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I nudge her and laugh again before I turn and let her unzip my top. Tenley begins hanging up the pieces as I bend over to pull on my pants, but the floor suddenly lunges at me, and I get so lightheaded that I have to brace myself against the wall.
“Hey, are you okay?” she asks from behind me.
I blink away the fuzziness. “Yeah, I just got dizzy for a second. I guess I stood up too fast.”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve been having that problem too, especially since I got preg—” She stops and glares at me, and I swallow hard.
I force a laugh. “My balance has always been terrible,” I fib.
“Hmm. You should let me check your vitamin levels,” she says before she walks out.
I heave out an exhale as I finish dressing, then I meet her up front to check out. My credit card cries out in pain when I swipe it after not having paid much attention to that price tag, but I tell myself this may be one of the last chances I’ll have to splurge—maybe ever.
I don’t even mind being on the receiving end of another jealous glower from Nicole as she hands over the garment bag, and I give her a pretty smug look in return.
CHAPTER 15
Loren
“Thanks for that,”I tell Tenley once we’re back in her car.
She forces a smile and nods, and I can practically see the wheels turning in her head as she pulls out of the parking lot. Just like I can feel my stomach grumbling.
“Would it also be too much to ask if we made a pit stop? I could really use a snack,” I ask quietly. “I, um, ended up working through lunch today.” Another lie. I’ve already eaten a handful of times, but I’m no less hungry than on any given day I’d have skipped a meal.
“Sure, just tell me what you’re craving,” she replies, her eyes still on the road. “My appetite has been pretty screwed up lately, you know.”
“Huh. Right. Well, I’m actually fine with anyth—wait, can-please-we-stop-at-that-bakery?” I’m about to press my face to the glass as we pass it.
Tenley regards me suspiciously again as she turns at the next block and pulls up in front of a sign for The Magnolia Bakery. My mouth immediately begins watering as we walk inside and get ambushed by the smell of flour and sugar. I bounce excitedly on my toes as I order enough peanut butter cookies to feed a small party while Tenley lingers behind.
“Don’t you want anything?”
“Oh, no, I think I’m good, actually,” she mumbles, cringing as if the air is making her sick. “I’ve gotta go,” she blurts out before making a dash to the restroom.
I leave my coveted snacks at the counter to follow her. Thankfully, she’s done heaving by the time I make it inside. I realize I’m relatively lucky, since I haven’t really felt as sick as I did for the first couple of weeks. Now the baby doesn’t seem to stir up any trouble, as long as I keep my belly full.
“Sorry,” Tenley apologizes as she dabs a damp paper towel over her neck. “Morningsickness, my ass. All it takes is a strong smell these days, and I’m done for.”
I pat her arm gently and wet another napkin for her. “I’m sorry I made you come inside. You should have said something.”
She blows out a deep breath. “You know, I used to secretly wish I knew what all these pregnancy symptoms felt like. But now that I’ve gotten the chance to experience the joys of constant nausea for myself, if my husband weren’t so ridiculously hot, I’d probably be too afraid to risk getting pregnant ever again.” She smirks at me in the mirror. “But I’m sure I’ll let it happen anyway.”
I laugh nervously. “Blame it all on JD.”
She turns and studies me for a second, and I’m afraid she’s seeing right through me. “Loren, if there’s ever anything you want to tell me, you know you can trust me. But if you’re not ready, or if you haven’t accepted it yet, that’s okay too. I’ll be here when you do.”
My chin trembles involuntarily. If I don’t give her something, I’m going to end up telling her everything.
“Maybe I do have one small secret I’d like to get off my chest,” I begin, fidgeting. She nods for me to continue. “Blake and I ended up going home together after your wedding. It was only supposed to be dinner between friends. But we both drank a little too much, then one thing led to another, and all that chemistry I mentioned just kind of … exploded. And I was mortified at first, since I’d never slept with someone I wasn’t attached to before. It’s been different with Blake, though. I thought I knew him. But he’s not what I expected. Now I like him a lot more than I probably should, which scares the hell out of me.”
There, I’d confessed. Somewhat.
She reaches out to rub my forearm. “It’s pretty obvious that he’s crazy about you too. JD swears that Blake’s always secretly had a thing for you.”
I sniffle. “Well, Blake’s a better actor than I am.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Yeah, he is.”
