Chapter 7
Lacey
Sunday rolls around so quickly that it feels like I blinked and missed the time between having lunch with Cole and now.
My stomach is in knots this morning, and every time I think about going round to the Petersons’ for Sunday dinner, my heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest. Deep down, I know they’re supportive, I know they love me and have accepted me as part of the family, but a small part of me wonders if they think I’m cheap for having a one-night stand and then getting pregnant.
I’ve spent the week agonising over it. Cole has told me a million times to stop worrying, that no one thinks less of me.
At least he doesn’t, but that’s another thing that has been plaguing me – the constant dreams about Cole naked, Cole as the father of my baby, us building a life together.
You name it, I’ve dreamt it! Sometimes I catch him staring at me or my stomach, where little Peanut lives, and I swear I can see the longing in his eyes.
But then he notices me watching him, and his face changes back to the ever-present, sensible, and best friend-like.
Ugh, why are men so difficult to read?
I hear Cole’s truck pulling up outside. Taking one last look in the mirror, I smile at what I see.
My long blonde hair has finally gotten its bounce back, my blue eyes sparkle again, and those horrible bags underneath my eyes have packed up and flown away.
I swipe some lip oil on and pucker those bad boys, blowing myself a kiss, because why not?
I lock my door, and when I turn around, my eyes bug out.
Cole’s leaning against his sleek black truck, but it isn’t the truck that is making my mind go gaga.
No, that would be his arms. I remember Emmy banging on about CJ’s forearms, and I thought she was insane, but holy shit, now I get it.
Has he been working out? He’s wearing a short-sleeved black Henley with the first few buttons undone, a smattering of dark hair peeking out.
His black jeans cling to his thighs for dear life.
My eyes travel back up, and his dark hair has the perfect waves on top.
Oh, and those lips, don’t get me started on those lips.
“Lacey, are you going to stand there all day or…?”
His voice snaps me out of my drool-fest. My face heats as I realise I must have been standing there longer than I thought. “Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to grab these flowers and wine from me?” I quip back at him.
He walks over to me and takes the wine and flowers I bought for his mum. He raises an eyebrow at me. “You know you don’t need to bring her bribes for her to love you? She already does.”
I roll my eyes. “Shut up. It isn’t a bribe because I always bring her flowers and her favourite wine. It’s why she leaves me an extra trifle that none of you know about.” I smile widely at the incredulous look on his face.
“Wow, holding out on me with the trifle? Get in the truck, Lacey.” He holds the door open for me.
“Ooh, so bossy.” I sass him right back, but really, commanding Cole is leaving me a little hot and bothered.
Cole buckles himself in and starts the truck, and as he pulls away, he surprises me by saying, “Did you know little Peanut is the size of a small peach this week?”
I bark out a laugh. “How the hell do you know that?”
I look over and see his cheeks flush. “I’ve been reading up on it and what to expect each week. Just in case you need help with anything…” He trails off, and my heart warms.
When we arrive at his parents' house, he turns to me. “Uhm, I got you something. I don’t know if it’s weird or whatever…wait here a second.”
Curious, I wait for him to round the truck.
He goes to the back, gets something out, and then opens my door.
He holds out both hands, and lying there is a peach with a ribbon around it and a small card that says ‘You got this, Mama’.
When I hear people say they can feel love, now I truly understand what they mean.
A lump gets caught in my throat, and my heart swells in my chest. I have to blink back the tears in my eyes.
“Cole.” His name leaves my mouth on a whisper, and I do the only thing I can think of to show how much this means to me and wrap my arms around him, burying myself into him and squeezing tight.
His arms snake around me and hold me close to him, and for a moment, I feel so safe and wanted.
As we break apart, my eyes drift over to his parents' house, and I see the curtains swish. Someone is most definitely being nosey, and my money is on Archie. My stomach flutters to life with nerves, but it settles when I feel Cole’s hand at my back, guiding me to the door.
We walk through, and the scene in front of me is hilarious, to say the least. Cas and Emmy are sitting together on one of the sofas.
Archie is examining the freestanding light in the corner of the room, his back to us.
Nate is intently looking at his phone. Rafe is looking everywhere but at us.
Ethan sits lazily in the armchair, rolling his eyes.
Cole looks down at me and shakes his head.
“Guys, you can drop the act; we know you’ve been spying through the curtains.” Cole directs his comment at Archie, who remains focused on the lamp.
Emmy jumps up and throws her arms around me. “It was all Archie’s idea. I’m sorry! We didn’t make you feel uncomfortable, did we?”
Archie scoffs in the background, and I let out a laugh as I squeeze her back.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just a bit nervous, that’s all.”
We break apart, and Cas kisses me on the cheek. “No need to be nervous with us, Lace,” he says. I smile at him in return.
The rest of them say their hellos, and when I walk over to where Archie is, he turns around and acts surprised. “Huh, Lacey! Fancy seeing you here! Nice to see you again.”
I screw my face up because, usually, Archie and I have a very sibling-like relationship, and he’s never this weird around me.
Nate creeps up behind him. He puts his hand on Archie’s shoulder. Squeezing, he says, “Dude. We said act casual.”
And that’s when the penny drops. Here I was, worrying about what these people would think about me and whether or not they would think I was cheap and a tart, when all along they were worried about how to act around me so as not to hurt me.
I punch Archie in the arm. “Stop being so fucking weird and give me a hug.” He rubs his arm, but his face splits into a grin as he wraps his arms around me.
He muffles into my hair, “Sorry, Lace. I just want you to know that I am so happy for you and you’re going to be the best mum ever.”
Jesus fucking Christ, these brothers are going to kill me with their kindness.
I swipe at my eyes and notice a flurry of tea towels flying into the room before May comes crashing into me and gives me the best mama bear hug in the world. “Ooh, I have missed these hugs, little Lacey.” I smile at the endearment.
May Peterson is one of a kind. I lost my mother when I was too young to remember her properly, and growing up, my dad never remarried, so it was always just the two of us.
The only problem was that I became the carer after he turned to alcohol to drive the depression away from losing Mum, but it only made it worse.
I remember always wondering what I did wrong for him not to want to choose me.
Was it because I looked like my mother, and it hurt him?
Was it because he didn’t love me enough to want to be sober?
Eventually, I gave up asking and instead I took care of us the best way that I could.
The day I met Cole changed my life; not only did I gain a best friend for life, but I gained another family. One that chose me instead of being forced into one that didn’t want to be clean for me.
I will never forget the kindness May showed me; she thinks I grew up not noticing.
I remember it all. Like the time I came round to her house and my shoes were falling apart so much, it looked like they talked to you as you walked in them, or the jeans that had holes in from being worn so much.
That weekend, a bag of clothes and shoes was left on the doorstep of the house where I shared a room with my Dad.
The note on it said it was from May and had been second-hand from Cole’s cousin.
Only May didn’t realise that she had left the tags on one of the items, and the receipt had fallen in the bag.
She had bought all of those items for me.
**********
After a fantastic meal, we all sit around the table completely stuffed and unable to move. I look down at my stomach, which I could swear has grown, and rub my hand along it. When I look up, I notice Emmy staring at me with a look of awe in her eyes.
“Getting any ideas over there?” I waggle my eyebrows at her, and she flushes.
“We’ve only just gotten married…but…maybe?” She scrunches her nose like the adorable little beauty that she is. Cas, next to her, looks at her with those heart eyes, making me smile. My newfound best friend deserves all the happiness in the world.
“Lacey, have you started eating sponges yet?” Archie, of course, it had to be Archie.
I shake my head at him. “What on earth goes on in that brain of yours, Arch? Why in the world would I eat a sponge?”
“You know? Cravings! The books say that you pregnant ladies get cravings.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal that he has been reading baby books.
“Yeah, and don’t forget that, at around this time, you could get fluid retention.” I stare at the words that have just come out of Rafe’s mouth, because he, too?
“Breast tenderness as well. Ice packs, baby!” Ethan sounds so proud of his knowledge.
“Also, get some of that cocoa butter to help with the stretch marks.” Cas nods, as if this is the most normal conversation in the world.
“Ah, but next week, you may get an increase in your activity levels,” Nate chimes in.
I look at Cole, who shrugs, but Archie pipes up with, “We’ve all been reading the same book.
Cole made us…not that we didn’t want to help, but it was his idea.
He said we should all know what to look out for to help anyway we can.
” I look back at Cole and see him in a completely different light than I ever have.
This man. This fucking man is either going to be my home or my heartbreak.
I don’t know which one yet.
We drive back to my place in silence. It’s not the uncomfortable silence that plagues most people. No, this is a comfortable silence, born from two people who can enjoy each other's company without unnecessary words.
When he parks up, he asks me to wait and gets out to round the truck and open my door. He grabs my bag from me and the extra trifle that May made all for me. We walk up to my door, and I turn the lock. A wild thought crosses my mind. I don’t want him to leave.
I hold up the trifle and give it a wiggle. “Movie night and trifle?” Oh god, please say yes.
His face looks pained, and he rubs the back of his neck. “Shit. Lace, I want to, but I promised Gabby I would go over and get my things. She’s been asking me for weeks, and I’ve been putting it off.”
Heart shatters. Also, fucking Gabby!
“Oh. God, yeah. Sorry, you’ve been running around after me; you should have said something earlier. Okay. Well, it’s been a fun day. Thank you very much, and I look forward to seeing you later. Bye!” I slam the door shut in his face and lock it before I can think too much about it.
God, this place is depressingly quiet. I set the trifle aside as I pass through the kitchen to my room and head straight for my comfiest PJs.
My limbs feel like lead as I peel off my clothes.
I walk over to the mirror on the back of my door and look at my body.
My breasts are fuller than they were a few weeks ago.
My hips look a little wider, and as I stand to the side, I can see the slight swell of my stomach where my little Peanut is resting.
I can’t help but smile as the bloom of happiness spreads across my face.
I grab my PJs and pull them on, the fabric soft and smooth against my skin.
I run a hand over the fleece material. They’re pink with little white ghosts; some may think they’re a little childish, but they’re my favourite.
I wonder if I can get a matching pair for Peanut.
I make my way back into the living room, grabbing the trifle and a spoon on the way.
If I’m going to wallow, I may as well do it while watching Damon on the big screen.
As I sit down, spoon in hand, ready to devour my dessert, a pounding at the door has me stopping midway to my mouth. You have got to be fucking kidding me!
“Don’t you know it’s rude to interrupt a pregnant woman and her food?” I yank open my door, and the words die in my mouth. Standing on the other side is Cole, his arms on either side of the frame. His hair is tousled, as if he’s run his fingers through it a million times.
“Is the movie night still on offer?” He grins sheepishly at me.
I cross my arms over my chest. “Well, that depends on you. I thought you had to ditch me?” Do I sound childish? Yes. Do I care? Nope!
He shakes his head, and a sorrowful look crosses his face. “I can always get more stuff, Lacey, but I can’t get another you.”
I drop my arms and open the door wider, my walls cracking that little bit more.
He walks by me, and I breathe in his scent; it’s a mix of leather, a woodsy fragrance, and a splash of fresh oranges.
I lock the door and see he’s kicked off his shoes and settled himself on the couch with one of my favourite Halloween blankets draped across his legs.
He pats one side of him and nods once at me.
Reluctantly, I stomp over to where he is. I can’t have him thinking he’s completely off the hook for ditching me earlier. I settle in next to him and grab the trifle and spoon some into my mouth. I catch him staring at me out of the corner of my eye, and I roll mine.
“Go get a spoon, you’re not sharing mine.
Oh, and I hope you’re ready, Cole, because tonight we are headed to Mystic Falls, and I restarted the whole thing.
” I smile sweetly at him, and instead of the usual grumblings about my taste in TV shows, he shocks me by kissing my cheek before grabbing himself a spoon and settling back down next to me.
Stupid heart, don’t fall for your best friend.