Page 96 of A New Chapter

“No problem,” he replied.

Emma and Kelly sat next to each other in the cramped office while Kelly waited expectantly.

“I’m pregnant,” Emma blurted out.

Kelly’s expressive eyes bulged, and her mouth gaped open. “Get out!”

“I’m serious. I took the test on Friday morning, and it was positive. I was afraid of Zack’s reaction, so I took off to see Phil. But then Zack showed up and…”

“Damian said that Zack went after you. What was his reaction?”

Emma choked up at the memory of it. “He told me that he loves me and he’s happy about the baby.”

Kelly’s expression morphed into one of pure joy. “Yay! I can’t wait to be an aunt!”

Emma almost exploded out of her chair.

“Relax. I don’t mean literally. I meant like an honorary aunt. Someone she can call aunt, even though I’m technically not one.”

“You just called the baby ‘she.’ Funny, I did the same thing.”

“I’ve got about a ninety percent success rate with predicting the sex. I’m pretty certain there’s a girl in there.”

“Speaking of girls, we’re not going to tell Gracie until after Christmas. Besides Phil, you and Damian are the only two who know.”

Kelly made the motion of zipping her lips. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“We better get back to work,” Emma said and stood up.

Kelly put a hand on her arm and then pulled Emma into a bone-crushing hug. “If you need anything, anything at all, and I don’t care if it’s the middle of the night or early in the morning and you’re puking your guts out, you can call me. I mean it.”

When Kelly let her go, Emma raised her eyebrows with skepticism. “Early in the morning? The other day, I called you at eight o’clock, and you were still asleep.”

“That was different. I had a warm man in my bed.”

Emma watched Kelly’s face light up at the reference to Damian, and even though her first impulse was to warn her friend, Emma decided to keep her mouth shut. Zack was right; it was none of their business.

“Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll get plenty of TLC from Zack. He’s already texted me twice this afternoon to remind me to eat. Like I need a reminder!”

“He’s a good man, Em. You’re lucky to have him.” Kelly looked almost wistful, but then she quickly snapped back into fun-loving Kelly mode. “This is going to be awesome. I can’t wait to spoil my niece!”

That night, Emma relayed the entire conversation to Zack over the phone. “How did it go with Damian?”

“He grunted a few times and patted me on the back, so we’re good.”

Emma laughed at his description. “Did he actually say anything?”

“Yes. He said he can’t wait to teach his nephew how to work on cars.”

“Well, now we have one vote for a girl and one for a boy. I have to admit it felt good to tell Kelly. It’s going to be really hard for me to keep my mouth shut until after Christmas.”

“I know, but you haven’t even been to the doctor yet, which reminds me...”

“I’ll call and make an appointment tomorrow.”

“Oh, and I plan on going with you.”

“You don’t have to do that. They probably won’t be able to tell me much anyway.”