“Goodness, you could really fill up this house with kids if you wanted to!”
A sweet blush moved over Greer’s cheeks. “I do want to have kids, but not enough to fill this whole house. Two, maybe three.”
We both laughed as she opened the door to the bedroom I’d be using.
I glanced around. “Greer, this is beautiful.” A large, king-size bed sat before me with a beautiful cream and light blue comforter on it. Plush pillows adorned the top of the bed and sat against a large, dark wood headboard, most likely walnut. Cream-colored wallpaper were on the upper portion of the walls, while a white board and batten covered the lower. A round rug sat in the middle of the room and held the same white, cream, and blue colors that Greer had decorated the room with. Soft white linen drapes hung down from the large windows, adding the airy feel of the room. A large fireplace sat opposite the bed, and I couldn’t help but dream of sitting next to it, snuggled up with a book.
“It needs updating. I hate the wallpaper in all the bedrooms, but we’ll get to it. The bed is very comfortable and brand new, and if you want a fire in here, you know how to build one. Hudson made sure to bring up enough firewood just in case.”
“I doubt I’ll want to build one, but thank you.”
A car horn sounded outside, and we both walked over to the window. “Looks like Brighton and Willa are here,” Greer said.
I glanced at her. “Did you talk to Willa?”
Facing me, she said, “I went a step further and called Arabella first, to see how she felt about Brighton being here. She was fine with it, like I said. Then I called Brighton and told her Arabella would be here. I got the feeling Brighton might want to talk to her.”
“They probably should,” I said, watching both women get out of Brighton’s BMW. Brighton had to pull Willa’s arms to help her out of the car. Then she motioned for Willa to go up the steps, while she went to the trunk and took out two bags, then two smaller bags, and, finally, something I couldn’t see.
“Jesus tap dancing Christ. What in the hell did Brighton bring? Is that…a giant speaker?” Greer asked.
I laughed and leaned toward the window to see if I could get a better look. “I think we need to go help her.”
Greer sighed and started to make her way back down the steps. By the time we got to the front door, Willa had made her way to the porch. Greer opened the door and hugged her, then leaned down and kissed her very pregnant belly.
Willa smiled brilliantly when she saw me. “Oh my gosh, Abby! You’re home!”
I opened my arms and hugged her—well, hugged her the best I could with her baby belly in the way. Taking a step back, I glanced at her stomach. “May I?”
She held her arms open. “Have at it. She loves the attention.”
“It’s a girl?” I asked as I placed my hands on Willa’s hard stomach.
She shrugged. “Don’t know. Aiden and I want it to be a surprise, so we haven’t found out. I think it’s a girl though.”
Suddenly, my hand jumped, and I let out a little yelp. “She kicked!”
Laughing, Willa said, “I told you! Only a woman would love that much attention. Plus, I had terrible morning sickness the first four months. I didn’t have that with Ben.”
I placed my hand on her stomach again, only to be rewarded with another swift kick.
Willa’s hand went over mine, and I met her gaze. “I’m sorry, Abby. I never knew until Greer told me.”
I placed my other hand on top of Willa’s. “Thank you. And I know you didn’t know.”
“Are you okay?” she asked with a slight tilt of her head.
“Yes. I do have some lingering issues I need to work through, but I’m fine. When are you due?”
She rolled her eyes. “January twenty-sixth.”
“Wow, another two months!”
“Don’t remind me,” she sighed, but then she winked. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to pee.”
Brighton came barreling in with Greer right behind her. “And that, ladies, will be the number-one phrase Willa says all night: ‘I need to pee.’ She pees more than any person I’ve ever met.”
“Someday, Bree. Someday you’re going to get payback for all the hell you give me,” Willa called over her shoulder as she made her way to the closest bathroom.
Bree huffed. “I don’t believe I ever signed up for the I Want Kids Club, but thanks.”
“Okay, Bree, I need to know why you felt the need to bring the largest speaker ever,” Greer said.
A wide smile erupted over her face. “It’s wireless, and we’re going to get our dance on.”
“Our dance on?” Greer and I said in unison.
With a wink, Bree added, “And I brought dress-up clothes.”
“Dress-up clothes?” Candace asked as she walked into the house. “I’m all about dress-up clothes. What kind of dress-up are we talking about?”
Bree clapped her hands and did a little jump. “The kind that says I’m a badass woman, and I don’t need a man—that’s for us single women—and we are sexy AF.”
“What does sexy AF mean?”
We all swung around to see Arabella standing there. Her eyes darted between each of us.
Bree walked up to Arabella and smiled. “Sexy as fuck.” She wrapped Arabella in her arms and whispered something to her. Arabella drew back and gifted Bree with the sweetest grin.
I looked at Candace and Greer, and we all exchanged tentative smiles.
It was Candace who lightened the mood. “I call any outfits with whips.”
“Damn,” Brighton whispered as a horrified look moved over Arabella’s face.
She and I exchanged surprised looks, but Greer just ignored them. “If you brought wine, put it in the kitchen,” Greer told Candace.
“Wine? Please,” Bree answered. “I brought vodka and whiskey.”
Candace groaned. “Why do you not live here full time, Bree? Why?”
They both chuckled, picked up some of the bags—which, from all the clanking, I was positive were filled with liquor—and followed Greer into the kitchen.
“I’ll take Arabella upstairs to pick out her room,” I called out.
Willa joined us and said, “I think I’ll head up as well. I need to make sure I’m close to the bathroom.”
“There are two with bathrooms attached. Greer insisted I stay in the one with the full bath, but if you want to trade—”
Willa waved me off as she took her bag and started for the staircase. She moved up the steps better than I did, and I wasn’t seven months pregnant. “Nope, all I need is a toilet close by.”
As Willa made her way into the room with the half bath, Arabella took the one that was next to my bedroom. It had a large bay window with a huge built-in sitting area.
Arabella set her bag on the bed and went over to the window. “This is stunning. I could get lost in this little nook for hours.”
“You’ve seen the library, I take it,” I asked, sitting down on the bed.
“I have. Isn’t it amazing?”
“It really is.” I watched Arabella make her way slowly around the room, taking it all in. “Are you okay with Bree being here?”