“Nash?” Gillian asks, eyebrows raised.
“I’m using him for story purposes only.” Poppy flits her hand in the air.
She can claim they’re friends all she wants, but I have a feeling about those two. Poppy’s emotions toward him run hot and cold too much for her not to care. I get that he’s like a brother since he’s Jensen’s best friend, but I’d bet money on it they are more than friends.
“One night stand, drunken fling… she wouldn’t care, my mom would be over the moon.” Poppy rolls her eyes.
My hand slips to my stomach. I’m the fling. Not the drunk part, but I’m the careless one who allowed a man to not use a condom. But I can’t seem to care about that anymore because every day I fall more in love with my baby.
Briar glances at my hand, and I retract it right away, my cheeks heating. But then she stares at my drink again. “Do you not like it?”
“Oh, no, I do. My stomach…”
“Is growing?” A tiny smile tips her lips with an expression to say it’s okay, I was there too. My eyes widen, and she places her hand on my knee in reassurance. She shakes her head. “You should stop by sometime. We see you and Zander walking around the lake a lot. Emmett told me to mind my business, but we have a great porch and would love to get to know him better.”
I give her a wan smile. “Thanks. Yeah, I’ll message you.”
She squeezes my knee. “Great. Can’t wait.”
“Where’s Jude?” Scarlett asks, looking at the bar since her glass is now empty. “Let me try your strawberry margarita while we wait. You don’t mind, do you, Romy?”
Before I can stop her, Scarlett snatches my glass.
My heart shoots into my throat. “Scarlett?—”
She takes a long sip and hands it back over with a look of disgust. “I think they forgot the alcohol.”
“I’m sure it’s there. Tracey just did an excellent job of making the drink,” Briar says.
“I saw the bottle in her hand,” Lottie adds.
“Let me see.” Sadie, who I think is a little tipsy, grabs the cup from in front of me and sips the drink. “Yeah, I think she forgot it. I’ll tell Jude to get you a new one.” She raises her hand. “Jude!”
Panic rises in my chest. “You guys, it’s fine. My stomach isn’t right anyway.” The lie tastes bitter, but what choice do I have?
“Huh. A stomachache and your drink doesn’t have alcohol…” Poppy’s eyes widen then zero in on my stomach. “Oh.”
“Oh what?” Scarlett asks, following her sister’s line of sight. “No way.”
“No what?” Gillian asks. “Let me grab Ben. We’re getting you two shots in the next drink, Romy, you need to catch up.” She slides off the stool, but Sadie grips her arm. “What?” Her forehead wrinkles.
“Stomachache and no alcohol. Lottie got Romy’s drink,” Sadie fills her in, and everyone’s eyes shift to Lottie.
She holds up her hands. “It’s not my fault that Tracy’s so overworked she forgot to put alcohol in it.”
Their eyebrows shoot up because Lottie has a hard time lying, and she can’t look any of them in the eye.
I can’t put Lottie in that position, so I lean forward, look over my shoulder, and say quietly, “Yes, it’s what you’re thinking.”
They all shout and cheer, making spectacles of our table, drawing attention.
“Shh…” Lottie says. “It has to stay quiet.”
“Why?” Poppy asks, but she glances over my shoulder. “Oh…” Her eyes widen. “Ohhhh!!!”
I nod.
“What?” Gillian asks, not making the connection.
