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“Zach.” Her eyes sparkled with interest. Not in him personally—he’d never before met someone so happily married—but like she knew something he didn’t. “Here are the reports you asked for.”
She handed them over and then stood smiling at him. He studied her with a frown for a moment, then decided to give it up. She knew. It was evident in every jittering line of her body.
“We can’t officially announce it yet, so I appreciate your discretion.”
Mara clapped her hands and let out a discreet “Yay!” To his shock, she rounded the desk and gave him a quick side hug.
“I’m so thrilled for you both! When Vic and I had our baby it was exciting and scary and amazing. You’re going to do great. And Penelope is so gorgeous—you’ll have the prettiest baby in the world! Second to mine, of course.”
Okay, that made him smile.
Mara skipped away. As she pulled the door shut, she gave him a wink in the diminishing gap and said in a stage whisper, “I won’t breathe a word to anyone.”
“Thanks, Mara.”
She shut the door behind her and he glanced at his desk calendar where he’d jotted Pen’s ultrasound with the shorthand ult in case of wandering eyes.
Chase was right. Zach would slide seamlessly into the role of father as well as he’d slid into CEO at Ferguson Oil. And if he had a hiccup or two along the way, Pen would be there to bail him out—planner that she was.
Smile on his face, he relaxed in his chair.
They had this.
* * *
A blur of elegance from outside the wall of her glass office windows caught Penelope’s eye. She blinked once, then twice to make sure what she was seeing wasn’t a mirage.
Nope.
It was Zach’s mother, all right.
Pen beckoned her in and rounded her desk. “Elle. This is a surprise.”
Especially since she didn’t know how Elle knew where she worked. Pen’s mind went to their last interaction. Elle reacted poorly to the news of the pregnancy and then Pen and Zach had sex in the woman’s flower beds.
Real classy, Pen.
Elle clutched a large camel-colored handbag and gestured to the white leather couch. “May I sit?”
“Yes, please. I was just wrapping up.” Pen sat with her, pretty sure the fluttering in her stomach wasn’t her baby but nerves instead. Maybe a bit of both.
“How are you feeling?”
“Lately, much better than before.”
“I’m so glad for you! When I was pregnant with Stefanie, I remember the worst morning sickness and bloating.” Elle waved a hand dismissively. “If I had that with Chase and Zach, I’ve blocked it because all I remember is how painful the birth was.” Elle let out a soft laugh and then a look of chagrin colored her features. “I didn’t mean to alarm you. What a thing to say.”
“It’s fine, really.” Pen meant it. “Believe it or not, I’ve heard a thing or two about childbirth being painful.”
A gap in the conversation settled in the room like a third party. Pen filtered through her brain for a topic to fill the dead air. Luckily, Elle filled it for her.
“I came by to apologize for my poor reaction when you came to tell us about your bundle of joy.”
“Thank you. We sprung it on you, so it’s understandable.”
“No. It’s not. Rider’s mother wanted to throttle us when she found out I was pregnant with Chase before the wedding.” Elle rolled her eyes, and it wasn’t hard to imagine what she’d looked like as a much younger woman railing against her future in-laws. “I’ve made a few mistakes with my children when it comes to their relationships. Being a matriarch is a tough business.”
Pen’s eyebrows climbed her forehead.
