Page 63 of My Girlfriend is Not the Father

‘Twizzlers!’ Lucy called out, rushing to Jade and tugging the bag from her hand. She ripped it open with her teeth and popped one in her mouth. ‘So freaking good. But I should probably stick with the hotdog first. Thanks, you guys, for grabbing these.’

‘No worries at all,’ Mason said, and tossed Jade a sympathetic smile.

Jade shook it off. Mostly. This was Lucy’s time. She could tell Mason about the article later.

Drew stepped closer. ‘Did you grab my M&M’s?’

‘Oh, sorry. Shoot, I forgot. I’ll go back,’ Mason said.

Drew tossed him an exaggerated, annoyed look, then grinned. ‘Ah. I’ll come with. Consider it your punishment.’

Lucy sank her teeth into the hotdog. ‘I know, I know. They’re so bad for me, but they taste so good.’ A dribble of pork oil trickled down Lucy’s chin and she swiped at it with her hand.

Jade refused to scrunch her nose, as much as she wanted to. Navigating a vegetarian/non-vegetarian relationship had a few challenges. When she was married, she and Elizabeth subscribed to the same diet lifestyle. Being with Lucy, Jade had to accept that Lucy loved meat almost as much as she loved Chucky.

‘Here, let’s grab some more napkins before you destroy your shirt.’ Jade nudged Lucy to the corner.

‘So rude.’ Safely in the corner surrounded by napkins and sanitiser, Lucy scarfed down the hotdog in record time and pointed to her belly. ‘Look at this. Pretty sure the baby is kicking. Here, feel.’ Lucy guided Jade’s hand to her belly.

Jade put her hand against Lucy’s belly and waited for something to happen. Lucy hiccupped. ‘Sorry, nope. I think that’s just your meat dinner digesting.’ Jade breathed a small sigh of relief. Obviously, Lucy was pregnant – her body was shifting right before Jade’s eyes. But feeling a baby kick inside her girlfriend’s stomach would make this situation even more of a reality, and Jade wasn’t quite ready for that leap.

Lucy laughed as Jade continued to rub her stomach, kissing Lucy on the cheek.

A woman approached them holding a large bucket of popcorn and reached for the salt. ‘I have to say, I think it’s so sweet to see a couple like you have a baby. How great that a baby gets to experience the love of two moms!’

Jade’s eyes widened, then she glanced at Lucy. ‘Oh, it’s um not, the baby is … ah …’ Was it really appropriate to drop all the history on this bystander? Or should she just say thank you and leave it at that? Doing that felt strange, and diminished Mason and Drew’s role. ‘The baby, it’s, ah—’

Lucy’s hand gripped Jade’s. ‘My girlfriend is not the father.’

The woman tilted her head, looking confused.

‘But I thank you anyway for the intention of the message.’ Lucy grinned, and the woman nodded.

Jade’s bystander status was solidified in that single comment. ‘It never dawned on me until now, but I bet she’s not the first person to think that.’

‘I hadn’t really thought of that either.’ Lucy wiped her mouth and reached for another napkin. ‘Thank God, though, right? Neither of us would make good mothers.’ Lucy giggled at the comment.

Jade grinned, but the tiniest bit of her heart sank. Yes, she’d said this about herself before, and yes, she had zero desire for children, but why did Lucy think that Jade wouldn’t make a good parent?

The men approached, and Jade followed, trying to push away the comment.

Chapter 24

Lucy

Lucy unwrapped a hefty Reuben with dripping sauerkraut and spicy mustard, and bit into the squishy sandwich. She thought last week at the movie theatre nothing could beat the hot dog, but she was wrong because this was freaking delicious. Oh, it felt so good to like food again. Swollen ankles be damned. This sodium sandwich was hitting every spot. ‘You are a god among men.’ She chewed some more, barely noticing that Drew had cracked open the window to take gulps of fresh air.

‘God, sauerkraut smells like—’

‘Ass?’ She giggled.

‘I was going to say rotten garbage.’ He took a bite of his club and wiped his mouth. ‘I’m glad to see your vulgar ways haven’t changed even while knocked up.’

She couldn’t believe she’d tipped over the halfway mark. Since the nausea left, minus some muscle cramping, she’d been feeling good. Per her doctor, she’d downed coconut water for the cramping. But holy hell, she had to get up almost five times a night to go to the bathroom. That had to be why she was so tired.

‘You know what I was just thinking about?’ Drew sipped his sparkling water. ‘Do you need to check with Jade and see if she’s cool with me seeing your vag when you’re popping out the baby?’

Lucy grabbed a napkin. ‘Why would I check with her? She may own a tabby, but she doesn’t own this kitty.’