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“Oh no,” Lana said, hurrying over to take my arm and help me waddle for the door. “Come on, Mar, let’s get you out of here before you wind up getting your babies all over the white chiffon.”
“I am calling the police!” one employee shouted as Rosie came to help me, too.
“Go ahead!” Paulette called from the front of the store. “My fiancée is chief of police, bitch!”
“I’m sorry,” I said to the horrified staff as we hurried away. “We’ll come back to pay for it. It’s a bit of a time sensitive—oh, fuck.”
A contraction came. A horrible one, entirely in my back. I had to clench my teeth to keep from crushing my friends’ hands.
“Marley?” Lana asked. “What’s wrong?”
The contraction worsened, spreading down my inner thighs. “Call Cole,” I hissed.
“Okay,” Rosie said calmly. “Let us pick you up and get you in the car first, Marley.”
They both scooped me up into their arms, and I was relieved to be off my feet for a few moments as they hurried past furious workers. Some of them recorded me, while a few were on calling the cops.
At least it would be a great story down the line.
Paulette’s SUV pulled up to the front, coming to a screeching halt. She launched out of the car and threw open the back door just as Rosie and Lana slid me inside onto the pale leather upholstery.
“Should we put a towel down or something?” I asked as the contraction faded.
“Bitch, I’ll get the upholstery redone if I have to. You’re having a baby!” Paulette squealed.
Once I was safely inside and buckled in, Paulette got in the driver's seat, Lana riding shotgun, and Rosie in the back with me.
Paulette dialed up Cole on the car’s fancy screen as she peeled out of the parking lot of the bridal store. Just as she positioned her thumb to press the call button, a call from Ginger came in. Distracted, Paulette answered it before she realized an incoming call was showing.
“Oh, fuck,” Paulette groaned. “Shit.”
“You want to explain to me why we have reports of four women stealing a wedding dress?” Ginger asked dryly. “Would you also like to explain why those four women’s descriptions match you and your friends?”
“I can’t talk right now!” Paulette said in a panic, hanging up before Ginger could get another word in.
“Paulette, you should just tell her what’s going on. The babies probably have at least a few hours before they show up,” I said. “It’d also probably be better to not engage in a high-speed chase on the way to the hospital.”
Ginger called again, and Paulette growled as she ignored it. I realized she hadn’t heard me at all, but there wasn’t much I could do at this point about that. Especially not with another contraction starting up.
I dropped my head back against the car seat, and Rosie reached for my hand.
“You might not want to do that,” I grunted.
“I’ve got you,” Rosie insisted. “Break it if you want to.”
I didn’t argue further, reaching over and snatching her hand in mine, gritting my teeth as the contraction took hold.
“Paulette?” Cole’s voice came from the car’s speakers, his voice already tense and alert. He’d sounded like that every time I’d called him for the past month—if I was honest, it had been starting to annoy me, but now, I couldn’t be happier to hear it. “Where are you? I’ve already got the hospital bag. I’m going out to the truck right now.”
“We’re just leaving Dylan’s Bridal, ” Paulette said. “Maybe about ten minutes from the hospital if…oh, FUCK!”
Paulette slammed on the brakes just as we approached an intersection with a whole bunch of police cars setting up a blockade. She grabbed the wheel and made a wild U-turn to evade it.
“I’ll call you back,” Paulette said hurriedly to Cole as she hung up on him.
“Paulette, Marley can’t have a baby if you fucking kill her first, you psychopath!” Lana screamed.
“Don’t be dramatic!” Paulette shot back. “Can you dial Ginger? I’m kinda busy!”
