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My mom’s eyes drift to Nora. “You know what’s going on?”
“I do, but…”
Blair lifts her glass to her lips again. “You didn’t do something illegal, did you?”
“What? No!” Pinching the bridge of my nose, I continue. “Can everyone just be quiet for a minute, please?”
The room grows silent, but then Nora leans toward me. “So, am I calling Sloane or not?”
I glare at her. “Well, you and I hadn’t discussed that part, so…”
“I’m pregnant!” I blurt out as the silence grows louder.
My mom’s eyes are bouncing all over my face, but the rest of my family is glancing between one another.
“And I got married,” I add, just ripping the Band-Aid off and holding up my hand.
It’s a rare occasion when the Riley family grows quiet, but I guess an announcement of this magnitude will do the trick.
“To who?” Hudson, the last one I thought would be interested in my predicament, asks first, breaking through the awkwardness. But there’s an edge of protectiveness in his voice that I appreciate.
No matter how distant my relationship with my brother can be sometimes, he’s always been protective of his four younger sisters.
With one more breath of courage, I announce, “Easton Buckley.”
Blair chuckles. “Well, that checks out.”
“What do you mean?”
Nora holds her cell phone in front of my face. “Sloane, Lennon is pregnant! And she got married!”
My oldest sister’s eyebrows hit her hairline. “Oh my god! Are you serious?”
“Yes, Sloane,” I mutter before glancing back at my parents.
“Well, congratulations!” she says, just as my parents snap out of their shock, looking between one another while having a silent conversation with their eyes. I hate when they do that.
“How are you feeling?” Sloane is still on the phone, but I don’t get a chance to answer her because my father stands from his chair, walks over to me, and leans down to kiss the top of my head.
“Congratulations, baby. But your mother and I have some questions.”
I lean back in my chair and sigh. “I figured.”
Blair raises her hand. “Yeah, me too. I want to know when you two started sneaking around—and how nobody here noticed.” Her eyes land on Nora. “But perhaps little Miss Nora did.”
Nora sticks her tongue out at Blair. “I only just found out a few days ago. Trust me, I was just as shocked as everyone else.” She glances over at me and winks.
Yeah, subtle, Nora.
“Look, I will answer all of your questions, all right? But can we eat first? I’m actually hungry and the smell of Mom’s pasta isn’t making me want to vomit.”
Hudson looks over at our mom. “I think that was meant to be a compliment.”
Once everyone has food in front of them and my hunger has subsided, I brace myself to deliver the story I’ve been practicing for the past two hours.
My mother, on the other hand, doesn’t let me initiate the conversation. “Forgive me, Lennon, but I’m struggling with this.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to get pregnant…”
