Chapter 31
Thirty-One
W ater droplets sprayed Margot in the face as Em leaped off the diving board once again. She smiled and clapped her hands when the girl broke the surface and paddled her way toward the steps. Some of the stress perpetually plaguing her had evaporated watching the girls play. Their giggles and shouts of “Watch me, Mommy!” had filled her happiness well high enough to push back some of the negative emotions.
Legs appeared next to her, then a glass of tea with ice cubes clinking against the sides as Annabeth sat down on the pool deck.
“Here.”
“Thanks.” Margot accepted the glass and took a sip. It was warm today, even this early, so the cold tea felt delicious sliding down her throat.
“You’re welcome.” Annabeth took a sip from her glass, then watched the girls for a moment before speaking. “I couldn’t help but notice that kiss you laid on Max. Things have changed between you two, I take it?”
A shy smile formed on Margot’s face. She swiped at the condensation on her glass. “Yeah. Quite a bit.” She glanced at her friend. “We, um, got a little carried away and, well… I might be pregnant.” Saying it out loud to someone else made it more real. And made her want it even more. If she wasn’t, well, she and Max needed to have a discussion about making that a reality.
Annabeth’s eyes grew round. “What? How certain are you?”
Margot tipped a hand back and forth. “The timing was right. I guess we’ll know soon enough.”
For several long moments, Annabeth stared at her. “You don’t seem too concerned about it,” she finally said.
“I’m not.” A slow smile spread over her face. “We recognized the slip-up right away and talked about it. Surprisingly, we both hoped it would result in a baby. I’m ready, Annabeth. I want to move on. With Max.”
“It’s about damn time!”
Margot laughed. “I know. We’ve been stubborn, not wanting to ruin a good friendship. But it finally reached a point where the friendship would suffer if we didn’t start something romantic.”
Annabeth squealed, then hugged her quick. “I’m so stinking excited for you!”
“Why are we hugging?” Audra glided over, water rippling out behind her as she waded closer. They’d made a couple of quick stops for swimsuits before coming to Max’s.
“Margot and Max finally gave in to what we’ve all known for months.”
“Brilliant.” Audra grinned. “When’s the wedding?”
Chuckling, Margot smiled at her. “We haven’t discussed marriage yet.”
“But they’ve discussed babies.” Annabeth added.
Audra tipped her head. “Makes sense. Max is old.”
Margot rolled her eyes. “He’s not that old. Trust me.” A blush stole over her face, and she chuckled.
A buzzer from inside interrupted their laughter. Margot turned toward the sound. That was the buzzer for the front gate.
Audra heaved herself out of the pool, but Annabeth was already on her feet. She waved Audra back. “Stay. You’re dripping. I’ll check who it is.”
Sitting down next to Margot, Audra nodded.
“Mommy! Watch!”
Margot glanced at the diving board to see Lily making her way to the end. She inched toward the edge, pausing for a second before leaping into the pool.
Margot clapped. Audra let out a loud whistle as Lily surfaced.
“Bang up job, Lil!” Audra said.
“You did so great, sweetie.” Margot grinned. That was the first time Lily had worked up enough courage to jump off the diving board.
“I did, didn’t I?” Lily made it to the side of the pool and clutched the edge. A wide, joyous smile on her face. “I’m gonna do it again!”
“Surfing must have been good for her confidence,” Margot said to Audra.
“I think so. She’s a lot more comfortable in the water.”
“Margot. Aud. Come here.”
Margot turned at the sound of Annabeth’s voice from the back door. The serious note in it had her stomach doing flip-flops. “What is it?”
“Just… come here.” She motioned them over.
Frowning, Margot turned to the twins. “Girls. Let’s take a break from the pool for a few minutes, okay?”
Emily groaned, doggy-paddling in the deep end. “But I’m not done swimming.”
“I know. But you need to hydrate. How about we go grab a popsicle?”
“Ooo, popsicles!” Lily scampered down the steps off the diving board. “I want a blue one!” She started to run toward the house.
“Walk, please,” Margot reminded her as she got up and slipped on her shoes.
The girl’s steps immediately slowed to a quick walk.
Audra leaned down and held out a hand to Emily. “Come on, poppet. What color lolly do you want?”
“Purple!” Like her sister, as soon as her feet hit the ground, she trotted toward the house, moving as fast as possible without running.
“Girls, let’s dry off first.” Margot snagged their towels from the chaise.
They paused long enough for her to wrap a towel around their shoulders, then they were off again, hurrying inside for their popsicles.
Once the twins had their treat and were dripping water onto the tiled kitchen floor at the table, Margot and Audra followed Annabeth into the living room to the video screen on the wall by the front door.
Not saying a word, Annabeth just pointed.
“What—”
Audra didn’t get to finish. Margot’s gasp cut her off.
Heart hammering in her chest—along with a healthy dose of anger, she looked at a wide-eyed Annabeth. “What’s he doing here? How did he even find us?”
“I don’t know. I told him to hang on a moment. It’s been several. I’m surprised he’s still there.”
Margot wasn’t. He was probably scared out of his mind.
Standing at the gate, practically melded into the foliage by the pillar and barely in view of the camera, was Tad.