Chapter Thirty-Two
Melonie
I knock on Linc’s door around 6:45. After our talk, I ran home to shower and change. Even with all of my nerves around telling our friends about our life-changing news, I didn’t throw up. Winning.
Linc opens the door and gives me a smile. I know he’s so excited to tell everyone, and it’s encouraging for me because I’m nervous. The logical part of my mind tells me that our friends will support us, probably be happy and understand our choices in how we progress, but it’s still eating away at me. I won’t even allow myself to think about telling my mom next weekend. I have a feeling she’s going to have a lot to say about the situation.
I drop my purse on the table in the entryway and walk into the living room, finding a seat next to Gigi. The sports commentators on the TV are talking about the Red Sox’s winning streak. Linc walks in from the kitchen and hands me a water.
He leans down to my ear. “Want to do this now? Ready?”
I take a deep breath and nod my head. “Will you grab my purse? The pictures are in there.”
He brings me my purse and then grabs the remote, lowering the volume on the TV.
“Uh, guys, while I invited everyone over to watch the game, there’s sort of something we need to talk about.”
Gigi’s brow pinches. “What’s up, pretty boy?”
I clear my throat and the attention turns to me. I start sweating with all the eyes in the room on me. I look up at Linc, and he gives me his “it’s okay” smile. “I’m pregnant.”
Silence.
Linc sits on the arm of the sofa next to me.
“I’m the father.”
More silence. Three sets of eyes just stare at us, while Audrey smiles sweetly.
Linc looks down at me, confused. He slaps his thighs. “Well, that’s that, I guess. If no one has any questions, we can get back to the game.” He reaches for the remote.
“Whoa.” Jax finally speaks. “Back up. A baby?”
I nod. “Yup.”
Marcus looks like he saw a ghost. “The two of you are going to have a child together?”
Linc smiles. “We are.”
Jax puts a hand up. “Wait, did this happen the night of the wedding?”
I nod again. “Yup.”
He looks at Audrey beside him, and a big grin forms on his face. When he looks back at Linc and me, his face is beaming. “You guys conceived a baby on our wedding day? That’s kind of awesome.”
Audrey laughs. “You’re so weird.”
I take the ultrasound prints from my purse. “We got pictures today.”
Jax gets up and crosses the room, taking the print from my hand. His eyes get a little glassy, and when Linc stands up, Jax gives him a tight hug. He releases him and looks between Linc and me.
“Okay, so we’re happy about all this, right? We can celebrate this?”