All Chapters of The Bound Collection: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Eliminating the pressure of having an agenda in our marriage brought Brett and me back to where we'd been pre-baby craze. It didn't change the fact that every time my period came, I wondered whether it was a fertilized egg that was unable to implant in my uterus-an unrecognized miscarriage so early on we weren't aware it was a pregnancy-but at least that was only once a month. We tried to resume our social life and just enjoy each other. We spent more and more time with Dan and Lissa, and I had fast developed a strong bond with Dan's girlfriend.We spent most weekends with them, and those we didn't, I talked to Lissa regularly. Dan and Brett joked about how dependent we'd become on each other, but the truth was, I had really connected with her. She knew just about all there was to know about me, except what happened with Will. She knew the gist of it but didn't have any details. Even after all these years, sharing his story still felt like a violation, so when his name came up, I only

Lissa was just as much a lightweight as I was. She hadn't bothered coming in when she honked in the driveway. I put on enormous sunglasses and a hoodie and met her at her car. When I got in, she lifted her dark shades to express her irritation with the day, and I burst out laughing."We're two peas in a pod. I feel as bad as you look like you do." "I'd still be in bed if Dan hadn't forced me to get up. He's like some Herculean drinker or something. They drank just as much as we did, and Dan acts like it's just another day. How was Brett?""Giving me advice on how to handle a hangover." I rolled my eyes to express my irritation with my husband who had revived after a shower and measly cup of coffee. "He swears we need grease and another cocktail.""Holy crap, Dan, too. Do they share a brain?" She'd pulled out of my driveway and onto the street. I didn't know where we were going but trusted we'd agreed on something since she seemed to have a destination. "You haven't figured that

"Sweetheart?" I called as I closed the front door.Her car was here, but that hadn't meant much recently. She and Lissa were virtually inseparable and were always doing something together. Dan had been hounding me for days to talk to her. I was afraid if I didn't do it soon, he'd show up with Lissa and corner her himself. His determination had caught me off guard. Dan hadn't let up, and he'd brought Lissa in for reinforcement. I'd gotten emails and texts from her asking if Annie had reconsidered. She'd even had Dan transfer her to my extension two days ago in an attempt to convince me how important this was to her.But I couldn't figure out why. I knew she and Annie were close, they spent tons of time together, but realistically, they'd only known each other a little over six months. Annie had friends she'd known for decades who didn't even know about the second miscarriage, much less offer to carry her child for her. Yet here Lissa was, offering herself to us as a sacrifice. She l

I'd gotten so caught up with Lissa and talking about surrogates I'd slowly stepped back from Gray. When I heard from him, I tried to respond to his messages but kept my distance. The guilt weighed heavily on me knowing he needed a shoulder to lean on and had reached out because we had history, but I couldn't engage in his issues. For the first time in my adult life, I'd chosen myself over someone else, someone I cared deeply for. I was selfish and went after what I wanted. It was terribly uncharacteristic of me, but there was no guarantee this would work, and there sure as hell wasn't a guarantee Lissa would go through this again. So I'd chosen us.I hadn't expected to have to make another choice in the middle of the night, but when my phone rang at two, I ignored it. The noise started over again, Brett reached over me to grab it and answer the incoming call. The sound of the fan overhead was the only noise in the room until Brett barked out a groggy "hello."I had no doubt who was o

I was supposed to be on Lissa duty for the next few days, but I'll be damned if Dan wasn't acting like an overprotective, overbearing, ass. We didn't even have confirmation of a pregnancy, we'd only done the embryo transfer, but her being put on bed rest to give them the best chance at implanting had sent him into overdrive-and I was over him. "Lissa, I'm going to get out of here and leave you with Hovering Harry over there. If he goes home, call me, and I'll gladly come back." I winked at her, so she knew I was playing but didn't give Dan the satisfaction.Lissa groaned, but I knew she was eating up the attention from Dan. This was exactly how I'd always envisioned Brett being had I been able to get pregnant. There was a part of me that was envious, but the excitement far superseded it. I called out my goodbyes over my shoulder as I left Lissa's house. The two of us had been together non-stop since the embryo transfer. I was looking forward to getting home to Brett, and a night a