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I change out of my jeans into leggings and a pink sweatshirt. Mel said it was casual, and I’m all about comfort.
I tie on white tennis shoes and head downstairs where Ford is feeding Nella her bottle. Ford and Nella are studying each other intently while she eats, and I take a moment to watch the sweetness of their quiet moment.
When I walk into the living room, they both look up. Nella grins around the nipple of her bottle, making milk drip all over her chin.
I snort a laugh. “Babies are kind of disgusting.”
He wrinkles his nose and nods. “Have fun with the girls tonight.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay taking care of Nella?”
His eyebrows raise slightly. “We’ll be fine. Have a safe walk,” he teases, knowing Mel and West live just down the street.
I step forward, first kissing him on the cheek, then Nella. “Text me if you need anything.”
He waves me off, and I leave through the front door to find four giant hockey players on the front stoop. “Hey, guys.”
One at a time, the guys say hi. I recognize the foursome as Colby Knight, Weston Kershaw, Bruce McBride, and standing at the very back is Mitch Anderson.
“I’m so excited to babysit,” Bruce says, grinning.
“Me too!” Colby shoves him out of the way and rushes through the front door.
Bruce gapes for a moment, then runs after him, yelling, “Don’t hog the baby!”
West laughs and follows them inside.
Mitch lingers for a second, his hands in his pockets. “It’s been nice to see Remy so happy these past few weeks,” he says. Then, as if he’s self-conscious about his own comment, he grunts. “I only came for the pizza.” Without another word, he walks inside and shuts the door behind him.
I laugh to myself and head down the street. I don’t need the house number to find West and Melanie’s house because all the girls are huddled by the front door, grinning and waiting for me.
“Amber!” Mel yells, waving me forward like she’s paranoid I’ll run away.
“Hey, ladies!” I wave back.
They pull me into the warm home. I expect to find moving boxes and materials still scattered about, but there’s no sign they just moved in a few weeks ago. Pictures are hung on the wall, furniture and rugs are in place, there’s even a dry-erase calendar on the wall that’s filled in and color coordinated. It looks like they’ve lived here for years.
“Wow, you didn’t waste any time unpacking.”
Noel scoffs and elbows Mel playfully. “This one’s a bit of an organizer.”
Andie laughs. “That’s an understatement.”
Mel rolls her eyes. “Oh, stop! Keeping my hands busy helps my anxiety,” she explains.
“Fair enough,” I say. “You’re welcome to put together Nella’s nursery, if you need something to do.” I’m joking, but the way her face lights up tells me she would go over there right now and put it all together. And she’d have a blast doing it.
“You can have her after she plans my wedding,” Noel teases. “I didn’t hire her; she just took over.”
“And you love it,” Mel says with a harumph.
Mel guides us through the foyer and kitchen, into a formal living room. It’s not attached to the kitchen like Ford’s. I like that all the houses in this neighborhood look different, and are not all the same layouts.
Mel and West have tasteful tufted suede couches, in a medium brown. The earthy color contrasts beautifully with the indigo paint color and white stone fireplace.
A round wooden coffee table sits in the center of the room, and it’s covered with chopping-block cutting boards and lined with meticulously plated charcuterie. There are four champagne flutes filled with Prosecco, and Mel hands one of them to me.
“Wow, you girls know how to throw a party. Ford just ordered pizza and called it a day.”
