28. ALI - GET UP
“Well, that’s a lot to take in,” Mer said with wide eyes after I filled her in about my doctor’s appointment.
“Yupp.” I popped thepas I doled out Oreo cookie crumbles onto my ice cream cone. We were indulging in the press box’s sundae bar while we waited for Piper to finish talking with Kappy. But looking around the small studio, I couldn’t see either of them.
“Doesn’t Kappy have to be on camera in, like, five minutes? Where are they?” I checked my watch to make sure. “Should we go find them?”
“Nah,” Mer said as she drizzled some hot fudge on her ice cream. “They arenotmy children. My actual children are safely tucked in bed with a sitter watching them.” Lucy usually attended all the games, but she had to skip this one considering it started at 9 p.m. on a school night. “And your children are safely tucked in there.” Mer gestured to my stomach with a smile.
My face faltered.
“What? What did I say?” she asked quickly.
“Children. Multiple,” I whimpered.
She struggled to tamper down a grin. “Sorry for the reminder.” She patted my shoulder. “But you’ll be okay.”
“Will I?” I asked with wide eyes. “I was freaking out about one.How am I supposed to handle two?” I blew out a breath. “How did you handle the nerves?”
“Honestly?” Mer snorted. “By embracing delusion and telling myself that everything would work out perfectly okay.” She cocked her head to the side. “And nesting.”
“Nesting?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, like working on the nursery.” She gasped and grabbed my arm. “We can start tomorrow. We’ll make the bedroom next to yours into a nursery. It’ll be so fun! Wait, we could even get rid of the wall in the closet and connect the rooms so you don’t have to go into the hall. What do you think?” Her face lit up at the idea and she nodded at me, trying to persuade me into saying yes.
“About that…” I trailed off. Her smile dropped into a look of concern, and I felt like the worst kind of person. Mer and Colt had been so warm and welcoming, and they actually seemed excited to have me around. They were family. Now that I was planning on leaving, I felt sad, and maybe even a little guilty about it. “I really,reallyappreciate you and Colt giving me a place to stay and offering so much, but…”
“But…?” Her blue eyes widened.
“But I think I’ll stay with JP?” I asked more than said.
She let out a high-pitched screech and immediately wrapped me in the tightest hug. “I knew it!” She was practically jumping up and down with a huge smile on her face. “I just knew it would work out.”
I laughed into her shoulder. Knowing she wasn’t disappointed had the tension basically bleeding out of me.
Mer pulled back from the hug. “Oh my God, I’m seriously so happy for you guys.” She gave me a watery smile. “You’ll always be welcome with us, but I really feel like you and JP belong together. Everything’s going well?” She nodded as she asked, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“I think so. I hope so,” I said, biting my lip to contain my smile. Her excitement had a way of rubbing off on me.
“I’m so happy,” she sing-songed. “I had a feeling. Lucy and Colt told me what he said on the stairs the other night—oh, finally!” she said as Piper and Kappy walked up. Kappy was clearly adjusting his suit, and Piper was smoothing a finger across his lips, trying to clear her red lipstick. “Where have you two been?” Mer scolded.
“Wait, what did he say on the stairs?” I interrupted.
Mer froze. “Oh.” Her eyes darted between all of us. “Uh…” Her neck was turning blotchy by the second, telling me she was nervous. “Nothing bad, I promise! Just ask him, okay? We’ve been spilling too many secrets lately.”
“Not me.” Kappy grinned proudly. “I’m a vault.”
Piper’s eyes narrowed on her husband. “What secret have you been keeping?”
“You promise it’s nothing bad?” I directed at Mer, rubbing my stomach. I caught myself doing that all the time now. It was strangely soothing.
“No, something good,” Mer said with a giddy smile. “Somethingreallygood.” She grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Promise.”
I knew if I pushed her on it, I’d for sure get the truth out of her, but I felt bad that she was having a stress reaction from nerves.
“Enjoying the ice cream bar?” Kappy asked, searching the toppings with a frown. “JP made sure Reeses were banned from the suite.”
“Aww, that’s so cute,” Mer gushed, grabbing my arm.
