Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Jo
Now that I had tricked Maverick into having sex with me, he was insatiable. I don't know what it was about being pregnant but the sex was a million times better. And this was only the beginning of the pregnancy. I heard the hormones ramped up in the second trimester. I couldn't wait for it.
"What are you smiling about?" Maverick walked into the kitchen and kissed me on the cheek before going to the counter to pour himself a cup of coffee.
"Careful, that's decaf."
Maverick scrunched up his nose at the pot but, in the end, decided to drink it anyway. I chuckled at his expression. I didn't blame him. I wasn't a fan of it either.
"So why were you smiling when I walked in?"
"Can't I just be happy?"
"Yes, but I know that smile. It's a devious one, which means you're up to no good."
"No, not this time. I'm just happy I got my way."
Maverick rolled his eyes heavenward. "What exactly did you get your way with?"
"Sex. More specifically getting it whenever I want." I smiled up at him through my lashes.
He just shook his head. "I should've known I wouldn't be able to resist you."
I gave him a megawatt smile. "What can I say? I'm irresistible."
"That you are. How did you make out with scheduling a doctor's appointment?"
Ah, yes. That was what I had been doing before I got lost in my head about how great the sex was between us.
"Good. It's scheduled for next week."
"Let me know the day and time so I can be there."
"You don't need to. I know you're busy, and it's only the first appointment. I'm sure they don't do much."
I didn't have the first clue how it would go, but after Maverick witnessing me getting an internal ultrasound at the hospital, I wasn't eager to have him there if that happened again. It was a little humiliating to say the least. How a man wanted to keep screwing me after he saw that was beyond me?
Maverick walked around the counter and straight up to me. He squatted down so that we were on the same eye level, and when he cradled my face in his hand, I knew there was no way he was ever letting me go to an appointment alone.
"I'm going to be there for every doctor's appointment. I don't care how insignificant you think they are, I want to be along for the ride."
Damn this man. He was going to make it hard for me not to fall for him. I needed to keep my wits about me.
"Speaking of the baby, I wanted to run something by you."
"I'm all ears." I gave him my full attention. Interested to see which direction he was going to take this.
"I want to tell my friends about the baby. I've held them off about why I insist on protecting you myself, but I think it's time I open up."
I gazed at his sincere expression. "Don't they suggest waiting until the second trimester or something like that?"
I really needed to read up more on pregnancy. There seemed to be so many rules and things we should be following that I couldn't keep things straight.
"They might, but I hate keeping this a secret from them. They will protect you better if they know what's going on."
I doubted that was true. His team would simply do it because he asked, but if it made him feel better, then I guess there was no harm in it.
"Okay. Let's tell them."
Maverick hopped up. "Great. I'll call them now and tell them to come over."
I chuckled at his enthusiasm. "Wow, talk about not wasting any time."
"I've been dying to tell them since I found out."
I was glad one of us didn't freak out at first. My first reaction was to throw something at him. Oh, wait I did that. Haha oops. "Then let's call them. Maybe this will put me back in their good graces after they found out my deep dark secret."
Maverick pulled me up from the chair and wrapped me in a hug. "They were never mad at you. Just surprised like I was."
"Pretty sure you were mad."
Maverick sighed. "Okay, I was, but I told you why."
"I know, and that's all in the past now. Call your friends. Have them come over so we can share the good news."
It didn't take long after Maverick called the guys for them to be knocking on my door. They must've dropped everything they were doing to come here.
"So why the mystery?" Hendrix crossed his arms. "Why are we meeting at Jo's house instead of at the office?"
"Because what we have to tell you is personal and nothing to do with who's after her."
"Are you finally admitting you've been banging behind our backs?"
I coughed at Hendrix's blunt question.
"How did you know that?" Maverick eyed his friend.
"Oh, come on. There's no other reason you would go from wanting nothing to do with her to suddenly being the only one allowed near her."
Maverick looked at me. "Well, it's a little more complicated than that."
Everyone in the room eyed us curiously. Waiting for us to reveal the sudden mystery. I couldn't take it any longer, so I blurted the news out with no fanfare. "We're having a baby."
No one spoke. It was clear as day that we left them speechless.
"Surprise." I gave little jazz hands to emphasise my point.
"This isn't a joke?" Easton asked.
Maverick pulled me into his side. "Nope, not a joke."
"When did this happen?" That came from Owen.
"How did this happen?" That ridiculous question came from Hendrix.
"I'm pretty sure we all know how it happened." I snickered.
"Well, yes, I realize the act it took for it to happen," Hendrix huffed. "But like how?"
"Remember when I stormed out after discovering who B. Feather was?"
Everyone nodded.
"Well, I headed straight for Jo's house to confront her since we had been sneaking around ever since I came to town. One thing led to another, and well, here we are."
"I'd say." Hendrix laughed. "Hell, man. Congrats!"
A huge smile took over Maverick’s face. "Thanks. We're really excited."
All of his friends––one by one––came over to pat Maverick on the back and to hug me. They all offered congratulations, and by the end, my smile was just as big as Maverick's.
"So this is why you've been so insistent it had to be you here." Nolen looked between the two of us.
"Yup. And why I freaked out when she got into the accident." Maverick looked down at me like I was the most precious thing in the world as his hand hovered over my belly.
"I'm guessing the baby's okay since you're telling us." Aaron looked at where Maverick's hand lay on my stomach.
"Yes." I nodded my head. "We were able to hear the heartbeat and see the baby at the hospital."
"That's awesome. Congrats again, man. I never thought I would see this day." Aaron looked genuinely happy for us.
"Me neither." Maverick laughed. "To be honest, I would've bet against it a million times over, but here we are."
"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. We want to help in any way we can." Easton was really the only one here with a kid, but even he didn't come into Lucien's life until he was a teenager. Aaron was set to adopt two kids here soon, but that hadn't gone through yet.
We hung out for a little while after that before the guys finally decided they had their own women to get back to.
The door was barely closed before Maverick was wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me so my back was against his chest. "Come here, you. I've got plans for you."
"Oh, really?" I tilted my head to the side to give him better access to my neck. "What kind of plans?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
I didn't have to wait long before we were spending time just like we did most of the time these days. Wrapped up in each other's arms while I screamed his name.