Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 70518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
“You don’t trust me?” I asked, though I knew she was joking and was only referring to this top-secret surprise baby shower. I was very confused but Lucy had told me to be patient and I’d find out when the others did.
“With my life,” Lucy said, her eyes twinkling. “Just not with the sexes of our friends’ babies.”
Lucy and Sariah dissolved into gales of laughter, leaving me shaking my head.
I didn’t care what was going on as long as Lucy was happy. She’d been having a blast helping Sariah plan Hadley and Sheridan’s joint gender-reveal party. The twist was that on top of the party, they were also planning a surprise shower and I didn’t understand how it was supposed to work since everyone already knew about the party. From what I’d been told, Sheridan and Hadley didn’t know there was going to be a shower, since both of them had said they didn’t need anything. Sariah and Lucy had decided it was more about the camaraderie and bonding than gifts, so they’d planned this massive surprise anyway. Honestly, I loved watching Lucy fit right in with my Mavericks family.
“Hey, you want a beer?” Nash called to me, holding one up.
“Thanks.” I reached for it and joined him in the kitchen as Sariah and Lucy disappeared.
“Hell of a way to spend a day off, huh?” he asked as he pulled a tray of marinated kebabs out of the fridge.
“It’s okay.” I shrugged. “If the ladies are happy, our lives are better.”
Nash met my eye with a grin. “You’re not wrong.”
“Have you and Sariah set a date?” I asked him since he’d proposed over the holidays.
“Looks like late July.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“You’ll be in the wedding party, right?”
“Whatever you need,” I said, nodding.
“It’s going to be…huge.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Really?”
“Sariah’s mom and sisters are all over it, and as long as she doesn’t have to plan it, Sariah doesn’t care enough to argue with her family about it. It’s a big deal to them. My mom’s pretty excited too. So both moms and the sisters are planning it, her dad and I are paying for it, and Sariah just has to show up.”
“This sounds like a fair compromise.”
“That was my thought too.” He cocked his head. “What about you and Lucy? Going that direction?”
“Whenever she is ready,” I said quietly. Lucy had moved in after Christmas and things were going well. “Now we’re looking for a house. Maybe a wedding the following year. Whatever she wants.”
“I seriously want to give you shit about how pussy-whipped you are,” Nash said, dropping his voice and glancing around. “But I’m in the same boat. It’s fucking weird to be so happy because of them.”
We both grimaced.
Then we laughed.
Life was great.
“We didn’t need a shower,” Sheridan said for what had to be the fifth time. She and Hadley had been equal parts embarrassed and overwhelmed with emotion when they realized what was happening.
“You guys are the best friends ever!” Hadley sniffled, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.
“That’s what friends are for,” Sariah told her.
“Okay, time for the fun stuff.” Lucy rubbed her hands together. “We need Lars and Sheridan and Wes and Hadley on the patio and everyone else out in the yard.”
Everyone made their way outside as the two couples stood on the patio together watching the rest of us gather. I felt a jolt of envy seeing my friends with their pregnant wives. Both women were glowing, something I’d thought was just bullshit you said to a pregnant woman to make her feel better about weight gain and such. In this case, it was absolutely the truth. Even stoic, overly serious Lars had a huge smile on his face as Sheridan leaned against him.
For the first time in my life, I wanted to be a father too. The thought came out of nowhere but I had no time to think about it because Lucy was holding what looked like four thick, long cylinders. I assumed they were going to shoot colored glitter or something, since I’d seen this on TV.
“So here’s the deal,” Sariah said. “Everyone placed bets earlier as to what sex the baby of each couple is. But that was just a distraction because here’s the real surprise…” She turned to Lucy.
“There are three babies in the mix.” Lucy smirked.
Silence fell over the crowd.
“That’s not fair,” Boone muttered. “So we all lost?”
“I don’t understand,” I said loudly, since I always had issues with language anyway and everyone expected me to be the one to ask questions.
“It means one of the couples is having…” Sariah began.
“Twins!” Lucy finished excitedly.
There was a flurry of conversation and laughter as people tried to figure out which couple it was. Lars, Sheridan, Wes, and Hadley didn’t give anything away, though, merely standing there patiently.
Essentially, both women had gotten pregnant at the same time. Their due dates were only a week apart and both looked equally pregnant to me. It wasn’t like one of them was much larger than the other. Sheridan was a plus-size supermodel, but her body hadn’t changed much from what I could see. She simply had a protruding belly now, and it was the same for Hadley. There was no way to tell which of them was carrying twins.