Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
“You better not be texting Hawk right now! We agreed to a girls’ only afternoon!” Adrienne laughed as she pointed to Jessie’s hands.
“Sorry!” Jessie squeaked, before sliding her phone back into her purse. “He’s just so worried about me being out on my own after what happened. I’m surprised I could get him to agree to letting me do this at all.”
“That’s only because I’m here.” Mae smiled as she held up a stunning floor-length maternity dress. It was the softest shade of pink and looked like it would feel incredible to wear. “He knows I would jump in front of anyone trying to hurt you.”
“Hmm, sister-in-law-ish, world’s best aunt, and my own personal ninja. How did I get to be so lucky?” Jessie teased.
“Add personal stylist to the list, and take this dress to try on.” Mae held the hanger out towards her.
“No way. What the heck would I even wear something like that too?”
“Your maternity pictures.”
“Which is not happening.”
“What?” Adrienne turned, her jaw dropping open. “You have to take some! You are the cutest pregnant lady ever and you’ll want to remember what a badass you were through this whole thing!”
“And, it will be funny to have photo evidence of Hawk drooling over you. Any time we see the two of you together, he’s like a little puppy. And I need that for blackmail.”
Jessie laughed, but Mae’s face never broke from her serious glare.
“I don’t know. It’s one thing to take a few pictures in front of a mirror for him to have, but hiring a photographer and going out somewhere to take pictures feels like a hassle to me.”
“Well,” Adrienne sighed. “You still have time to decide! And heck, you don’t have to hire anyone. I’ll take them for you for free!”
“I’ll think about it. Thank you both for being so sweet.”
Mae gasped, her eyes on the rack in front of her. “Oh, Jessie! This was meant for you. Look!”
Jessie walked over, her heart beating wildly in her chest as she looked down at the fabric Mae’s fingers were running over. Because on the beautiful pale blue fabric, tiny flowers and little bumblebees were embroidered in a haphazard pattern. It was perfect.
“It’s stunning. But Bee is a girl. And…” She brought her fingers up to the tag, willing it to be on sale, even though she hadn’t seen a single sale tag yet in the ridiculously overpriced boutique. Her eyes nearly fell out of her head at the price. “Four-hundred dollars!”
“You would look fabulous in it, Jess. Didn’t my brother give you his card for today?”
“Oh my god, Mae. I would never spend that much money on a dress. I can’t… I can’t breathe. We shouldn’t have even touched it! And he gave me his card because I need to pick up maternity clothes.”
“That dress is maternity clothes,” Adrienne giggled. “Besides, you would look incredible in it. And I bet Hawk would have fun helping you out of it after you gave him a little fashion show.”
“You two are the worst. I’m going to find some granny panties and nursing bras. Which is what Hawk and I discussed me buying today. That’s all we’re here for.”
Jessie looked at the dress one last time before turning and walking away from her smiling friends. She knew Hawk would have no problem with her spending that money, but she couldn’t.
Once she made her way into the lingerie section of the store, her fingers traced over the cutest black satin teddy. There was a slit in the fabric just below the bust that would show off her belly…
“You definitely have to get that!” Adrienne giggled as Jessie let her hand fall down to her side.
“You scared me! Where’s Mae?”
“Still over by the dress rack. She was smiling all satisfied and looking at her phone, so I figured she was texting with Stone and I’d come find you. I swear, that was made for you.”
“Hawk would love it. He’s crazy about my bump, which is so sweet.”
“Are you kidding me? The way that man looks at you is fucking hot, Jess.”
“Yeah, well, I’m sure that new man of yours looks at you the same way.”
“Oh my god. It’s unreal. I feel so lucky.” Adrienne ran her fingers over a lace bra on the next rack over. “But long distance is so hard.”
“I can’t even imagine.”
She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper as she looked around the store. “Thank God for phone sex. I would have died by now. He’s a talker, and oh my god. The things he says with that mouth.”
Jessie’s face flushed as she thought about the last time she’d been with Hawk. Now that she was feeling better, and had hit a stride, Jessie realized she wanted to go back to that fast and furious, overheated and desperate connection they started out with.
“Ahhh, I see the wheels turning in your head. Hawk’s going to be a happy man tonight, isn’t he?”
Jessie nodded, her hands wrapping around the silky fabric before snatching the hanger off the rack and marching towards the register.
“I, for one, am thankful we’re about to partake in some walking,” Jessie groaned as she stretched out her back.
They’d dropped Adrienne off at her house to get ready for her shift at the diner before heading over to the park.
It was a gorgeous day out, and Jessie was ready to forget her guilt over spending Hawk’s money.
Some time with the girls would be perfect.
“I indulged a little too much at lunch.”
“You aren’t feeling sick, are you?” Mae asked, her concern immediately making Jessie emotional. God. She was so ready for her body to be done with all those extra coursing hormones.
“No. Not at all.” She raised her wrist and smiled. “I’ll never get over Hawk researching these things, and actually finding something that worked for me.”
“He was a mess while you were feeling so sick. I think we all felt like we could finally breathe when he said it worked.”
“All of you?” Jessie asked.
“Oh, yeah. The family group chat was a mess for a while. I mean, I think he gave you the bracelet before everyone knew about the baby, but on the days when you still didn’t feel good, he was blowing up the chat asking for help. Still does from time to time.”
Jessie shook her head. “I didn’t know you all had one.”
Mae’s mouth dropped open. “I just figured my dumb ass brother asked you and you didn’t want to deal with the chaos. And it is chaos, Jessie. I’m going to add you!”
“No! Maybe he doesn’t want me to be in there.”
“Too bad!” she laughed. “Should have thought about that before he made a baby with you. You’re family, forever. And from the insane number of times I’ve had to reassure him today that you are absolutely fine, this was likely just an oversight on his part.”
Mae pulled her phone out of her bag and started typing.
Jessie shifted the way she was sitting, pulling her legs in criss-cross and straightening her back again.
Bee was getting so big as the weeks ticked by.
Her little girl laid heavy in her belly, a sensation Jessie truly hadn’t gotten used to.
That weight meant more things were hurting than ever, but a few stretches here and there, according to Birdie at her last appointment, would help.
Jessie’s eyes traveled to the edge of the park as she lifted her arms over her head and lengthened her spine, where she saw two familiar faces smiling back at her. Jessie waved as Lily and Sloane walked over just in time for her phone to start pinging with notifications.
“That husband of mine will never learn,” Lily grumbled as she looked at her phone. Curiosity got the best of Jessie and she had to see what Lily was talking about.
Mae:
Adding Jessie to the family chat because Hawk is an idiot and hasn’t done it yet.
Hawk:
I want Jessie all to myself.
Mae:
Too bad.
*221-555-0515 has left this chat*
*Lily Brooks has added 221-555-0515 to group chat*
Lily:
Not so fast, handsome. This is for everyone in the family. Including you.
Jessie looked up and smiled at Lily, who was still typing away, clearly ready to really press into Gunner if she needed to. It only took a minute, but Jessie stored the new number under his name in her phone.
Mae:
It’s important for Jessie to have everyone’s numbers, so make sure you send a text in here with your names so she can put them in her phone. Again, not sure why Hawk didn’t take care of this before, but I’ll step up for my niece and her mama.