Chapter 78

The bar is packed once I enter at six.

Annie and Lily are surprisingly with their men. Pedro kisses Lily on the cheek before taking a sip of his beer. Guillermo offers me a hug.

I hadn’t seen my best friend’s significant others in months, even before Ryan and I started the divorce track. But remembering that has me smiling before I can even think it through.

“There she is!” Lily cheers.

“We thought the guys would be interested in celebrating your divorce.”

“Congrats on your divorce, Esme!” Guillermo cheers, handing me a shot. “I know you can’t have it, just something to salute with.”

I laugh, thanking him for the thought. “What are we saluting?” I question.

“Your freedom!” Annie replies, her drink already half gone.

“Can you just get me a soda or water or something?” I ask my friends. “I don’t want to be the buzz kill.” Annie nods and heads back to the bar.

Pedro shakes his head. “You’re the woman of the hour! You can’t be a buzz kill. Besides, we all know how much you wanted a baby.”

“Aww, babe, you were listening!” Lily teases him, kissing him quickly.

“Is Derek here?”

Lily’s smirk makes me roll my eyes. “Stop!”

“He brought the girls. Isn’t that adorable? I had no idea just how cute they are!”

I raise myself on my tiptoes, scanning the room. If Bea and Tris are here, then no doubt Derek grabbed a table for them to sit at.

Annie and Lily don’t seem like they’re interested in sitting with my boss and his kids, seeing as they’re literally here doing shots.

“I’ll go find him. You guys stay here, enjoy your drinks.”

“What? No way,” Annie joins again, handing me a soda. “We were just waiting for you. The shots were just a bonus. Derek’s got a booth in the back.”

Hearing them say his first name so nonchalantly is like some alternative universe.

“Are you sure?” I play with the straw in the cold drink.

Guillermo and Pedro laugh, making me raise a brow.

“You seem to forget you’re the reason we’re here. Come on, follow us,” Lily instructs, taking Pedro’s hand and walking away.

Annie takes another sip of whatever she’s drinking, following Guillermo and our other friends.

As they said, the girls sit in their seats with their dad, coloring on the papers they’ve been given.

“She has finally arrived!” Annie announces.

Derek looks up, his face relaxed. He’s looked like that since the verdict was finally given.

His girls are so excited to see me, they both call out my name.

“They wanted you to sit with them,” Derek laughs. “You can sit on the end.”

Tris and Bea hug me, and everyone goes around to introduce themselves. Derek gets himself a beer, and the whole table orders food together.

The night ends up genuinely enjoyable. I thought I’d have to watch my best friends get drunk, but instead, everyone finds ways to tell jokes, make the kids laugh, and trade stories together.

“I heard Esme took you to get your ears pierced?” Annie questions Bea, her smile so big it makes me warm.

“I didn’t even cry,” Bea boasts.

“I definitely cried,” Lily admits.

“So did I,” Annie agrees.

“Okay, but how old were you?” I throw the question to the women.

“Oh, I was a baby,” Annie says flatly.

I snort, covering my mouth from spitting out my drink.

Guillermo shakes his head. “Walked right into that one.”

Annie tosses her long blonde hair over her shoulder, batting her eyes. “I’m just the innocent one here, baby.”

“She’s funny!” Bea giggles into her hands.

Derek nudges his eldest daughter. “Careful, honey. Not everyone’s going to laugh.”

Annie’s mouth drops open while Lily claps her hands. “Ha! He just said you’re not funny!”

“My feelings are hurt!”

“Clearly not the only thing hurting right now,” I murmur to Tris and Bea.

“Whose side are you on?”

“Oh, clearly her own. Have you met Esme?” Derek shoots back.

I can’t believe this is my life.

Bea and Tris get tired after two hours, and Derek apologizes, stating he’s got to get the girl’s home.

“Can I give you a ride?” He asks me.

“You’re already calling it?” Lily whines.

“One of us is pregnant here, and it makes me positively exhausted. Thanks, Derek, I appreciate it.”

I help him get the girls in the car and hug my best friends and their partners before I thank them all for their support and kindness through this trivial time.

We don’t say anything for the short drive, but I carry Tris up the stairs for Derek, Bea walking along like a zombie.

After settling Tris down in her bed, I turn to leave.

“Wait, give me five minutes to get them down.”

“For what?”

“Just wait in the living room.”

So, I do as he instructs, sitting on the couch and texting the girls to make sure they don’t do anything stupid.

When Derek comes out, he holds a small bag in his hand. “I got this for you, seeing as I know how much you’ve been going through.”

He sits beside me, and my eyes widen, surprised by his gesture. “Derek, that’s so nice of you, but you really didn’t have to do that.”

But that look in his eyes. It brings me back to the night he gave me the necklace still wrapped around my neck.

Instinctively, I reach for the necklace, my fingers spinning it around.

The man gives me his signature smile, running his hands through the dark hair on his head. I’ve studied that hairline so many times before. His knee is so close to touching mine, warming my insides.

How has so much happened between us that has made me fall hard for my boss? I don’t know how to explain the evident chemistry. But the top row of my teeth scrapes against my bottom lip as my pulse quickens.

“Please, take it.” His voice lowers to a whisper. “The girls helped me pick it out.”

I bite my lip harder, knowing I can’t say no to Bea and Tris, and finally give in.

I reach into the bag, taking out a bracelet.

“It matches my necklace.” I don’t even think before saying it.

“That was Bea’s idea.”

The tennis bracelet sits in my hands, and I lean in when I see an etch.

“Does that say Thorne on it?” I smile.

“That was my idea,” he admits, scrubbing the back of his neck while offering a sheepish look. “I know you’ve lived with this name for the past three years. Thought you’d like to start that back over.”

“It’s stunning.”

He takes it and fastens it around my wrist.

“I just thought you deserved to start this part of your life on a good note. Memories that only bring joy.”

His hands are so close to me, and when I look up from the bracelet, I see how close we’ve grown to one another.

Is this the moment? The memory I pull back out when imagining where things went right?

I want to take his face in my hands. I want to kiss this man so he knows that every horrid moment I’ve endured was all worth it to find him.

My hands itch to move, but Derek stands up suddenly, shocking my system.

“Thank you for letting us tag along tonight.”

Is…is Derek done here?

Is he dismissing me?

My eyes wide and confused, I shake my head quickly, my mouth falling open for just a few seconds. “Yeah. Of course.”

“I have to take care of the girls. But I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”

I don’t have words. I only nod once, before Derek walks around the couch and heads back into his daughter’s room.

What the fuck was that?