When Laylee glanced at Karen, the other woman grinned.
Laylee gave up.“Knox and I havenever…” No, she couldn’t announce that they hadn’t yet been intimate.“That is, we haven’t even dated.”Of course, a date wasn’t a requirement for sex, so she added, “We’ve never even kissed!”
Marcus frowned at Knox.“So you’re not the father?”
Knox laughed.“You sound disappointed.”
Good grief.They were all goofy.She said, reasonably, in her opinion, “I might not even be pregnant.That’s why we were getting the test.I mean, a second test.Because the first one was faulty.”
All eyes turned to Knox.
“He’s a friend!”The kind of friend who’d gone the extra mile and then some.“He … he was with me for moral support.Just in case.”
“But if she is pregnant,” Knox insisted, “it won’t be a problem.”
Everyone seconded his assurance, all of them talking at once, yet Laylee got the gist of it.They didn’t automatically expect her to embrace motherhood, and they weren’t dismissive of her feelings, but they were supportive no matter what.Emotion gripped her throat and made her eyes burn even more.
In their own unique ways, they each made it clear that they weren’t judging her.
How special was that?“You’re all incredibly terrific.Thank you.”
Bray helped her up, then hauled Knox up, too, much to Knox’s disgruntlement.
“Let’s go eat, and you can tell us all about it.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to tell you about it, dumbass!”Knox glanced at the women.“No offense.”
Lucy laughed.
Karen said to Laylee, “We’re friends now, so just know if youwantto talk, we’re here.”
Given the way they were all so attentive to her now, it seemed possible that even the men wanted to be included.Her sister had told her they were like that, all very close and involved with each other.From what Laylee had seen from the periphery of their circle, it was true.
They included her when she was around and when the gatherings were at Ford and Skye’s house; after all, she lived right next door.But between modeling and traveling and just overall staying busy now that she was a homeowner, she couldn’t always join in.Plus, Ford and Skye were a couple.Yes, she saw them when she watched the dogs, which was often as per their agreement, but it was usually in passing as they headed out to work or returned home.
At the end of a workday, they were all about each other.It was almost hilarious how much they were in love, and how happy they were with their dogs—as a family.
So Laylee had tried not to intrude too much.And yet, here she was now with a party in her house, following an attempted robbery and assault, and a botched pregnancy test, all after causing Knox to fall off a roof.
Yeah, she couldn’t get over that last part.Actually, she couldn’t get over any of it.
Marcus pulled out a chair for her.“Here you go, Laylee.Take a seat.”
Bray nudged Knox out of the way, saying, “Drink your water, okay?You need to hydrate after all the chaos.”
“I’ll get your plate,” Karen said.
Lucy objected.“I was going to get it for her.”
“You should tell her about your dessert.”
“Oh, good idea.”Lucy sat beside her and regaled her with the recipe for her chocolate brownie pie.She said she’d wanted to make a cheesecake, but that took more time and was more complicated.Lucy was really into her different recipes.
With an indulgent smile, Knox took the seat beside her, his shoulder deliberately touching hers, his thigh pressed close—and it helped.
The problem, of course, was that she should be helping him, not the other way around.Knox was the one with multiple injuries.She wanted to pamper him, to show him how much she appreciated him.
Yet, at the same time, shelovedthat his friends were treating her as one of the gang.
