I shake my head. “Just water for me.”
“I’ll join you, Willow,” Sadie says in her soft voice.
“Perfect. Lark, are you sure?” Willow signals for the waiter before looking over at me. “You’re not feeling sick again, are you?”
“Not exactly.” I fidget with the paper wrapper that holds the cutlery and napkin together.
The waiter saves me from having to say anything more by taking their order for wine and some appetizers. But as soon as he leaves, Willow leans forward. She’s got her game face on. The one I’ve witnessed her use to wrangle a locker room full of players and a conference room full of media.
“Lark Miller. Spill.”
My mouth suddenly feels dry. I take a sip of water. “I’m pregnant.”
“I knew it!”
“What? How?” I ask as Willow holds her hand out to Sadie for a high five.
“Oh, come on, Lark. You were nauseous and tired, and then miraculously better. I’m guessing your doctor confirmed the pregnancy and gave you some drugs? Just because I’ve never been pregnant doesn’t mean I’m clueless to the signs.”
“Well, I sure felt clueless because that was the shock of my life,” I mumble, looking down at my glass.
“You really didn’t suspect it?” Sadie asks curiously.
“Nope. I mean, I guess I should have, seeing as the first timewe had sex the condom slipped. But I truly didn’t worry. I was on the pill, making the chances so slim.”
Willow winces. “Yikes about the condom, though. Hopefully, Monty was a good boy and had a clean bill of health at his last physical.”
I only just manage to stop myself from saying that wasn’t a concern, what with it being his first time and all.
“Yeah, everything was fine. Well, except for the baby thing, but that’s fine, too.” I feel a small smile break free. “More than fine, actually.”
“I would imagine it’s pretty overwhelming,” Sadie says gently. “But it is very exciting, too. As long as you and Monty are both happy.”
“We are.” Happy is an understatement…
Our appetizers arrive, and now that I’m not feeling the pressure to tell them, I can relax and enjoy lunch with my friends. They have a hundred questions, and I answer what I can. We laugh about crazy name ideas, and nursery themes, and Willow insists she’s throwing me a baby shower in a few months during the All-Star break.
A while later, as we’re leaving the restaurant, Willow pulls me into her arms. “Ahh, I still can’t believe you’re having a baby. This is just so freaking exciting!”
“What did you just say?”
At the sound of a familiar, shrill voice, my good mood dissipates in an instant. Willow draws back and mouthssorryto me. Standing close to us is none other than Cordelia Hazelwood. I hadn’t noticed her approaching, and I’m guessing neither did Willow, who has moved to my side, tucking my arm in hers.Poor Sadie is hovering next to us. She hasn’t had the pleasure of meeting my former almost-mother-in-law. But the tension is obvious to anyone.
“Cordelia. Nice to see you. I trust you’re well?” I ask, my voice stiff. There’s no chance we can get away without a confrontation, especially if she heard what Willow said.
“Did your friend truly just say you’re with child, Lark?” Cordelia’s voice is cold. I suppose any remotely positive feelings she held toward me ended the second Baron and I broke off the engagement.
“Yes.” I force my spine to straighten and look her in the eye. “I am. And if you’ll excuse us, we need to be going. Have a nice day.”
I move past her, dragging Willow with me and hoping Sadie follows. As soon as we round the corner, however, I stumble to a stop, leaning on Willow.
“Oh God. Tell me that didn’t happen and it was just some bizarre pregnancy hallucination.”
“Um, sorry, babe, but you definitely just told your ex’s mom that you’re pregnant,” Willow says, her voice laced with sympathy.
“Hopefully, she doesn’t think the baby’s father is your ex,” Sadie says, and I look at her in horror.
“Oh shit, I didn’t even consider that.” I remove my arm from Willow’s and cover my face in my hands. “What am I going to do?”
