Page 21 of Dr. Sexypants

“Be careful,” Lainey warned. “He just ate.”

That made me immediately stop bouncing, and I sat down next to Jade with the baby in my arms.

“You just missed meeting Lainey’s new hire, Jessica.”

“Really? How did that happen?”

“She hasn’t officially said yes yet. But it felt serendipitous. She’s a single mom with a newborn who needs a job, and I need a baker. She came in for a donut and left with a job offer and a free cookie.”

Jade said, “I really liked her.”

“Me, too. I hope she says yes.”

“What’s holding her back?”

“She has to ask her parents.”

My face must have shown my confusion, because Lainey clarified, “She doesn’t have a car.”

“Ah. Well, I hope it works out because I do not want to make a habit of getting up with the sun to help you.”

“Wait ’til winter,” Lainey teased, “when I’ll be up hours before the sun.”

“Oh my god, that sounds dreadful!”

That made my friend laugh out loud. “It’s crazy what having a baby has done to my sleep patterns.”

“One more reason I’m not having any.” I tickled Conor’s chin. “I’ll just be the favorite auntie.”

“Hey!” Jade exclaimed.

I shrugged. “Sorry.”

I think she thought I was apologizing, but what I really meant was, sorry the truth hurts. I was totally going to be the favorite aunt.

Lainey wore a sly smile when she said, “And you also just missed the birthday boy.”

I felt my heart rate quicken but I steeled myself not to seem too interested.

“How’s Justin doing? Is he looking forward to his party tonight?”

“It’s a fucking surprise party, and I completely spilled the beans!”

“Oh shit!” I exclaimed. “Way to go!”

She glared at Jade. “In my defense, I was not told it was a surprise party.”

“I didn’t know, either!”

Now I was invested. “So, is he going to pretend to be surprised?”

“Well, at first he said he wasn’t going.”

I felt a tinge of disappointment at that, until she added, “But we convinced him he should still go—and act surprised.”

“How did you do that?”

“I told him you were going.”