Page 54

When I walk into Bombshell on Monday morning, the reception area is empty because Minji’s not due in for another hour. I’m practically buzzing out of my skin, bursting at the seams with the secret I’ve been keeping for the last twenty-four hours, and I physically cannot wait another second to say it out loud.

I drop my bags on the front desk and march straight back out, pushing through the heavy metal door of Andie’s garage next door.

Soundgarden is blaring over the speakers. Andie’s sitting on a rolling stool next to a half-assembled motorcycle, wearing a black tank top that shows off the ink running down her arms, and her grease-stained coveralls are folded down to her waist. She’s wearing black latex gloves so she doesn’t get her hands dirty because my girl refuses to get gunk under her nails.

I walk over and kick the toe of her heavy work boot with my sandal.

She pushes her protective glasses up into her black hair and wipes her gloved hands on a rag, her ice-blue eyes locking onto my face. She doesn't even say hello.

Nope, she scowls at me instead.

"You went MIA yesterday," she says, her voice flat. "I was about to come over and pick your lock to make sure you weren't dead."

"I just crashed," I say. "I ate half a block of cheese for girl dinner and passed out. But..." I pull a breath in, unable to stop the massive grin from taking over my face. "I'm pregnant."

Andie drops the rag. A huge, completely uncharacteristic smile breaks across her face. She pulls her phone out of her back pocket, taps the screen a few times, and shoves it back away.

"What did you just do?" I ask.

"Sent up the bat signal."

Less than thirty seconds later, the side door of the garage bangs open. Scout practically sprints inside with Tatum and a breathless Ellie right on her heels.

"Tell me it’s true," Scout demands, pointing a finger with a bright yellow acrylic nail right at my chest. "Tell me I'm officially going to be an aunt."

"Yup, I'm pregnant," I repeat, and the second the words leave my mouth, the four of them swarm me.

It’s a chaotic, aggressive group hug. Tatum is laughing, Ellie is carefully trying not to smudge her flawless winged eyeliner on my shoulder, and Andie just squeezes the shit out of me. It’s exactly what I needed. After holding this tight to my chest all day yesterday, I finally get to let it out into the open, and it feels incredibly real all of a sudden.

"Holy shit," Ellie says, stepping back and fanning her face. "We have to plan a shower. I'm going to buy so many tiny outfits."

“I'm calling dibs on teaching it how to swear," Scout announces, hopping up to sit on a pristine chrome workbench. "So, how smug was Hurricane Daddy when you told him? Did he flex his giant muscles in victory?"

I lean against a tool cabinet and laugh at the mental picture of Sumner doing that. She isn’t far off. "He was actually amazing. He didn't try to take over or make it about him. He just made it crystal clear he's going to be there for every appointment, but he completely stepped back and told me I get to call the shots because it's my body doing all the hard work."

"Ugh, we love a supportive king," Ellie sighs.

"Yeah, well, he’s a little too supportive," I mutter, staring at the concrete floor. "I went to his buddy's condo to take the test so we could find out together. And when it was positive..." I bite my lip, feeling the heat creep up my neck. "I almost let him pick right back up where we left off on that hotel room floor."

Scout gasps, slapping a hand over her mouth. "You slut. I love it."

"I didn't do it!" I defend myself, though a tingle of awareness sparks to life between my legs just thinking about how close we were. "His friend interrupted us. And then we went down to the parking lot, and we almost did it again. Sweet baby Jesus, he's so...” I shiver. “It’s infuriating. I had to run away and drive back to St. Pete so I didn't break the ground rules I just laid down."

Andie sinks back down onto her rolling stool and shrugs. "So change the rules."

"I can't change the rules, Andie. He's technically still married. Then there’s my messy breakup with Grant. Neither of us has any business starting a relationship."

"Sounds like you already started one," Tatum points out. "You're having his kid."

"That's different," I insist. "Co-parenting is about the baby. We can be friends and raise a kid without it getting messy. Hooking up with him is disaster-level messy."

"Because if you fall for him and he bails, you can't just burn his shit in the yard and move on," Andie says. "You still have to look at his face for the next eighteen years."

She nails it so perfectly it actually steals the air out of my lungs. I glare at her, but I don't have a comeback. My track record with men staying is absolute garbage. My dad left. My college boyfriend bailed the second things got serious. Grant cheated, and I’m technically the one who booted his ass to the curb, but still. The idea of letting myself fall for Sumner, only to watch him walk away, is terrifying.

"I have a shoot in twenty minutes, so I need to go prep the studio," I say, pushing off the tool cabinet to escape the sudden psychoanalysis. "But I called the clinic this morning. They want me to get bloodwork done tomorrow so they'll have the results for my confirmation appointment on Thursday afternoon."

"I'll block off my calendar," Ellie says immediately.