“I wasn’t, but I’m seeing all of you having kids and it just made me crave it, too. Plus, the guys are so wonderful to me, and they’ve been so patient. I feel like this is the next step for us,” she says with hearts in her eyes.
I can’t help but smile. “I know one who will be overjoyed when he finds out.”
“Oh, he won’t be the only one.” She looks back at the door to make sure Noah isn’t back yet. “Noah might act as if it doesn’t bother him, but I don’t miss the little comments he makes aboutus having a child. Or how he always places his hand on my stomach for longer than necessary.”
She bites her lip, smiling. “I even saw him looking at custom-made onesies online, and he had written ‘Little Ellis-Adler’ on it. It was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. He has it saved on his computer.” She sighs. “How can you not want a baby with two men who are unconditionally obsessed with you?”
The lady doing her nails chokes on her own saliva, while mine stares at Ronnie with wide eyes. I giggle, because we always get this reaction when people who don’t follow hockey news find out Ronnie is with two of them.
“Yes, I have two husbands.” She lifts her left hand, that isn’t currently being done, and wiggles her ring finger.
“Lucky lady,” the woman doing my nails says, making us all laugh as they get back to work.
Noah comes back in a few minutes later, followed by a couple. The woman goes off with one of the employees, while her partner stays behind and openly flirts with the woman at the reception desk, looking over every few seconds to make sure his girlfriend isn’t paying attention.
My stomach instantly recoils at the sight before me, and I quickly look away. I tap my phone that lies flat on the surface of the counter, wishing Shane’s name would pop up, but it stays blank. I sigh, feeling a bit down and not knowing what to think about Shane’s strange behavior.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Ronnie asks quietly with concern lacing her voice.
I bite my lip, afraid to even bring up the subject. “Do you think Shane would ever be unfaithful?”
She gets this look of anger on her face instantly. “What? Of course not! Shane is as obsessed with you as this one is with me.” She nods toward Noah. “Where is this coming from, Brey? Has something happened?”
I shrug, looking down at my lap as my eyes gloss over. “I don’t know… He’s just been acting weird all morning. He’s barely texted me or even responded to my messages, and he’s been hiding his phone from me every time I get close and having secret conversations.” I wipe at the tear that slips free. “What if… what if he’s seeing someone else? What if he’s having doubts about us? Or maybe I’m not… fulfilling enough for him…”
She places her hand on my arm. “Oh no, babe, don’t think that way. I promise you, Shane isn’t seeing anyone else.”
“How can you be so sure?” I sniffle as more tears fall.
“Because he loves you.”
“I know that. I don’t doubt that he loves me, but sometimes love isn’t enough…” My voice breaks at the end, hating that this could be my reality, hating that my mind is conjuring up these thoughts.
“Please don’t cry, Brey. I swear it’s not what you think,” she pleads, but I can’t stop the tears from falling now that they’ve started. “Oh God… Noh, I need your help!”
Everyone in the salon looks at us, some with curiosity while others wear a look of concern. Noah hurries over and frowns when he sees my distressed state. “What’s wrong with her?” He crouches down beside me and rubs a hand along my back.
“She thinks Shane is cheating on her because he’s been distant today.” She gives him wide eyes, like they’re passing a secret message.
He stands and sighs deeply. “He’s not cheating on you, Aubrey. He’s planning you a surprise party.”
“Noh!” Ronnie gasps.
“What? Would you rather her continue to think he’s playing behind her back or simply tell her the truth?” he says, looking over at Ronnie.
“No, of course not. But you could have just helped me convince her that he wasn’t being a two-timing dick!”
“Kitten, those thoughts swirling through her head a second ago aren’t good for her health. I won’t have her dropping to the ground over this.”
“Wait, wait.” I raise my hand, quieting them. “He’s planning a party? For what?” I furrow my brow with confusion.
Noah turns back to me. “A baby shower mixed in with a bachelor-bachelorette party.”
“He is?” My eyes fill with tears once more as the employee switches to my other hand.
Ronnie smiles sweetly. “Yes, we were instructed to keep you out of the house until everything was ready.”
“So, he’s not seeing someone else?” I ask quietly.
