I push my plate away a little and sigh. “Well, the increase in the number of people who-” I make exaggerated bunny ears with my fingers, “fall on thingsand end up with them lodged in their behinds is alarming. Like… really alarming.”
Harvey barks out a laugh. “Tell me about it. Last week, we had to cavity search a seventy-year-old woman.”
Zoey drops her fork with a clatter. “Eugh, Harvey, really? I’m eating.” Then, after a beat, she leans in. “Did you find anything?”
Harvey nods solemnly. “Two rings and a pendant.”
Zoey’s jaw drops. “Oh my god!”
Colter just keeps eating, like this is all normal dinner conversation. Eloise pinches the bridge of her nose. Lauren hides her face behind her wine glass, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
I glance at Patrick again. Still quiet.
I’m guessing announcing the baby is off the table tonight.
Colter turns toward him. “You’re quiet tonight, son.”
Harvey snorts. “He’s probably basking in his promotion. I remember that feeling.”
Harvey’s a Sergeant in Robbery for the Austen PD; Patrick’s in Missing Persons. They’ve always had this polite, competitive thing going.
Patrick clears his throat. “Actually…”
He looks at me. Takes my hand on the table.
“I was thinking about the new baby.”
Everything stops.
“What?” Colter blurts, halfway between a shout and a choke.
Eloisegasps, eyes going wide, and before I can blink she’s on her feet. “I knew it! Iknewit, but I didn’t want to assume!” She throws her arms around me, squeezing so hard my ribs creak. “Congratulations, sweetie!”
Harvey pushes his chair back with a loud scrape. “Oh my God!” He rounds the table to hug Patrick, then me, then Patrick again. “A new niece or nephew? Congratulations!”
Lauren stands too, clapping her hands. “A new baby! That’s amazing!”
Zoey jumps up next, shrieking. “I KNEW you were glowing! I told Mom!” She hugs me, then Milo, then Patrick, bouncing like she’s the one having the baby.
Colter rises last, his face softening into something warm and awe-struck. He hugs Patrick first, one of those rare, full-bodied dad hugs, then pulls me into a gentler one. “This is… this is good news,” he says quietly. “Real good news.”
A few nearby tables are staring. Someone even applauds.
The seven of us freeze, like we all suddenly realized we’re making a scene in the middle of a crowded restaurant.
Eloise exhales, smoothing her blouse. “Okay, okay, everyone sit. Sit.”
Harvey laughs as he drops back into his chair. “Damn, we’re loud.”
Zoey grins. “Worth it.”
I sit too, cheeks warm, heart pounding, family still buzzing around us.
But when I glance sideways at Patrick… his jaw is tight again.
Like the announcement was something hehadto get through, not something he wanted to share.
I thought announcing the pregnancy would feel like celebration.
