“Jax, can’t you see she’s crying?” I kneeled in front of her. “I’m so sorry, boo. Please tell me what we can do to make this better for you. We didn’t want to hurt you.”
“Oh, I’m not hurt…but I’m…” She wiped her tears and leaned back on the couch. “Time for a little confession of my own. I’m kinda pregnant.”
“You’re what?” Jax and I said in unison.
“It wasn’t exactly planned, but it happened, and I’m kinda over the moon about it. Okay, it sucks that I’m going to be doing it on my own—” She raised her hand when I opened my mouth to speak. “Don’t you even dare suggest what I think you’re about to suggest.”
She touched her belly, which was still very flat. “I’ve always wanted to be a mom, career woman, wife, everything, but it wasn’t until this little blip came along that I realized I’d been working really hard at just one of the many things I wanted and neglecting the others.”
“I don’t know what to say, Jodie. I’m happy for you,” Jax said. "We can decorate the spare bedroom so it's peaceful and cute for you two."
She blushed. “Hmm, I appreciate the offer but tomorrow, I’m signing the lease for a new office space with an apartment attached. It’s just outside Cliffborough and the area is perfect to raise a child in. When I found out about the pregnancy, I didn’t want to go through the whole thing alone, and I knew you’d kill me if you couldn’t see your nephew or niece.”
“Damn right,” Jax said. “So you’re really moving here for good?”
She nodded, her bottom lip trembling a little.
We surrounded her in a bear hug until she squirmed, begging for air. Then she grabbed my hands. “There was never going to be a wedding, Tanner.”
“There wasn’t? Now I’m confused.”
“Let’s just say it was a little setup to push you two together. I just didn’t think you’d already gotten there on your own.”
“You staged this whole thing hoping to push Jax and me together? Honey, maybe you’re watching the wrong rom-coms, but that’s not how it works.”
She laughed. “Blame the pregnancy hormones. I’ve always suspected Jax had feelings for you, and when you came out and we broke up, I wondered about your feelings too. I know we were slooow on the uptake, but you always really liked Jax and hung on every word he said.”
Jax touched my cheek, and I allowed myself to lean into it. “Can you blame me? Your brother is seriously hot, okay? And I’m only made of flesh and blood.”
“Anyway,” she continued, “I tried my best to find out if you two had connected when Jax moved here, but neither of you was talking. You both avoided talking about the other so hard that I suspected something was up. I hadn’t exactly planned on coming out with the wedding hoax, but when I saw Jax the first night, I knew something was up, so I went ahead with it.”
“I’m not sure if I want to hug you or strangle you,” Jax said.
“Hug. Definitely hug. I’m a little emotional these days,” she said.
We hugged and then went down to the bar when Jodie declared she was super hungry. Apparently, it was a rule that she had to have as many wings as her pregnant body could take in.
Every time Jax’s eyes met mine, we shared a smile. There was still a lot we needed to talk about.
“Oh my god, these are the best wings I’ve ever had. I vote that you have these at your wedding,” she said, wiping her mouth with a napkin and rubbing her belly.
“We’re already married, remember?” I said.
“Wedding, vow renewal, same thing.” She leaned forward. “Hey, Tanner, who’s the hot guy behind the bar. He straight?”
“That’s Matt. Yes, he’s straight.” I sighed. Pointing out that she was pregnant and probably not in the best position to be hitting on anyone, let alone a member of my team, was what I should have done, but Jax put his hand on my leg and my brain shifted gears immediately.
“I’m going to talk to him.”
Jax grabbed her hand. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“No harm in a little flirting before all people will see when they look at me is a huge belly. Besides, you two should go on up and fuck each other’s brains out. I’ll head over to your place in a bit.”
And with that, she went over to the bar and sat on the stool opposite to where Matt stood.
“That wasn’t the worst of her ideas,” I said.
“What? She absolutely should not be flirting with anyone. She’s a mother, for goodness’ sake,” Jax said.
