Hidden Ink (Montgomery Ink #4.5)(3)

Hailey didn’t have her soul mate, didn’t have that person who would help her find the better Hailey. She only had herself and her drive to keep going. That had to count for something. And she would not be jealous of Callie.

Just because Callie had met the man she was meant to be with and the man actually felt the same way about it didn’t mean that Hailey wouldn’t.

Of course, Hailey felt like she had already met that man, but that was neither here nor there. That man didn’t want her so it was all water under the bridge anyway. What mattered at the moment was Callie and her tears, not whatever the hell was going on in Hailey’s head.

Hailey pushed thoughts of sexy tattooed men who didn’t want her out of her mind and went around the counter to put her arms around Callie.

“Honey, what’s wrong?”

“I’m happy,” Callie hiccupped. “Oh, God. I’m only in my first trimester and the hormones are getting me. How is that possible? I thought the tears and mood swings came in the third trimester and then right after the baby came.”

Hailey kissed the top of Callie’s dark hair and sighed. “I think it depends on the person. I’ve never been pregnant before so I don’t know. You can ask Sierra or Meghan, though.” Sierra was Austin’s wife and Meghan was his sister. The two women were also part of Hailey’s and Callie’s inner circle. “They’ve been through all of this before. Meghan twice in fact. And who knows, with the way she and Luc are trying, she could get pregnant any day now and only be a couple months behind you.”

“That would be nice,” Callie said as she sniffed. The other woman wiped her face with the extra napkins Hailey had handed her and sighed. “This is crazy. I came in here because I love you and because, hello, coffee, and now I’m all weepy.”

“Welcome to being pregnant.” Hailey may not have firsthand experience with pregnancy, but the treatments she’d had in the past caused similar hormonal fluctuations. One minute she’d be happy, smiling away, the next, sobbing uncontrollably before moving on to a rage she’d never felt before. The drugs might technically be out of her system, but if she wasn’t careful, sometimes, she still went through those mood swings.

Hailey had kept her previous diagnosis and past hidden, so she couldn’t tell Callie any of that. She didn’t know why she hadn’t spoken of it before. Well, she knew a little bit. Once someone said the word cancer, she would be stuck with the label for the rest of her life.

She wouldn’t be Hailey, the woman with the platinum-blonde bob and red lips.

She wouldn’t be Hailey, café owner and businesswoman.

She wouldn’t be Hailey, the woman with secrets who had a connection to the sexy man next door, which no one spoke of but everyone knew existed.

She would become Hailey, breast cancer survivor.

Hailey, not whole.

Hailey, not fully a woman.

She mentally slapped herself. It had been how long, and she was still feeling this way? It had been years since the surgeries, the treatments. She was cancer free. Enough time had passed that she was cancer free, not just in remission.

Hailey wasn’t the same woman she was before, but in all honesty, who was the same person they were at age twenty?

She needed to push that aside and worry about Callie right then. One day soon, she would tell the girls about her cancer. She hadn’t known them when she was sick, but keeping secrets like this wore on her. Plus, she wanted to make sure the girls were taking care of themselves. She’d been young when she was diagnosed, way too young for that type of illness, and yet she’d had to go through everything that came with it. She didn’t want her friends to face the same things she had.

No one deserved that.

“I’m happy,” Callie said again, this time her eyes clear of tears. “And Morgan is going to freak when he finds out that I cried today. Because even if you don’t say anything. He’ll know. He’s just that good.”

Hailey kissed her friend’s cheek and let out a laugh. “It’s because he loves you.”

Oh, to be loved like that. Unconditionally. To know that someone could see deep inside and know every emotion, and take the time—and care enough—to cradle that feeling…

Hailey was indeed jealous, but it didn’t matter. Callie deserved all of that and more.

All of her friends did.

“He does love me, doesn’t he?” Callie said with a smile. “Okay, now that I’ve gotten coffee out of you and cried on your shoulder, I’m going back to the shop to work like I said I would.” She let out a sigh. “Another reason I’m in here early is that Morgan had a super early appointment. The call was with someone in another time zone. I hate being at home alone. So thank you for being you and letting me ramble. The guys and Maya should be into the shop a bit later. I’ll send them over since those brownies look to die for.”

Hailey grinned. “They are absolutely amazing. I taste-tested one this morning. For business purposes, of course.”

“How you keep your curves looking like a fifties pinup and taste all of your sweets is beyond me.”

Hailey snorted. “It takes a lot of yoga and running to keep me in the shape I am, thank you very much. And you’re like the size of one of my legs, so shut up.”

Callie rolled her eyes then bounced toward Montgomery Ink. Hailey loved the fact that there was a door between the two shops. When Hailey had first opened her shop four years ago, she’d been intimidated by the very broody, bearded, tattooed men next door. And then there was Maya.