Colt throws his head back with a groan. “Sorry, sweetie!”
“I can’t hear you.”
He sighs and drags himself toward the kitchen. “Growing a human is a huge job, and I’m sorry for being selfish and forgetting what an amazing miracle your body is doing for our baby girl.”
“That’s better. Now help me melt these marshmallows.”
Colt mouths, help me,as Nick tries and fails to stifle a laugh.
By seven o’clock, the sugar has kicked in—Bodie and Faye twirl around the living room, belting out Disney songs in theirpajamas. Colt, looking far too comfortable in his own PJs, prances around with them like a giant kid. It’s ridiculous. He’s one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL, and here he is, dancing like a lunatic to Hakuna Matata.
Nick shakes his head, shoveling another handful of popcorn into his mouth. “If I could post this on YouTube, I’d be a rich man.”
“You’d be a dead rich man,” Abigail warns from under her blanket.
I grin. “It is kind of hard to believe that the guy doing the Macarena over there is a football legend.”
Abigail nudges me with her foot. “He’s mine, though. No take-backs.” We laugh, watching Faye and Bodie jump on the couch, their voices loud and happy. This isn’t how I usually spend New Year’s Eve. By this time last year, I was blackout drunk, surrounded by people I didn’t care about, already regretting everything.
But now? Now, I’m here. And I don’t hate it.
“Thanks for having us,” I murmur, squeezing Abigail’s foot.
She sighs dramatically. “Oh, that feels so good.” Then she groans. “I don’t know how I’m gonna survive two more months of this.”
“You do look huge,” Nick says mindlessly.
Silence.
Abigail’s head snaps up. “Excuse me?”
Nick panics. “I don’t mean huge like fat. I mean—you’re tiny, and your belly is just—really big?—”
“Nick.” My voice is low. A warning.
“But like, in a good way.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Please stop talking.”
Nick clears his throat. “I think I need some water.” He bolts out of the room.
“Grab me one too!” Abigail calls after him. Then she rubs her belly. “God help you when you guys have kids.”
A nervous chuckle escapes me. If she only knew the truth. Later, as the movie plays, Abigail shifts beside me. “So. How’s everything? I feel like I never see you anymore, and I hate that.”
I shake my head. “Don’t be. You have a lot going on.”
She tilts her head. “Yeah, but so do you. How’s the drinking?”
I hesitate. “Good. Nick’s been—he’s been really supportive. I don’t think I could do this without him.”
“That’s sweet.” She pauses. “And hey, you know I’m only joking around with Nick, he’s like a brother to me, so I hope you don’t take it personally. I love your husband. He’s one of my favorite people these days.”
Her words hit me like a brick.Husband.God, I wish that were real. Lately, it’s felt real. And I don’t know what will happen next. I don’t know what’s real and what’s just pretend anymore.
“Pizza is here,” Nick shouts from downstairs. “Pizza, pizza,” Bodie says, just like the scene from Kevin on Home Alone, waving his hands in the air, and Faye following behind him.
“Thank God, I need a pizza break,” Colt says, setting the microphone down. “You want me to grab you some?”
