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“Thank you. It’s, um, good to meet you too.” I gave my attention to Heather. “Do you know if you’re having a girl or a boy?” Well, that they could tell. Whoever the baby was, they would let their parents know one day if they were correct.
“A boy,” she replied.
“Does he have a name yet?”
“Jacob.”
“Hello, baby Jacob,” I said softly, keeping my distance and not touching her. I’d heard about people who touched pregnant women’s bellies, which was rude to do without permission. Even I knew that. I felt everyone’s hot stares on me, which just made me feel like I was overheating. Was that weird? To want to include their baby that way? “I’m sorry, I didn’t ask if that was okay.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. That was very sweet. Now he’ll recognize your voice when he’s born, and he’ll remember you’re the first person who thought to say hello to him.” Heather’s smile relaxed me some.
I looked at Gideon, who winked at me. He reached his hand out, like he was going to touch me again, but then pulled back. I tried not to frown, wondering if I’d already done something wrong.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Gideon
Milo and I hadn’t discussed how we would act around my family, but I had to admit, it dented my confidence some when he’d pulled away. And that didn’t count the guy who had definitely been interested. I’d never met him before, but I’d already decided I didn’t like him. I had to remind myself we were just friends, friends who liked to have sex with each other, but friends all the same. Technically, he was right to step out of my hold. The last thing we needed was my family getting ideas about us—more ideas.
“What did you do before you moved to the island?” my dad asked him. College was important to him. It was always one of the first questions he asked. While he never said it to me, I knew he was disappointed I didn’t get a degree, but I truly didn’t believe higher education was for everyone. It wasn’t a standard of how smart or accomplished you were.
“Oh, I was in finance. I started college at sixteen. I graduated with a master’s at twenty-two from Franklin University before going to work at my mother’s firm.”
Holy…sixteen? “Really? You never told me that.” Now I rubbed the back of my own neck in reassurance, which was fucking crazy.
“I guess we never talked about degrees. What’s yours in?” Milo asked.
“I didn’t finish college,” I replied, feeling insecure about that for the first time in my life.
“Oh, I didn’t know that about you either.”
Does it matter? a quiet voice in my head asked, but this was Milo. He didn’t care about things like that.
“You and Gid hit it off quickly,” Kris said.
“We did. He’s…well, he’s my best friend. I know he’s yours too, so I didn’t mean he wasn’t, especially because you’ve known each other your whole lives.” Milo’s slightly panicked gaze darted my way. I wanted to comfort him, to kiss his temple and tell him to breathe because he was doing fine, but I also didn’t want to cross the line he’d drawn when he’d stepped away from me.
“We can share him.” Kris put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close before he pressed a kiss to my forehead. That wasn’t odd for us, but I saw the flash of uncertainty in Milo’s eyes before he took a step backward.
“Ew, I don’t know where your lips have been,” I joked.
“Hey now,” Meg said.
“Oops, sorry. You know I love you. It’s your questionable taste in men that has me concerned,” I teased, making everyone except Milo laugh. The urge to ask him if he was okay sat on the tip of my tongue, but I also didn’t want to seem like I was coddling him. I hated that myself and knew he had strong feelings about it.
A loud group of teenagers came in, likely for the free food and coffee. They were laughing and talking, their voices carrying high above the already chatty room.
Mom asked Milo a few questions about the store and the area he’d lived in California. It was only a couple of minutes later that Nadine Anderson approached him to talk about having book club meetings at the store—what the fuck was it with everyone and book clubs? And then Janet Hughes overheard and pulled his attention away about her knitting group meeting there too.
A young man I didn’t recognize asked him about a job. My family all talked around him about the changes in the store.
I could sense his tension going higher. Each time someone spoke to him, his replies were quicker, choppier. Even to my own ears the room was getting louder, and that was before a baby suddenly started crying.
