Chapter 158: So, When Is He Proposing?

Chapter 158: Chapter 158: So, When Is He Proposing?

"Do you realize how long it’s been since the three of us actually did this?"

Chloe gestured with a French fry, pointing it between Audrey and Zoya. The music in the crowded restaurant provided a steady, upbeat rhythm under the chatter of the evening crowd.

Audrey smiled and picked up her cocktail. "Too long."

Zoya nodded in agreement. She rubbed her temples, looking like she had just survived a war. "My schedule has been insane lately."

Audrey took a sip of her drink and looked across the table. "Speaking of your schedule, how are the wedding preparations going?"

Zoya let out a long breath. A small smile fought its way onto her face. "They’re going well."

Then she sighed, and the smile faded into pure exhaustion. She picked up her glass of white wine.

"It’s just that Jackson has been too busy lately," Zoya admitted.

Audrey winced in sympathy. "That bad?"

Zoya nodded. "We’re both busy. I am drowning in cases, he is drowning in work, and somehow we are supposed to plan a wedding at the same time. The venues, the guest lists, the fittings, the vendors. The endless meetings."

Chloe laughed. "So you’re planning a wedding while barely having time to enjoy being engaged?"

Zoya pointed her wine glass at Chloe. "Exactly."

She took a sip. "I just miss having alone time with him. Not wedding meetings. Not discussing work. Not answering calls while we try to eat dinner. Just being together."

Audrey reached across the table and touched her friend’s arm. "You’ll get through it."

"And when all this wedding chaos is over, you two can finally have some peace," Chloe added.

Zoya smiled. "That’s what I’m hoping for."

The waiter dropped off their remaining food. They spent the next twenty minutes trading stories, dodging plates, and sharing dessert. The conversation flowed easily. Audrey felt a genuine rush of joy. After the tension of the Calloway family dinner and the endless corporate conspiracy waiting for her at work, this was exactly what she needed.

Then Chloe became unusually quiet. She just pushed a fry around her plate, a secretive smirk playing on her lips.

Audrey noticed the shift. She set her fork down. "What?"

Chloe looked between them. "I actually have something to tell you both."

Zoya frowned, her lawyer instincts kicking in. "What happened?"

Chloe’s smile grew wider. "I’m pregnant."

Silence fell over their side of the booth.

Audrey and Zoya just stared at her.

"WHAT?" Zoya yelled. A few heads turned from the next table.

Chloe burst out laughing at their reactions.

Zoya gripped the edge of the table. "You’re pregnant?!"

Chloe nodded.

Audrey’s face lit up. She slid across the leather booth and threw her arms around her friend. "Chloe!"

They spent the next few minutes in a flurry of congratulations, chaotic questions, and happy tears. Audrey felt her chest swell with pride for her friend.

Then Zoya blinked. The reality of the situation seemed to click into place. She stared at Chloe with wide eyes.

"So that idiot Leo is going to be a dad?" Zoya asked.

Chloe threw her head back and laughed. "Apparently."

Zoya shook her head in mock despair. "That poor child."

Audrey started laughing. "You cannot say that about the baby’s father!"

"I am not insulting the baby," Zoya defended herself. "I am questioning Leo’s qualifications."

"He bought a parenting book yesterday," Chloe offered.

"Did he read it?" Zoya asked.

"He read the back cover," Chloe admitted.

The three women dissolved into laughter. They spent the next ten minutes trading jokes about Leo’s future as a father. They pictured him trying to assemble a crib or panicking over a diaper change. The mental image was endless entertainment.

Eventually, the laughter died down. Chloe took a sip of her sparkling water. She leaned back against the booth and turned her attention directly toward Audrey.

Chloe gave her a very specific, knowing look.

Audrey narrowed her eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Zoya smiled over her wine glass. "Because it’s your turn."

Audrey frowned. "My turn for what?"

"Mason," Chloe stated.

Audrey groaned and hid her face in her hands. "Oh, no."

"Oh, yes," Zoya said. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. "So when is Mason actually going to propose?"

Audrey nearly choked on her drink. She coughed and grabbed a napkin to wipe her mouth. "What?"

Chloe laughed at the sheer panic on Audrey’s face. "Don’t act surprised."

"You have been together for quite a while," Zoya pointed out.

Audrey shook her head. She put her glass down. "I don’t know."

Zoya studied her carefully. "You haven’t talked about marriage?"

"Not really," Audrey said.

She thought about the past few weeks. There had been way too much happening recently. The frantic investigation into 2019. Miles Calloway operating in the shadows. Richard Calloway questioning her loyalty. The looming corporate scandal.

Their relationship itself had only just stabilized after years of separation. They were still figuring out how to build a life together without the past haunting them.

Audrey looked down at the table. "Honestly? I don’t think he’ll propose anytime soon. There’s just been too much happening."

Chloe and Zoya exchanged a look.

Audrey caught the silent conversation. She wasn’t disappointed. She simply wasn’t expecting a proposal anytime soon.

"We’ve only just found our way back to each other," Audrey explained. "I don’t want to rush anything."

Zoya nodded slowly. "But if he did propose?"

Audrey felt a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth despite herself. "Yes."

Chloe caught it instantly. "Oh."

Audrey looked at her. "What?"

Audrey felt her cheeks heat up. "I would say yes without hesitation."

Zoya laughed out loud. "You didn’t even think about it."

Audrey shook her head in protest. "Why would I think twice?"

She looked at her two best friends. The teasing faded. She knew they understood the weight of this conversation. They had watched her fall apart when she lost Mason years ago. They had seen the walls she built to survive it.

"I love him," Audrey said quietly. "Of course I can see myself marrying him."

The words hung in the air. For a moment, none of them teased her. They all understood what those words meant.

Zoya offered a soft, genuine smile. "I’m glad."

The sentimental moment lasted exactly five seconds before Chloe ruined it.

Chloe leaned back in the booth and crossed her arms. "So basically, you’re waiting."

Audrey glared at her. "I’m living my life."

Zoya tapped her chin. "While secretly wondering when Mason Calloway is going to put a ring on your finger."

"I’m not secretly wondering," Audrey insisted.

"You are," Chloe teased.

"I’m not."

"You definitely are," Zoya agreed. ℯℯ𝑙.

Audrey let out a frustrated laugh. She couldn’t win against the two of them.

Chloe picked up her glass of sparkling water and raised it to the center of the table.

"To Zoya’s wedding, my baby, and Audrey’s future engagement," Chloe toasted.

Audrey rolled her eyes, but she picked up her cocktail anyway. She clinked her glass against theirs.

"You people are impossible," Audrey muttered.

The three women laughed together, the sound blending into the background noise of the restaurant.

Audrey took a sip of her drink. She meant what she said. She wasn’t expecting a proposal. She was focused on rebuilding her relationship, surviving the newspaper deadlines, and solving the investigation.

But as she listened to her friends talk, the quiet thought of a future with Mason hovered warmly in the back of her mind.