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Hannah nods. “Yeah, if I get a papercut or something, it’s healed in an hour, tops.” She looks away and clears her throat. “Listen, I didn’t know how to say it before, but... what the hell. I think what you did? Trying to trap Ashton? That was really brave. And you’re a stupid bitch because you could have gotten really hurt.”
“I know. I had to take the chance, though.” I give her a tight, closed-lip smile. “I guess I endangered the proceedings more than I helped. But hey, everything came out okay in the end. Okayish.”
“Better than the worst-case scenario.” Hannah sits down beside me. “When does the second-worst case scenario come back?”
“Today.” I wish I haven’t been counting down the days until his return, but here I am. I know it will be today, though, because according to the calendar, my soil is ripe for sowing. “Maybe in an hour, maybe at ten tonight. I have no idea.”
“Still no contact?”
“None whatsoever. And I refuse to contact him through his secretary. Now that I have a secretary, I’m going to contact his secretary through my secretary. And I’m going to get a cellphone he can’t call. Fuck it, he wouldn’t even care!”
“Whoa!” Hannah holds up her hands. “What’s all this about?”
“It’s the stupid thing...” How to explain the odd connection Nathan and I have to my best friend, the asexual. “Have you ever heard of anyone having a mystical attraction to someone else?”
“Isn’t that what they write songs about?” Hannah snorts. “Love at first sight?”
“No, it’s not love. I think I hate him.” Even though I promised him that I didn’t. And when I look back on that night, on his arms around me, him asking me if I really hated him, like he couldn’t stand the thought, my stomach aches. “But it did happen at first sight. The very first time Nathan and I saw each other, something happened. And he’s never heard of something like it happening, either.”
As she listens, Hannah’s expression goes from skeptical to concerned. “So, you think it’s something that doesn’t happen to everyone else?”
“If it did happen to everyone, wouldn’t we have heard of it?” I gesture at her. “Wouldn’t it have happened to you?”
“Maybe not,” she says with a shrug. “You didn’t tell anyone about it? Not Vivianne or your sisters?”
“Yeah, I don’t know where you got the idea that my mother would be open to frank conversations like that. And I didn’t get a chance to talk about it with Tara and Clare before Nathan had them hauled off into exile.” If they did feel the same pull toward their mates as Nathan and I felt for each other, I doubted they would leave their husbands behind to come be prisoners in their sister’s house.
“They might know something. I definitely don’t feel that for Ryan.” She presses her lips together but she can’t hold in her laugh. “And I know he doesn’t feel it for me.”
I lean my head back and sink into the corner of the couch. The baby makes a noise and I look over. The kid’s adorable red curls look just like her mom’s, with huge dark eyes and golden-brown skin. I wonder what my babies will look like.
“Is it weird, having a baby?” I muse.
Hannah hesitates at the sudden turn in conversation, so I explain, “Nathan wants to get me pregnant right away. It’s why he’s coming back today. It’s the first fertile day in my cycle.”
“Yikes.” Hannah raises her eyebrows. “I remember keeping track of all that for in vitro but...you guys just mated like a week ago.”
“Turns out, he can’t wait to have an heir.” I look back to the baby. “How would you feel if Ryan didn’t love her?”
“Do you think Nathan isn’t going to love your kids?” Hannah touches my knee to get my attention. “Bailey?”
I blink back tears when I look at her.
“Bailey, I’m worried about you.”
I shake my head and force a smile I know she won’t fall for. “A lot has been happening. I’m a little overwhelmed.”
“That’s totally understandable.” She makes an apologetic side-to-side bob of her head. “And it’s not going to get better. You’re gonna be queen. It’ll be nonstop stress. So, if you need to get rid of me and get a real assistant—”
“Shut up. You’re already more competent than my head-of-household.” I look over my shoulder, because Amanda could literally be blending into the wallpaper, and I wouldn’t notice. “If I told you that I wanted a cheeseburger and to be left alone, what would you do?”
“I’d tell you to stop being so rude and get your own damn cheeseburger.”
I drop my chin and give her a sidelong look.
“Oh, if I was your employee?” It only takes her a second to think. “I’d get you the cheeseburger and leave you alone.”
