Forever with You

I slid her a sidelong glance. “Is that your psychic stripper powers at work again?”

“Damn skippy.”

I gri

“What does that mean?” Roxy brought her glass to her mouth.

“We’re going to be a mom and dad in approximately seven and a half months. Roughly.” I dropped the bomb like someone would drop a mic.

Tea sprayed into air, luckily in the direction of the aisle. I smacked my hand over my mouth, stifling my giggle as Katie sat there and stared at me. Guess her psychic stripper abilities hadn’t enabled her to foresee that.

Once Roxy recovered from becoming a human geyser, she whipped off her glasses, lowering them to the table. “Are you screwing around with me right now?”

I shook my head.

Katie still stared at me.

“You are being totally serious?” When I nodded, Roxy sat back. “Oh my God.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “You’re pregnant?”

“Yeah,” I said, smiling weakly as I placed my fork on my plate. Appetite gone, I struggled to keep the smile plastered on my face, but it was hard. The reaction to Avery’s pregnancy was vastly different from mine. Like two different continents different. I nibbled on my lower lip, my brows knitted. “I know Nick and I aren’t together. Maybe we will be one day. I don’t know. I’m kind of hoping that’s the case, but right now we’re working at . . . getting to know each other, but we decided to do this.”

Katie’s mouth popped open but she didn’t say anything.

I lowered my gaze, at once very unsure of what I’d just done. Maybe I should’ve kept my mouth shut. “I’d missed a couple of pills while I was moving, and the condom broke,” I said, feeling the need to explain so they didn’t think I just ran around having unprotected sex. “I know it’s not traditional and—”

“Wait.” Roxy raised her hands. “Okay. I’m sorry. I’m just shocked. I didn’t expect you to say that. I don’t think anything is wrong, and I can tell you think that’s how we feel. We don’t.” She glanced at Katie. “Right?”

“Right,” Katie said. “I don’t even think my mom knew who my dad was.”

Roxy’s brows knitted.

“When I was little, I was convinced that my dad worked for the CIA, and that was why I never met him. He was like a spy or something,” Katie continued as I bit down on the inside of my cheek. “Then I realized it was like one of the three possible guys and none of them were spies. Unless they were a spy when it came to finding the nearest bar.”

“Um. Okay.” Roxy blinked, returning her attention to me. “What we’re trying to say is that we’re just surprised, but we’re not judging you or Nick.”

My spine was still stiff. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” Contrite, Roxy leaned forward. “And I’m so, so sorry if I gave you that impression. Really.”

I nodded, wanting to believe her, but it was hard to forget the excitement when Avery a

“Are you guys happy about it?” Katie asked, as blunt as ever.

The flutter returned to my chest. “Yeah, we . . . we are. As strange as that sounds, we are happy about it. It was a shock, but we’re getting used to it.” I paused, and my next words sort of just rushed out in a jumbled mess. “Nick did this thing Wednesday night when he came over to see me. He asked if he could, you know, place his hand on my stomach, and when he did . . .” My cheeks started to heat. “He said he felt close to the baby, and I . . .”

“Turned to goo?” Roxy said, eyes unfocused. “Because that’s what I would’ve done.”

“Jumped on him and ripped his clothes off?” asked Katie. “Because that’s what I would’ve done.”

I laughed softly. “I think my ovaries exploded, but I kind of just sat there. It was . . . there really aren’t words when it comes to how that feels, I guess.”

“Wow,” Roxy said after a few moments. “I can’t believe Nick is going to have a kid. That you’re going to have a kid.”

“He’ll be a great father,” I immediately said.

Her eyes met mine and she nodded seriously. “Yeah, he will be.”

I wondered if she knew about his grandfather, but if not, I didn’t feel it was my place to tell. The rest of the conversation centered around all things baby—crazy baby talk. Like if I wanted a boy or a girl. Did I have a name picked out yet? Who knew?

Katie wanted to be the godmother.

I had no idea how to respond to that—to any of what they were saying.

“You know what this reminds me of,” Katie said while we waited for our checks. “That movie Knocked Up. Except you’re less a

The skin around Roxy’s eyes crinkled as she laughed. “Did they end up together in the end?”

It had been many years since I’d seen the movie, so I couldn’t remember, but as dumb as it sounded, I hoped so. Even far more bizarre, as we got up to leave, I kept thinking about what Katie had said more than once. That I would break Nick’s heart.

I scoffed at the notion, because seriously, but nevertheless, an odd sense of unease settled in the pit of my stomach. Once in the car, I pulled out my cell and typed out a text to Nick that I wasn’t sure he would be that thrilled about.

I told Roxy and Katie.

“You’re going to think it’s the most boring thing ever,” Nick said, after I asked him what he studied in college. “It actually is probably the most boring thing ever. Accounting.”

A startled laugh left me as I watched him. He was cooking me di

That had been his response after I told him that I’d dropped the bomb on Roxy and Katie. He’d pretty much said, “Hey, I’m making you di

I liked food in general, so I was excited.

I also liked Nick . . . in general, so this also excited me.

“That is boring,” I replied. “I never would’ve guessed it.”

“I’ve always had a knack for numbers. Seemed like the logical thing to do. I have a bachelor’s degree. Was thinking of taking online classes for an MBA— Wait,” Nick said as he paused, a serial-killer-sized knife in his hand. On the counter was a head of lettuce, a tomato, and a cucumber. “What are you doing?”

I was standing by the counter with my forearms pressed against my breasts. Apparently I’d forgotten I wasn’t alone. Slowly, I lowered my arms. “My . . . my breasts are tingly. Like really tingly. It’s kind of distracting.”

He placed the knife on the counter as his lashes dropped. “Yeah, it’s distracting.”

“Sorry?”

One side of his lips quirked up. “Do you need help with them? Because I volunteer if you need them inspected or rubbed or petted.”

“You are so helpful.” I gri

He tilted his head to the side. “That’s me. Mr. Helpful. Willing to take one for the team, even if it means I have to touch them.”

“Real hardship for you.”

“You have no idea.” Nick went back to chopping away at the veggies. “Is that normal?”

“According to this one Web site I found, where it breaks down what to expect week by week. They’ve been sore, but today they just tingle.” I paused, leaning against the counter. “The baby is the size of a tadpole right now.”

He glanced up from what he was doing, his eyes bright. “That’s . . . tiny.”

“It’ll almost double in size by next week,” I told him, inhaling the yummy aroma of chicken and herbs. “I also have to pee a lot. Like I’m a nonstop waterfall.”

His brows lowered. “Thanks for letting me know about that.”

I folded my arms as I watched him shuffle the lettuce into a bowl. “I thought this was caring and sharing time.”