“But you don’t know if it’s a boy or girl yet. Thus, it.”
“We’re calling her Baby Bud.” I rub my hand over my belly as if Baby Bud can respond to her name already.
“Can’t we call it Baby Hobbit instead?”
“No, Nerd.” Frankie smacks Shelby on the back on the head. “We cannot.”
“Let’s have a mimosa to celebrate,” Bailey suggests.
I point to my stomach. “Baby on board, remember? No alcohol for me.” Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. “Oh my god.” I cover my hands with my face. I can’t believe what an idiot I am.
“What’s wrong? Is it something with the baby?” Bailey puts her hand on my stomach. I slap it away.
“No. Well, yes. I’ve been drinking while pregnant.”
Shelby raises her hand. “Does it count if you didn’t know you were pregnant?”
“When did you drink?” Frankie asks instead of answering Shelby’s asinine question.
“Duh. The bachelorette party.”
“Nope.” Bailey shakes her head. “I offered you champagne, but you didn’t take it. You said you weren’t feeling well.”
“Yeah.” Shelby nods. “We all figured out she wasn’t feeling well when she barfed all over the stripper. Classic.”
“The wedding, then.”
“Wrong again,” Frankie responds. “You didn’t eat or drink anything since you could barely breathe in your gown because of how tight it was.”
“Is anyone else thinking we should have realized you were pregnant earlier?” Shelby counts off on her fingers. “One, upset tummy. Two, gained weight.”
“And then I fell asleep at the end of my date with Luke.”
“Bet that went over well.”
I shrug. Luke carried me to bed. It was a sweet end to the night in my opinion. Besides, I am not ready to have sex with him, evidence of baby on board notwithstanding.
Bailey sets a huge platter of bacon on the island, and we dig in. I’m starving. I missed dinner last night since I rushed home from work to take a pregnancy test. I never got around to eating after the whole freak-out thing.
“Baby Hobbit loves bacon.”
I glare at Shelby. “Call her Baby Hobbit one more time. I dare you.”
“How did Luke take the news?” Frankie asks.
“He proposed.”
Bailey shrieks. Her chair scrapes the floor as she jumps up and rushes me. “Congratulations soon-to-be Mrs. Bauer.”
I hold my left hand up – my obviously bare ring finger on display – before she can tackle me. “I turned him down.”
“I totally get that.” Shelby nods as she continues to fork bacon into her mouth.
I stare at her with my mouth hanging open. Of all of my friends, I figured she would be the least supportive of my decision to not marry Luke. After all, she’s the closest with him. The green-eyed monster peeks his head around the corner when I think of how close they are. I shoo him away. Not now.
“He hurt you bad. I totally get you punishing him before you forgive him. It’s a complete waste of time, but whatever.” She shrugs.
“A complete waste of time? Not immediately forgiving someone for hurting me is a complete waste of time?”
“You two are destined for each other.” She waggles her eyebrows. “I called it, didn’t I? Way back in the summer at the fourth of July party.”
“Ignore her,” Bailey orders. “You take all the time you need to. What he did…”
“About that—”
I don’t allow Shelby to continue her train of thought. If she tells me taking my time to forgive Luke is a waste of time again, I won’t be responsible for my actions. “Can I smack her? Please.”
“What? I was only going to ask if everything is okay with your pregnancy because of what happened before.”
“Oh.” My anger flees and fear replaces it. “I don’t know.”
“It will be.” Bailey places her arm around my shoulder. “Roman is already on top of it. Don’t worry. He’ll find you the best darn obstetrician in the city.”
“Why Roman? I’m sure I can do a bit of magic on the computer and get her an appointment with the best baby doc in the city.”
“Someday, you,” Frankie uses her bacon to point at Shelby, “are going to end up in jail for hacking. And I’m going to stand there and say I told you so.”
Shelby shrugs. “Good thing I have rich friends.” She winks at Bailey who completely ignores her.
“Eat up, ladies. You’re going to need your energy for our shopping trip.” Bailey rubs her hands in excitement.
I moan. “Can’t I stay home? I need to protect Baby Bud.”
Bailey rolls her eyes. “Nice try, but no. I’m not buying it. Not when you’ve made your distaste of this shopping trip evident from day one.”
Since I love, love, love Christmas, Bailey thought I’d jump at the chance for a Christmas shopping spree. I may love Christmas, but I’m not an idiot. Shopping on Christmas Eve in the city is what nightmares are made of. I thought when she proposed a girls’ Christmas Eve tradition, we’d do something fun like go to an escape room. “Fine. But I expect an extravagant lunch.”
“Already made the reservation. We’re also getting mani-pedis.”
Shelby groans and I grin. I’ll take any chance I can get to torture the woman who is way too close to Luke. The green-eyed monster smiles and gives me a thumbs-up.
Chapter 24
Talking is for women. You want to solve an issue between men? A good fistfight is the way to go. ~ Luke’s Secret Thoughts
Violet chews on her fingernail as I drive to her brother’s house for her family’s Christmas celebration. I grab Violet’s hand and pull it away from her mouth. “You’ll ruin your nails.” I couldn’t care less if she ruins her nails, but she looks upset and that I definitely do care about.
She pulls her hand away from me. “I’m nervous, okay!”
Shit. I was worried about this when she invited me to join her family for Christmas. She’s obviously not ready for me to be around her family yet. “I can drop you off. I don’t need to spend Christmas with your family.”
She throws me a glare. “You are spending Christmas with my family and you are going to freaking enjoy it if it’s the last thing you do!”
“I don’t want you to be nervous because of me.” I want to make the woman happy, not anxious. She has enough anxiety to deal with at the moment considering the pregnancy.
Her glare intensifies. “If anyone says anything to you, I’ll deal with them.”
“What are you nervous about then?”
“In case it’s escaped your notice, I’m pregnant.” She points to her still flat stomach.
“I won’t tell them,” I promise. Is this what I’m in for during the next nine months? Nine months of her moods whipping from happy to sad to scared in a blink of an eye. Maybe I should buy one of those whiplash collars.
“I know, I know. Good thing Roman isn’t here. He apparently told everyone. I’m still annoyed with the man. Being a billionaire doesn’t give him a free pass. Words will be spoken.” She’s not the only one who is less than happy with Roman. The man totally breached the bro code. I’ll be having a word with him as well.