This is amazing,” Kenzie coos.

“Thanks,” Quinn says enthusiastically.

There’s a rocking chair by the window
, along with Lily’s name on the wall above her crib.  On the opposite side of the room is a changing table and a dresser for her things, and the closet is already full of clothes.  In another corner there is a basket full of stuffed animals.

“Did you do this all by yourself?” I ask shocked.

“No, I had some help,” she says nervously.

“Who helped?”
Kenz asks.

“I’m sure Brody did,” I state.

“Yes, Brody did,” she says with a smile.

“Who else?”
Kenz asks.

“Umm…” Quinn stutters.

“Tell us,” Kenz pushes.

“Liam and Spence helped too.”

“What? I only just told Liam I was pregnant.”

“He came over to hang out with Brody and we were painting and putting things together and he asked if he could help,” she says
, looking unsure.

“That was really nice of him,”
Kenz says, “He decorated his daughter’s nursery and doesn’t even know it.”

“Shut it.  I told you I was going to tell him and I will,” I snap.

“You are?” Quinn asks surprised.

“Yes, but I’m going to wait until
after he’s married.  He has enough to worry about right now and with his wedding less than two weeks away; I’m not going to ruin that for him.”

“He’s coming over today,” Quinn says nervously.

“What?”

“He
and Brody have been hanging out a lot lately and he’s coming over tonight to hang out.  I didn’t know you were going to be here, so I didn’t say anything,” she says worriedly.

“It’s fine.  He’s welcome here anytime.”

“Brody didn’t tell him did he?” Kenz asks.

“No, though I know he wants to.”

“I bet he does, but he promised me.  I told him I was going to tell Liam, but I need to do it when the time is right.”

“When i
s the time going to be right?” Brody asks from behind me.

“Shit,” I jump, “You scared the shit out of me.”

“Sorry,” he says as he comes up to me, “You look beautiful,” he says as he gives me a hug.

“Thanks.  The nursery looks amazing, Thank you guys for everything.”

“Anything for you and Lily,” Brody says with a smile, “Hey Kenz,” he says as he makes his way over to Quinn.  I’m sure this is a little awkward, but Kenzie acts like she doesn’t have a care in the world.

“Hey.  You guys did an awesome job,”
Kenz says, “I’m going to take my things to the room I’ll be staying in,” she says before she heads out of the room.

“How are you two doing?” I ask Quinn and Brody.

“Good, great,” they both say.

“Are you sure?”
I ask looking between the two of them.

“Yeah, we’re doing really
good actually,” Brody says proudly as he throws his arm around Quinn’s shoulders and pulls her in for a kiss.

“Aww
, such young love,” I joke.

“Umm
Hails….Liam’s coming over later, is that okay?” Brody asks as we start walking down the stairs.

“Yeah, Quinn already told me.”

We grab a bite to eat and catch up before I decide I need a nap. “Guys, I’m going to take a nap, I’ll be back down later,” I say as I walk over to my bags.

“Here
, I’ll help you take them up,” Brody says as he jumps up to grab the bags.

“Thanks.”

We walk up the stairs and Brody places my bags in my room, “Thank you for everything.”

“Anytime
Hails, we’re family.”

“I appreciate everything you and Quinn have done for me.”

“You don’t have to thank us.”

“So
, are you two really good?”

“Yes we are.  I love her, I really do,” he says almost blushing.

“Oh my gosh, you’re blushing,” I joke.

“No I’m not, but I am serious.  Are you going to tell Liam?”

“I told you I am, but not yet.”

“When are you planning on it then?” he asks as I sit on my bed.

“He’s got enough going on with getting married, I’ll tell him after that.  He doesn’t need something else to worry about right now.”

“But you are going to tell him?” he asks
, as he eyes me closely.

“Yes
, I am.”

“Okay good.  G
et some rest and I’ll see you in a little while,” he says before walking out of the room.  I get comfortable before falling fast asleep.

I’m not sure how long I sleep
, but when I wake up it’s dark outside. “Hey, you’re awake,” Liam says softly.

“Yeah, what time is it?” I ask through a yawn.

“A little after eight.”

“Oh wow, I slept longer than I thought.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Good.  Thank you for helping with the nursery.”

“You’re welcome, are you excited?”

“I am,” I admit.

“You’re going to make an amazing mom, Hails.”

“I hope so.  Where is everyone?”

“They’re downstairs.  I wanted to check on you because they said you’ve been sleeping for a long time.”

“I’m good, probably just jet lagged.”

“You’re back early,” he points out.

“Yeah, my boss told me to come home in case I end up having Lily early, plus I wa
s almost to the point where the airline I was on won’t allow me to fly.”

“Oh yeah, I didn’t even think about that.”

“Do you want to head downstairs?” I ask.

“Sure,” he says as he stands up.  He follows me out of my bedroom, “Wow, you’re really showing.”

I can’t help but laugh, “Geez, thanks for calling me fat,” I joke.

“Shit, I didn’t mean it like that,” he says as he runs his hands through his disheveled hair.

“I’m only kidding, relax.”

“You look great,” he says as Lily kicks me. “Ouch,” I say as I rub my belly.  “What’s wrong?” he says in a panicked voice.