Lola popped her head out of the kitchen. “Will,” she beckoned in a hard tone.
The rest of us struggled not to snicker.
To Jonah and me, Will said, “Fine. My blessing. Have it. It’s fucking weird for me. And I don’t know. I have to see how it plays out. I don’t trust it yet. But... I have other things to worry about. I can’t... whatever, I can’t deal with this too.”
Jonah smiled, and I felt the tightness of his body subside. “A dad, huh? That’s wild, man. Congratulations. I’m so happy for you.” Jonah stretched out his hand and waited for Will to shake it.
We all watched, holding our breath, waiting to see what would happen. This was so nice of Jonah. I could tell from his tone that he wasn’t entirely over the confrontation yet, but he was trying. And I had so much more respect for him because of that.
Will hesitated a second, and then another second, and then met Jonah in the middle, taking his hand and tightly shaking it. “Thanks. I’m happy for you too.”
“You are?” Jonah’s tone was half sarcasm, half disbelief.
Will laughed. “Yeah, I am. I think I’ve known for a while. Probably not as long as it’s been going on. But I’m not a total idiot.”
“Debatable!” Charlie put in.
“But, yeah, anyway, no matter what happens, you can’t quit working with us. That’s a blood bond you signed as a child.”
Jonah’s laughter was even more genuine. “Obviously.”
Will stalked off toward the kitchen for a fight I was fairly confident Lola made up so she could divert Will’s attention. I loved her. If there were any doubts before? They were gone. She was the best.
Also, I probably should have just asked Will what he was doing weeks ago. It all felt so silly now.
Charlie slammed his hand down on the table. “I knew she was pregnant. I knew it, and I didn’t say anything, and I should get some kind of award for that.”
Ada, Jonah, and I gaped at him. “How could you have possibly known?” I asked, laughing.
“She threw up the entire time I stayed over there. That’s why I made Will crash your house that Sunday after my surgery. I was afraid I was going to catch something. But when he picked up ice cream and ginger ale on the way back to his apartment, I put two and two together. Sick people don’t crave Cherry Garcia.”
I was actually impressed with Charlie’s detective skills and his silence. “Meanwhile, you had no problem throwing me under the bus?”
He shrugged. “I did you a favor. Will is way too distracted with being freaked out to worry too much about you two. I’ll find a way for you to pay it forward later. But just so you know, I’m expecting something big. A cruise, a new car, something expensive.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, Charlie.”
Ada seemed to realize she was left with just us and it was the most civil to Charlie she’d been since the night of his surgery. She threw her arms around my neck and squeezed tight. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you.”
“I want all the details,” she ordered. “And we’ll have to double date soon.”
“Double date?” She couldn’t have surprised me more if she’d said she was also pregnant.
She waved an easygoing hand in front of her face. I stilled my body so I didn’t accidentally look at Charlie. “It’s new. He’s great. You’ll love him.”
My eyes bulged as I tried to figure out if Ada had been body-snatched. But whatever her game was, it seemed to work on Charlie. He shoved away from the table and sulked away.
Ada pretended not to notice. “I better clock in. Congrats, you two.”
After she left, the bar was quiet for a couple of minutes. Jonah whirled the swivel chair around and stepped between my legs. I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head against his chest. He was solid and warm and home.
“I’m not sure if you realized or not, but everyone we know is out of their damn mind.”
His low chuckle rumbled against my body. “Good thing we have each other.”
At the gentle prodding in his tone, I looked up. “Good thing.”
