I look over and see his cheeks flush. “I’ve been reading up on it and what to expect each week. Just in case you need help with anything…” He trails off, and my heart warms.
When we arrive at his parents' house, he turns to me. “Uhm, I got you something. I don’t know if it’s weird or whatever…wait here a second.”
Curious, I wait for him to round the truck. He goes to the back, gets something out, and then opens my door. He holds out both hands, and lying there is a peach with a ribbon around it and a small card that says ‘You got this, Mama’. When I hear people say they can feel love, now I truly understand what they mean.
A lump gets caught in my throat, and my heart swells in my chest. I have to blink back the tears in my eyes. “Cole.” His name leaves my mouth on a whisper, and I do the only thing I can think of to show how much this means to me and wrap my arms around him, burying myself into him and squeezing tight. His arms snake around me and hold me close to him, and for a moment, I feel so safe and wanted.
As we break apart, my eyes drift over to his parents' house, and I see the curtains swish. Someone is most definitely being nosey, and my money is on Archie. My stomach flutters to life with nerves, but it settles when I feel Cole’s hand at my back, guiding me to the door.
We walk through, and the scene in front of me is hilarious, to say the least. Cas and Emmy are sitting together on one of the sofas. Archie is examining the freestanding light in the corner of the room, his back to us. Nate is intently looking at his phone. Rafe is looking everywhere but at us. Ethan sits lazily in the armchair, rolling his eyes.
Cole looks down at me and shakes his head.
“Guys, you can drop the act; we know you’ve been spying through the curtains.” Cole directs his comment at Archie, who remains focused on the lamp.
Emmy jumps up and throws her arms around me. “It was all Archie’s idea. I’m sorry! We didn’t make you feel uncomfortable, did we?”
Archie scoffs in the background, and I let out a laugh as I squeeze her back.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just a bit nervous, that’s all.”
We break apart, and Cas kisses me on the cheek. “No need to be nervous with us, Lace,” he says. I smile at him in return.
The rest of them say their hellos, and when I walk over to where Archie is, he turns around and acts surprised. “Huh, Lacey! Fancy seeing you here! Nice to see you again.”
I screw my face up because, usually, Archie and I have a very sibling-like relationship, and he’s never this weird around me.
Nate creeps up behind him. He puts his hand on Archie’s shoulder. Squeezing, he says, “Dude. We said act casual.”
And that’s when the penny drops. Here I was, worrying about what these people would think about me and whether or not they would think I was cheap and a tart, when all along they were worried about how to act around me so as not to hurt me.
I punch Archie in the arm. “Stop being so fucking weird and give me a hug.” He rubs his arm, but his face splits into a grin as he wraps his arms around me.
He muffles into my hair, “Sorry, Lace. I just want you to know that I am so happy for you and you’re going to be the best mum ever.”
Jesus fucking Christ, these brothers are going to kill me with their kindness.
I swipe at my eyes and notice a flurry of tea towels flying into the room before May comes crashing into me and gives me the best mama bear hug in the world. “Ooh, I have missed these hugs, little Lacey.” I smile at the endearment.
May Peterson is one of a kind. I lost my mother when I was too young to remember her properly, and growing up, my dad never remarried, so it was always just the two of us. The only problem was that I became the carer after he turned to alcohol to drive the depression away from losing Mum, but it only made it worse. I remember always wondering what I did wrong for him not to want to choose me. Was it because I looked like my mother, and it hurt him? Was it because he didn’t love me enough to want to be sober? Eventually, I gave up asking and instead I took care of us the best way that I could.
The day I met Cole changed my life; not only did I gain a best friend for life, but I gained another family. One that chose me instead of being forced into one that didn’t want to be clean for me.
I will never forget the kindness May showed me; she thinks I grew up not noticing. I remember it all. Like the time I came round to her house and my shoes were falling apart so much, it looked like they talked to you as you walked in them, or the jeans that had holes in from being worn so much. That weekend, a bag of clothes and shoes was left on the doorstep of the house where I shared a room with my Dad. The note on it said it was from May and had been second-hand from Cole’s cousin. Only May didn’t realise that she had left the tags on one of the items, and the receipt had fallen in the bag.
She had bought all of those items for me.
**********
After a fantastic meal, we all sit around the table completely stuffed and unable to move. I look down at my stomach, which I could swear has grown, and rub my hand along it. When I look up, I notice Emmy staring at me with a look of awe in her eyes.
“Getting any ideas over there?” I waggle my eyebrows at her, and she flushes.
“We’ve only just gotten married…but…maybe?” She scrunches her nose like the adorable little beauty that she is. Cas, next to her, looks at her with those heart eyes, making me smile. My newfound best friend deserves all the happiness in the world.
“Lacey, have you started eating sponges yet?” Archie, of course, it had to be Archie.
I shake my head at him. “What on earth goes on in that brain of yours, Arch? Why in the world would I eat a sponge?”
