“Sorry,” Bax said. “Who are you?” And how did they get past Chet and his crew?
“I am Nadzieja. This is Etta.” She went through the rest of the names, but they didn’t mean anything to Bax.
“They’re with me.” Tanner emerged from the kitchen with a huge grin, and a death wish, because Courtney didn’t care for surprises, and she probably didn’t want a bunch of people she didn’t know attending her baby shower.
“The place looks fantastic.” Nadzieja wandered through the room. “So gorgeous.”
Irina had gone overboard turning the dive bar into a swanky club for Courtney’s surprise baby shower. Not only was Irina a birth coach who had become Courtney’s best friend, but she had party planning skills that rivaled the moms.
Irina took charge of the decor and the menu, while the moms handled the guest list.
“Did you run this addition past the moms?” Bax asked Tanner.
Tanner nodded. “I mentioned it. They’re my friends, they’re cool.”
Tanner was friends with the elderly crowd? Huh. There was probably a story there.
“Ve brought gifts,” Nadzieja said, snapping her fingers as Chet balanced a crapload of presents on the bar.
Courtney liked gifts, so maybe that would even out the whole “Surprise, and also, there are people here you don’t know!”
“You are Dad?” Nadzieja sized him up, then down, then up again.
Why did he feel like he’d just had a whole-body MRI and an uncomfortable cavity search?
“I’m the dad-to-be.” He nodded and crossed his arms because, seriously, he hadn’t felt that exposed in forever.
They were creeping up on the expected arrival date for baby Harley, and Bax was attempting to give Courtney a little something that she could enjoy while also making the moms and Irina and everyone else happy.
The Club Pew makeover? That was for Courtney.
The baby shower? For the moms, and Courtney. Mostly, the moms.
The craft beer? For the band.
The elderly brigade? Apparently, that was for Tanner.
The cake? That was for Linx.
While some might not think taking a due-to-deliver-any-day woman to a sort of swanky dive bar turned Denver club was a good idea, they knew nothing about Courtney.
“Bax?” Courtney called from the doorway.
Crap, she wasn’t supposed to be here until later.
“What did you do?” she asked, platform strappy heels in her hand and bare feet on the floor.
“Sorry, man.” Mach strode up right next to her. “I sort of told her what was going on. In my defense, she asked.”
Bax stared at him a beat. “You’re fired.”
Mach seemed cool with that. “From the baby shower duties, right? Not the band?”
Bax shook his head. No, they couldn’t fire Mach, he’d become a fan favorite. “Go help out in the kitchen.”
Mach did as he was told, and Bax went to his Courtney.
“Surprise.” He sang the word so maybe she would get all melty and forget that she didn’t like surprises.
