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Elliot and Samuel both joined me as I entered the restaurant. I wasn’t the only one of the three of us with a bodyguard. Both Mia and my sister had one that drove them around whenever their husbands weren’t available to go with them. It annoyed Nevaeh, but Mia was used to it since she’d had one shadowing her from the time she was five.
“Figured you would be late,” Mia said as she stood and embraced me. Her adorable baby bump was hard to miss, and I found myself rubbing my hand over it before she could pull away, while mentally squealing that this was going to be me in only a few short months. “So we ordered drinks and apps.”
“Thank goodness. I’m starving.” I hugged my sister and then sat beside her while Elliot greeted them both and took the chair beside Mia.
“I knew if Jordan ever got his shit together and you two got together, you would end up with a guard,” Nevaeh said with a smirk. “You can’t have a billionaire boyfriend and not need some extra muscle.”
I gave her a tight smile. “Yup. Jordan brings all the crazies out.”
I hated lying to her and everyone else, but I couldn’t tell her that the reason I needed the bodyguard was because I had a stalker. I trusted my sister with a lot of things, but I knew she wouldn’t keep this a secret from our parents, and I didn’t want to put that kind of stress on them.
Mia was quick to change the subject, telling us about the gender-reveal party her mom was throwing that upcoming weekend. When Jordan told me about the video the stalker had tried to show the world, he’d confessed he’d asked Mia for advice on how to get me to agree to a bodyguard. I hadn’t liked that he’d gone behind my back and told her what was going on, but I understood.
Mostly.
At least now I didn’t have to feel all territorial and jealous every time I thought about Jordan and Mia. For years, I’d been so jealous of their relationship, but now, I could see it was the same as Mia’s relationship with Jagger, and I didn’t know how I’d always missed those brother-sister vibes from them.
“Is Emerson excited to be a big sister?” I asked, stuffing a piece of bread into my mouth.
“It’s all she talks about,” Mia said with a laugh. “But I don’t think she understands that this baby isn’t like her dolls. She can’t just toss it aside when she gets tired of playing with it.”
“Do you think she’s going to be jealous when she sees you with the new baby?” Nevaeh asked with concern.
Mia snorted. “Me? No. I doubt she would even be jealous over Barrick and the baby either. No, I’m more concerned about how she’s going to react to seeing Dad with the baby.”
“I’m sure Uncle Nik will handle it,” I tried to reassure her.
“Enough about me and the party.” Mia put her hand on Elliot’s shoulder. “Tell us, Elliot. Has this one finally decided on a house yet or not?”
He groaned. “Bitch, please. This girl is picky as hell. She loves everything, but she’s not in love with anything she’s been shown. She and that scrumptious man of hers have been looking for three-plus weeks now, and she finds something wrong with everything.”
I rolled my eyes at him but grinned. “Hey, I can’t help that I have standards.”
“You do know there are things called contractors who can remodel houses, right? You didn’t like that bathroom in the pool house last week. The bathroom.” He pointed his fork at me. “Do you understand that you could have had that small issue resolved in two weeks flat with the kind of cash your man has?”
My sister’s eyes grew concerned. “What’s wrong, Arie? Why can’t you commit to a house?”
“None of them have been our forever home,” I told her with a shrug. “I want the perfect place to spend the rest of my life with Jordan. And none of them have been close to that.”
“Maybe you should just build your own house,” Nevaeh recommended. “Then you can control every detail. All you really have to do is decide where you want to build it.”
Jordan had already suggested that, and I’d told him to start looking for an architect, but we’d still been viewing anything Pe
ter had that we might like. I knew Jordan had wanted us to have our house before we found out we were pregnant, but now I would be happy as long as we had it before the baby was born.
The rest of the meal was nothing but girl talk. As the waiter placed my dessert in front of me, Nevaeh’s phone rang and she sighed. “It’s either Braxton asking when I’ll be home or Mom to ask if Conrad can spend the night.”
“What’s the problem?” I asked with a lifted brow. “You know you don’t have to worry when he’s with Mom and Daddy, and you and Brax can start working on making the little guy a baby brother or sister.”
“Start?” she said with a snort, then slapped her hand over her mouth.
Mia and I both squealed at the same time. “Nevaeh Joy Collins!” I whispered. “Are you pregnant again?”
“Maybe…” She pointed her finger at each of us. “You three better keep that to yourselves. I still don’t know for sure, and I haven’t told my husband. I’m picking up a test on the way home and taking it. Hopefully before Braxton gets home.”
Elliot drew an “X” over his heart. “I’ll take it to the grave, girl.”
She narrowed her eyes on Mia and then me. “Promise me.”
