I hope she’s right.
44
MAGGIE
The deafening scream in my ear nearly makes me drop the phone. “You’re pregnant! Holy crap! That’s why you were crying when I announced my pregnancy at my parents’ last month, wasn’t it? Please tell me this development happened at my wedding.”
Kayla’s exuberance does a lot to dull the hurt over how her parents reacted. “Kayla Oliver, I will not be telling you when your brother and I did the deed.”
She howls with laughter, and it makes me smile. “You know what this means, right?”
“That in a few months, I’ll be pushing out two humans?”
“It means our kids are going to grow up together, and you and I will be sisters in spirit.”
My throat gets tight. “You were always the sister of my heart.” After a beat, I sigh. “Your parents didn’t take it well.”
“They’ll get over it. You’ll see. They’re just worried about their golden child getting off track, but Olly’s always had an internal compass. It’s like that boy popped out of our mother wearing a football uniform.”
I bite my lower lip. “I’d hate if our situation messed up his season. This is his last chance to make the NFL.”
“You can’t see me, but I’m rolling my eyes. Now listen close, Magpie. You just worry about growing those babies in your belly and let Olly do his thing. He’s a big boy.”
I’m still thinking about her advice a few hours later when my friend Charlotte Darling comes over to take pictures of the casita for my Airbnb listing.
She leans over to show me the image in the viewfinder. “Those flowers are gorgeous. They add a lot to the curb appeal of your casita.”
“Thanks, Charlie. I thought so too.” With her blonde hair tied up on her head and the sunlight behind her, she looks like a fairy. She and I met at the bookstore last year when we were both reaching for the same planner and immediately hit it off.
“You’re going to have this place booked up through the next year with these images.”
“Your pics are always fantastic. It’s one of the reasons this place has such a great occupancy rate.”
She smiles shyly. “I can’t really take credit. You make everything look like a Pinterest board.”
A loud sigh interrupts us. “Is this circle jerk over now? Can I go back inside?” Amelia pops her gum.
“Yes. Thank you for your patience,” I say sarcastically. She’s pissed because I haven’t extended her rental agreement through the fall semester, which starts in a few days. Why should I? Amelia gives me grief every chance she gets. Her breaking the news to my mom about Olly being my baby daddy was the last straw.
When she’s gone, Charlie makes a face. “She stresses me out.”
Girl, same.
“Before I forget, I want to show you some photos of Olly and my sister.” I get out my phone and scroll through the images until I get to the pics I took on our last visit home. Fortunately, his parents didn’t show up this time. “Check it out.”
She peers over my shoulder. “Is he… are they having a tea party?”
“Yup!” I scroll down until I find a shot of Olly dancing with Frannie. “Here they’re twirling. It’s my sister’s favorite thing to do.” Olly wore the tutu over his jeans without complaint. If I hadn’t been in love with him before then, that moment would’ve sealed it.
Charlie holds her hand over her heart. “Oh, wow. Where can I find a man like that? I’ve had the worst luck in the romance department.”
Smiling, I run my finger over Olly’s handsome face. “He and I grew up together. Made each other crazy. Not in good ways. And then…” I almost say ‘he got me pregnant,’ but stop myself. It’s getting more difficult to remember we’re not telling people yet. But it’s been challenging to come up with a better plan, since he’s had football camp twenty-four seven since early August.
“And then,” Charlie says slowly, “you got pregnant?”
My eyes cut to her. She’s staring at my belly that I didn’t even realize I was rubbing. “How did you guess? Do I look huge?” I’ve been wearing these oversized shirts and watching YouTube videos on how to hide your pregnancy. I don’t know what else to do.
She folds her lips. “You don’t look huge, no. I just went through this with my sister where she was trying to hide being pregnant, so I know what to look for.” I’m not sure if she said that just to make me feel better. Taking my hand in hers, she adds, “Plus, you have this glow. I don’t know if it’s talking about your boyfriend or the baby or what, but you look beautiful.”
