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Her face fell and her eyes began to fill, and I knew her pregnancy hormones were under attack.
“I’m so grateful that you moved here, Chlo,” Zoey sniffled. “It means so much to me, and to Gabe, that you’ve uprooted your life to move here with Chris.”
“Hey,” I said softly, pulling my sister in for a hug. “You did the same thing for me, remember? I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come to stay with me when I had Christopher.”
“I know, but…”
“No buts,” I told her, my hand stroking her back as she hiccupped a sob. “Plus, there’s no way I’d miss a second of this,” I added, pulling back and placing my hand lovingly on her belly. “I cannot wait to be an auntie.”
“I know,” Zoey replied as she wiped at her cheeks. “I just want to make sure you know how much I appreciate it, how much we both appreciate how wonderful you’ve been. I know our situation is beyond crazy, but it’s so much easier to deal with knowing I have you to go through it all with.”
“Of course you have me,” I assured her. “Always.”
I squeezed her one last time, before pulling away and turning back toward the counter.
“Now, which one will it be?”
Chapter Seven ~ Reardon
“Whatchya been up to, Ass?” Jasmine called out as she bounded over to my booth at our aunt and uncle’s bar and grill.
“Not much, Jazzy, how are you?” I asked as I stood to give my cousin a kiss on the cheek.
She ran her hands through her long, red hair, then pulled it over her shoulder and gave me a grin as she sat down across from me.
“Soooo good! What with Gabe and Zoey’s wedding coming up, and Laurel moving back to town, I feel like there’s so much to look forward to.”
“It’ll be nice for you to have Laurel back,” I said, thinking how the two of them used to be thick as thieves. They did everything together, including driving Jasmine’s twin, Dillon, up the wall. “How’s Dillon taking it?”
Jasmine laughed and said, “As much as I keep trying to tell him that Laurel’s a grown woman in her thirties, and not an annoying teenage girl hell bent on making his life miserable, he doesn’t believe me.”
I chuckled as I remembered how much trouble the girls used to get in, then blame it on my well-mannered cousin.
“I’ll have to call and give him shit,” I replied, then thought about my conversation with Chloe. “Hey, didn’t you say Laurel was looking for a business partner or something?”
Jasmine waved at Aunt Annabeth, nodded when she asked if Jazzy wanted her usual, then turned back to me and replied, “Yup
. Laurel is taking over the flower shop for her folks, and she was thinking of expanding it to make it more of a party slash wedding planning business. She hasn’t worked it all out yet, but she’s looking for someone with experience in that kind of thing, why?”
“I was talking with Chloe,” I began, then said, “Shut up,” when Jasmine shot me a grin and wiggled her eyebrows. Let’s just say Jasmine, our cousin Serena, and Zoey had made it their mission to hook me and Chloe up after they figured out I liked her, but after much begging on my part, they’d agreed to let it go. Looked like Jazzy hadn’t quite given up.
“Sorry,” Jasmine said in a sing-song voice, not sounding the least bit sorry. “Go on…”
“Anyway, I was talking to Chloe, and she mentioned that she was looking for work. She was the business manager and partner in a catering business back in North Carolina, and I thought maybe we could set up a meet between her and Laurel.”
“Look at you, all helpful and sensitive all of a sudden,” Jasmine teased. “Looks like a certain gorgeous brunette really brings out the gentleman in you.”
I sighed.
“I thought you were going to let it go, Jaz.”
Jasmine leaned forward and whisper shouted, “I don’t see why you don’t just go for it. You like her, she’s single, you’re already practically family. What’s the big deal?”
“You’re an ass,” I managed, right as our aunt approached the table.
“Do I need to wash that mouth out with soap?”
Jasmine snickered and I stuck my tongue out at her.
