Page 76 of The Mistletoe Mix-up

“Not exactly,” she said, concentrating deeply on an ornament of a man skiing. Although Millie had been behind Operation Find a Guy and Pick, Wren never thought she was being serious. Heck, Wren had never imagined that she, herself, could be serious until she’d been presented with the two things she wanted most: Sam and a baby.

“Are you saying that you are barebacking it with Sam in the hopes of getting pregnant?” When Wren looked away, her cheeks burning, Millie said, “Oh, Wren.”

“Why do you say it like that?” Wren asked defensively. “Sam agreed to it. I didn’t force or blackmail him. He even signed papers giving up his parental rights.”

“And that’s not gonna be weird? Having his baby and walking around town pretending like he’s just kind of there?” Millie shook her head. “I know I said look at Mindy Kaling living her best life and pick a sperm, but I didn’t think you’d actually do it!”

“I know it’s a little controversial, but I think this is gonna be what’s best.”

“For who?”

Wren wasn’t sure how to answer that, especially when she’d already been dwelling way too much on how much she loved having Sam around.

“I guess we’ll see.”

“When did all this get started?” Millie asked.

“Well, we did it once Tuesday, and then we did it several times Thursday and last night. If he comes over tonight, too . . .”

“I get the picture.” Millie gave her a suspicious look. “Are you enjoying this?”

“Depends on what you mean. Sam is a very considerate man in the bedroom, which helps, because according to experts, it’s important for the mother to orgasm to increase the chances of conception.”

“Oh God.” Millie shook her head. “This is the weirdest thing I have ever heard outside of a Hollywood gossip magazine.”

“Oh, come on, it’s not weird to enjoy sleeping with someone.”

“You’re doing a little more than sleeping.”

“Can we move on?” Wren asked.

“Sure, but I’m just wondering, if you’ve got his tadpoles, should I just call him Prince Frog?”

“Don’t be a jerk,” she said.

“Truth?” Millie asked.

“As if I could stop you.”

“I think you are going to put yourself in an uncomfortable position when you realize that you are in love with him.”

“I am not in love with Sam.”

“You were in love with Sam nineteen years ago, and that is the reason why you have never moved on. Now you’re going to get pregnant with his child, and he is going to think you want nothing more to do with him.”

“I was in love with him, past tense. Then I grew up and realized I don’t want a relationship because I saw what it did to my parents. That is why I never got serious with anyone else, not because I was carrying a torch for him.”

“Bullshit,” Millie said, lowering her voice when a few people passed by the end of the aisle. “The true reason is, he has always held your heart, and this is your way of keeping him close subconsciously. You think that if you do this pregnancy with him, eventually you two are just going to fall back into a relationship, and you won’t have to admit that you want to be with him.”

“I’m walking away from you,” Wren said, skipping over the Parks and Rec tree and stopping in front of the tattoo parlor’s tree. The ornaments were various and abstract. Some of them were painted glass balls, with the pastel colors of a sunset, while others were darker. Wren fingered a skull with red eyes, wondering who had chosen this tattoo and where they’d put it.

They were all signed with the initials of the tattoo artist who created them, and Wren found herself looking for all the ones that read S. G.

“Hey,” someone shouted, the voice echoing throughout the metal building. “Someone stole my wreaths out of the back of my truck!”

Wren took off without saying goodbye to Millie, Duke running next to her. Wren reached the front entrance where a middle-aged man was angrily pointing outside.

“What happened?” Wren asked, telling Duke to sit.