Free Lovestruck Forever by Rachel Schurig Page A

Thomas had pulled some strings to get them excellent theater
seats, as well as the chance to see a taping of Letterman. Bryony was
convinced she’d meet a celebrity who would sweep her off her
feet, allowing her to live a fairy tale life in Manhattan. Thomas
called her silly, but I couldn’t help but think that was pretty
much what had happened with him and me. “You never know,”
I told her, winking before kissing her good bye. “I’ll
keep my fingers crossed for you.”
    By
Friday morning, our company was gone and things were back to normal
at our house. Thomas had some promotional obligations to handle at
Jenner’s theater before the Friday night performance, so I made
plans to meet Sofie at her favorite coffee house near work, hoping
she wouldn’t mind too terribly if I spent most of the time
bitching about our family.
    We
had barely sat down with our drinks before I launched into a long
monologue about their presumption in booking the hall and my complete
inability to tell them about our London plans.
    I
paused to sigh, stirring my ice tea. “I don’t know why
I’m surprised, I should have been expecting it. But…I
don’t know. I guess I thought they would at least discuss it
with me, you know?”
    Sofie
shook her head. “Why on earth would they discuss it with you?”
she asked, her voice uncharacteristically bitter. “Discussing
it with you would indicate that they gave a shit about anyone’s
ideas except their own.”
    Wow.
Where had that come from? Sof and I had long been united in our
irritation at our family’s overbearing interference, but I
didn’t think I had ever heard her sound so…angry about
it. I remembered the way she had looked the week before when
discussing family, the tightness of her face. I had promised myself I
would talk to her about it after the party but had forgotten in favor
of stressing about my own issues.
    “You
okay, Sof?” I slid my hand across the table so I could brush my
fingers over hers. The moment my skin made contact with hers, she
burst into tears, quickly pulling her hands back to cover her face.
    “Sofie!”
I cried, aghast. “What’s wrong?”
    She
merely shook her head, her face still covered, sobbing into her
hands.
    I
jumped up from my seat to join her on her side of the table. “You’re
okay,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. I felt more than a
little freaked out. Sofie was not one for dramatic, emotional
displays—particularly not in public. I realized that we were
attracting quite a bit of attention, so I moved my chair, shielding
her from the curious eyes of our fellow patrons. “Just breathe,
Sof. I’m right here.”
    Slowly,
her sobs quieted; her shaking shoulders stilled. I continued to rub
her back as she took deep breaths, swiping at the tears under her
eyes.
    “Here.”
I reached across the table and grabbed a few napkins, passing them to
her. She took them, offering me a shaky smile in return.
    “Sorry,
Lizzie,” she muttered, using the napkins to mop up her tears.
“I’m probably embarrassing you.”
    “Don’t
be ridiculous.” I moved my hand from her back to her shoulder,
giving her a squeeze. “I’m not embarrassed, just worried.
Are you okay?”
    I
figured she would laugh it off, make some excuses for her behavior,
and was further shocked when she welled up all over again. “No,
Lizzie,” she whispered. “I’m not okay. Not at all.”
    “Sofie—”
    She
waved her hands over her face. “Go back to your chair,”
she muttered. “I can’t tell you this with you sitting so
close.”
    Feeling
nervous, and incredibly confused, I went back to my side of the table
and took my seat. “What the hell is going on, Sof?”
    She
took two deep breaths, so big I could see her shoulders rise and
fall. Finally she looked up and met my gaze. “I’m
pregnant, Lizzie.”
    I
stared at her, uncomprehendingly. Pregnant? But—
    “Wait,
what?”
    She
shook her head impatiently. “I’m not joking, that’s
for sure. I took