“Yeah. Why?” Charlie’s website turned out great and was much easier than I expected. Amelia must’ve heard us talking about it during the Sooner game after she crashed my viewing party.
“I need a new website for my modeling portfolio.” She sits next to me.
“What’s wrong with your current website?”
Her lips purse. “It’s all wrapped up with my old agent, who turned into a dick. It’s one of the reasons why I’m here this fall and not in New York like I planned.”
“Don’t you need credits to graduate?”
“Yeah, but I would’ve blown that off if I’d been offered the right gigs.”
My mom would tan my hide if I blew off school to model, but I’m not going to pretend I know anything about Amelia’s situation.
I take a moment to consider the job. “How soon would you need it? I should be able to work on it in the next week or two, but I can’t guarantee I’ll be done before…” I wave at my belly.
“Before you explode?”
That’s one way of putting it.
It grates on my soul to accept this job, but money is money, and I still need to buy a whole nursery of baby crap. “Okay, email me your pics, and I’ll start working on it.”
She holds up a finger. “Can I see your portfolio first?”
Is she serious? “You came to me for the help.”
“But I’d be an idiot to hire you without first looking at your work.”
I roll my eyes. She’s right, but I’m still annoyed. I unlock my phone and toss it in her lap. “It’s the photo folder that says ‘portfolio.’”
She doesn’t say much as she scrolls. I try not to take that as a criticism of my work. It’s mostly signage for some local companies and various invitations for baby showers and weddings. A few ads I worked on from my old jobs.
“This baby shower invite is cute.” She shows me the screen, and I smile.
“Kayla is Olly’s sister, so I wanted it to be extra-special.”
A knot forms between her brows. “You’re close with his family?”
“He and I grew up together, kinda.” I laugh. “But we fought like crazy when we were in high school and college.” I don’t mean to divulge anything about my relationship with Olly to Amelia. The words slip out before I can think better of it. I rub my temple, feeling woozy. Maybe I need to eat more.
“Why is that?”
“Olly did something that royally pissed me off, and I swore to get back at him.” I smirk, remembering all of the crazy things I did. “My antics drove him nuts. He’d yell at me, but he definitely learned his lesson. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and I served it more than once.” Closing my eyes, I lean my head back against the couch. “I feel bad about it now, though.”
When she doesn’t say anything, I glance at her. She has a strange expression as she stares at my phone. I attempt to sit up so I can see what’s caught her attention, but she swipes it closed and hands it to me.
“Great. I’ll email you my pics, and you can get to work. I’ll pay you when it’s done.” She leaves so quickly, I almost get whiplash at how weird she’s being.
But I don’t have to like her to do this job and get paid. I have a million things I could do with the extra money.
Deep down, I’d love to get the nursery in order. Put up pretty prints and set out stuffed animals and soft blankets. Maybe I should wait just a little longer, though. Just in case. Thirty-six weeks is only fourteen days away, and of course the closer to forty, the better.
I rub my belly when someone kicks me, and I say a prayer everything turns out okay and that in two to six weeks, Olly and I will get to meet our sons.
60
OLLY
After we run the play for the third time, Santos blows the whistle. “Good practice, guys. Hit the showers.”
