Over the Edge (Bridge #3)(8)

She put her bowl to the side and folded her legs up on the couch. “So tell me what really happened with Will.”

I widened my eyes a fraction. “Nothing. That’s pretty much it.”

She canted her head. “Don’t bullshit me, Liv. I’ve seen Will. He’s a dream. Any sparks?”

I shrugged because I didn’t know what to say. Sparks had flown, along with an indecent proposal and some very inappropriate banter. I couldn’t risk telling Maya because it might get back to Cameron. I trusted her, but he was her husband and their confidences came first.

“He’s definitely not husband material,” I said, using Will’s own words.

She fiddled with the tail on her long blond braid. “I don’t think many single guys are. But you have to start dating at some point. You can’t stay cloistered in your apartment downstairs forever.”

I let out a short laugh. “I’m sure the last thing Cam wants is for me to start bringing dates home.”

“He’d get over it. Eventually.”

I shook my head, because he wouldn’t.

Between Cameron and Darren hovering constantly, I could hardly give a guy a second glance at the gym, let alone my number. Even if I did, the prospect of entertaining any kind of normal dating relationship opened up another world of problems. My parents’ world, specifically. I’d seen what they’d put Cameron and Darren through with their romantic relationships, but I wasn’t like my brothers. They were fiercely independent, strong-willed in the face of our parents’ judgments.

Frank and Diane Bridge weren’t letting me slip away into the arms of just any man without one hell of a fight. They’d all but promised me this. I wasn’t in the mood for that fight.

“I have plenty of time to date. I want to focus on the business right now.”

“Listen, Cameron is going to have his hands full when the baby comes. Between that and work, he probably wouldn’t notice if you shaved your head. Promise me you’ll try to get out there a little more. I’d offer to be your wing woman, but you know.” She gestured to her very pregnant state with a silly smile.

I laughed. “I’m not in any rush, but I’ll give it some thought, okay?”

Oddly, I couldn’t envision jumping into the dating scene, but I could imagine taking Will up on his ridiculous offer.

Being with him could be safe because he wasn’t a prospect. Neither of us wanted a relationship, and he wasn’t someone I’d have to measure up against my parents’ or anyone else’s standards. Truth was, this arrangement could be perfect.

Or it could be a complete disaster.

“What are you working on?” Maya pulled me from my tumultuous thoughts and pointed toward my notebook.

“Just sketching some things out for the baby’s room.”

Maya had enlisted my art major skills to paint a mural for my nephew’s nursery, but I’d yet to begin.

“You should start soon. My due date is a few weeks away, but I have no idea when this little guy will decide to show up.”

“I know. I want it to be perfect though.” I’d gone through a dozen drafts, but nothing felt good enough.

“Anything painted with love by his auntie will be perfect. Just go for it. Have fun with it.” She smiled warmly, but her gentle encouragement wasn’t enough to nudge me out of my creative funk.

I hadn’t painted since graduation. I’d been thrown into work with my dad and pushed into dating someone I had zero interest in. The turmoil should have driven me toward an outlet, but I’d been too busy starting over in the city to tap that passion. I’d latched onto Cameron’s life instead, ignoring the one thing that used to really make me happy.

“Hey.”

Maya’s concerned gaze came back into focus. “What?”

“You went someplace else for a minute. What’s on your mind, Liv?”

I sighed and tossed down my pencil. “I don’t know. It’s been almost a year since I moved in, and I still feel…off somehow. Like I’m treading water and have no idea where I’m supposed to go next.”

She was thoughtful a moment. “Is there anything I can do?”

“No, you and Cam have already done so much. I’m living in your house. I feel like a total leech on your life sometimes.”

“Don’t be crazy. You helped Cam turn this place into a home before I even got here.”

“But you’re a couple now, and you’re about to be a family. You don’t need a fourth person lurking around.”

She laughed loudly. “You don’t lurk. You’re my friend, and now you’re my sister. I like having you here. If you leave, who’s going to gang up on Cam with me when I need to get my way?”

I smiled. Maya and I had gone to college together, lived in the same dorm, and a fast friendship had formed. Then she started dating my brother, and when their relationship fell apart, so did ours. I’d cut things off, resentful of how Cameron had dealt with the separation from Maya. I’d been young, too, and misguided by my mother’s disapproval of her.

I hadn’t always been fair, but I was more grateful than Maya probably realized that she’d come back into our lives. For Cameron’s sake and for mine. After years of the silence, we were slowly rebuilding a friendship that I’d missed so much.