Chapter 26
. . .
Vesper
This is the third glass of champagne I’ve tossed when no one is watching.
The first was in the cocktail bar, and a rubber plant is now having the wildest night of its life. The second went down the sink in the restroom, and now this one will likely meet the same fate whenever June turns her back.
“Ugh!” June slides onto one of the barstools in Drew and Will’s kitchen. “I cannot remember the last time I had this much fun. Who knew that Seattle had such great nightlife? I should probably move here at some point.”
Because I look really fucking weird, holding a champagne flute and doing nothing with it, I set it down on the kitchen counter and hoist myself up.
June’s eyes ascend the length of my body, pausing when they reach my face. “When’s your due date?”
I’d topple over if I wasn’t propped on the counter.
“Excuse me?” I choke out.
She just winks. “Listen, my mom has one of the sharpest legal brains in North America, and my dad … well, my dad talks nonstop about my mom when she was pregnant with me and Will. And you …” She examines me again, and my cheeks flame hotter than the sun.
“You have that glow. Not to mention, you have been secretly tossing drinks all night. I only handed you the one sitting next to you right now to be sure that it wasn’t my imagination. ”
I stare at the glass next to me, bubbles popping as they rise to the surface. I freaking love champagne.
“I’m just under five weeks.”
June’s hands cover her face. “I’m right?! Shit, I was only fifty-fifty and figured I’d call your bluff.”
I hand her my champagne glass. She might as well drink it if I can’t. “If sports journalism doesn’t work out, then maybe you could consider a career following in your mom’s footsteps.”
June doesn’t look impressed. “Mom works every hour of the day. I want a career with a work-life balance. Which is why I think I’ll move to Seattle soon. I like the more relaxed atmosphere, compared to New York.”
“Would you move in with Will and Drew before you found your own place?”
She waves a dismissive hand. “Hell no! I had to endure way too many years of living with my brother. I’ll find my own place, thank you very much.”
I giggle and slide off the counter, grabbing a glass from the side and filling it with water.
June watches me the whole way, and I brace for further questioning.
“Anyway, enough about me, I want to take things back a couple of paces …” She falls quiet and then speaks again. “Is Silas the dad?” Straight in, just like I expected with this girl.
There was a time before Kane when I was like June—no punches held, zero shits given about what people thought of me. It’s the best way to live your life.
“If I told you the father was my ex, what would you say?”
She frowns—hard. “I wouldn’t say anything. I’d probably slap you across the face, and then we’d make a plan to murder him and support you as a single mom.”
I laugh so hard that I can barely breathe, garnering attention from Drew, Marley, and Mia.
“So, I just got a text from Will. Apparently, the boys are on their way over,” Drew confirms.
My laughter fades, replaced with anticipation as it pinches my thighs together. I saw the way Silas was checking me out in this dress when he gave me a ride into town earlier tonight, and I absolutely wore it on purpose. This is my favorite outfit, and I’m pretty sure it’s his too.
“You should announce your news,” June whispers so only I can hear. “I’ll wager five hundred dollars that Silas has already let it slip to the boys. If they’re anything like my brother, they’re useless when it comes to keeping secrets.”
When Kate joins the five of us in the kitchen and pinches June’s champagne glass from her hand, taking a sip and handing it back, I realize that now is actually the perfect time to share the pregnancy.
I might not be twelve weeks, but I need more than just Silas and my sister around me.
No, I want these women present for the journey.
I’m tired of living my life in silence, waiting for the other shoe to drop or the next person to let me down. Not everyone in this world is as self-centered as my ex. When it comes to the people in this room, Kane was the exception, not the rule.
I clear my throat and feel a wave of confidence wash over me. “Actually, while I have you all here and before the boys show up, I wanted to share something with you.”
Drew gasps, and her sister, Marley, braces a hand on Drew’s upper arm.
“Are you pregnant?” my closest friend asks. “I had this feeling when I saw you yesterday. It was like a female premonition or something.”
I nod at Drew and then cast my eyes around the group. “Yeah, I’m only in the very early stages, but we saw my OB-GYN yesterday, and I have an ultrasound scheduled for just over three weeks from now.”
“We?” Drew says with a sly grin. “As in you and …”
“Silas,” I finish for her.
A Drew-shaped blur crosses the kitchen, and two arms wrap around me in a hug. “I have genuinely never been happier for someone in my life,” she whispers into my hair. “Was the baby planned?”
I blow out a laugh. “I don’t know how to answer that question, but, no, it wasn’t planned. One night, we got carried away, and the next morning, Silas told me how he felt and said that I didn’t have to take Plan B if it wasn’t something I wanted to do.”
My girls grow hazy in front of me, and I feel the first tear as it leaves my lashes and lands in Drew’s soft hair.
“I know we’re crazy for doing everything in the reverse order. You and Will are getting married and doing things the traditional way.”
She pulls back, a hand wrapped around each of my shoulders.
“Seriously, who gives a fuck?”
My head whips to Kate as she steps forward, a defiant look on her face.
“It’s the twenty-first century, and I spend every day of my life fighting patriarchal men who perpetuate an expectation over how we, as women, should live our lives.
” She takes June’s champagne glass and raises it in the air.
“To living the life you want to lead and a big fuck you to those who like to dictate rules like they own a part of us.”
A second later, I’ve got three more pairs of arms around me and a whole lot of girl love.
“Do you love him?” Marley asks in a giddy voice.
I swallow thickly, more butterflies fluttering in my stomach when I think of Silas walking through the front door at any minute.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever been in love before, but I think I could be well on the way to loving my baby daddy.”
A warm, rough palm slides into mine when I step out of the downstairs bathroom in Will and Drew’s house later that night.
“Can I borrow you for a few minutes?”
I gaze up into piercing blue eyes, and my knees almost give out.
When Silas looks at me like that, he can have me for however long he wants.
“You know boys aren’t supposed to gate-crash a bachelorette party, don’t you? It’s not socially acceptable.”
Silas glances down the hallway and into the living area, where Drew is straddling her fiancé, a glass of champagne in one hand while she wraps her bridal sash around Will’s wrists. Laughter and music ring around the house.
“I’d say that our presence has been well received, wouldn’t you?” Silas replies, tipping his chin at Will and Drew.
I feel a tingle between my thighs when he leads me out of the house through the patio doors and out into the large garden.
The relaxing sound of the koi pond as water trickles down a feature set in the center clears my mind of the intensity over the last few hours.
Tonight was so much fun, but also a lot.
When I was younger, I used to like going out partying before I moved to Seattle and met Kane.
My life, and what I want from it, has shifted significantly since that time.
“Here, put this around your shoulders.” Silas unzips his thick blue sweater, and I hug into it for warmth. It smells of him, enveloping me in comfort as we continue walking through the garden.
“Where are you taking me?”
Silas winks, but doesn’t say anything.
I don’t need to wait long for an answer as we round a corner, and I set eyes on a large white cabin at the end of the garden. It glows in the darkness from two small windows on either side of a sage-green door.
“Will and Drew had it installed a few weeks back. It’s Drew’s home office, but on closer inspection, I think it’s just a place where she can escape my teammate for a while.”
I chuckle, and Silas leads me across the stepping stones toward it and pulls the door open.
He’s right; it’s definitely more of a homey space than an office, featuring soft white and pink furnishings, including a plush two-seater couch and more blankets than Target has in stock.
Several candles have been lit, making the whole place smell sweet, like a candy store.
“Do the others know where we are?” I ask.
Silas shakes his head and pulls me inside, closing the door behind him. There isn’t much space in here, his large frame causing my surroundings to feel even more enclosed.
And I fucking love the way his proximity makes me feel.
Drew’s laptop sits on a side table with a couple of contemporary romance hardbacks set on top. They look well read, and I smile at an image of her curled up in here, living her best life.
“While everyone was busy talking about the wedding, I snuck out here to find this place.” Silas turns to face me, taking my other hand and sitting down on the couch.
It’s deathly silent, other than my pulse as it hammers in my ears.
Still holding hands, I stand between Silas’s parted knees. He looks so handsome tonight in a light-gray shirt and dark jeans. He’s styled his hair to the side with a few pieces falling into his eyes.
Lord, have mercy on me.
“You gonna come take a seat in my lap, Ves?”
Shock waves of electricity ricochet through me when he swivels our hands and interlaces his fingers through mine.
“Do you want me to straddle you or sit across your knees?” I reply, teasing him.
His eyes drop down the length of my dress, hungry and wanting.