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Andie picks up the salad tongs and tosses the lettuce. “Oh, um, well…let’s see. Charleigh is teething, Enzo made a new friend at preschool, I’m pregnant, and Mandy’s coming for a girls’ weekend. She’ll be here tomorrow.” She turns and stirs the sauce on the stove.
Did she say what I think she said?
“Andie, can you repeat that last part?”
“Mandy coming for the weekend?” She looks over her shoulder, her eyes softening with something akin to sympathy. “I know it will be a lot since you’ve been gone for a week, but I promised her—”
“No.” I shake my head, interrupting her, and slowly set down my beer. “The part about you being pregnant?”
She bites her bottom lip. “Six weeks along. I know it’s not the greatest timing and I—”
I jump out of my chair and gather her in my arms, kissing her full lips. She breaks the kiss and searches my eyes. “You’re not mad?”
“Mad? Are you kidding me? I’m over the moon! This is the best Christmas gift you could have given me. I wish the kids were in bed right now so I could make love to you and show you how fucking happy you make me.” Placing my hand over her stomach, I lean in and kiss her again.
“Cam…” She pulls back. “It’s horrible timing. You’re about to open a new location. Mandy wants me to travel to Greece when I’m seven months pregnant to start our next book. I had some awful client of Kiki’s scream at me today because she couldn’t get in with her for a wedding dress fitting and it was my fault because I forgot to schedule her after I was sick, and I had to turn down four photography jobs this week because my whole world is imploding and…I can’t breathe.” Tears leak from her eyes.
“Hey, hey, don’t cry,” I soothe, swiping my thumbs across her cheeks. “Deep breaths, Andie.”
“I’m feeling so overwhelmed and I’m nauseous every morning. I haven’t told Kiki or Sarah yet, because I know they’re going to be upset I’ll be going on maternity leave. And TJ. Oh god, I don’t even know how to bring it up to him. He and Connor are going to hire a surrogate, but he’s terrible with Benji and I’m not so sure it’s a good idea…” she blubbers.
I steer her over to the chair next to Charleigh, who is happily smacking her teether on her tray.
“Wait, the sauce…” Andie cries.
I stir it once and turn off the burner. Pulling a chair in front of her, I sit down and take her hands. “Baby, slow down. I can talk to Kiki if you want. I know for a fact they will be ecstatic. As for TJ and Connor, I wouldn’t be too worried about them. I’m not sure who Benji is, but TJ and Connor are terrific with our kids, right?” She nods. “Connor has mentioned TJ wants to start a family, but he said it could be years before anything happens. I asked him recently if he could handle overseeing the two Nashville locations while I open the Franklin bar and he said it wouldn’t be a problem. He’ll have his hands full.”
She squeezes my hands. “It’s the worst possible timing, you know?”
“Babe, there’s never a good time. That’s why it’s called a surprise. We’ll handle it like we do everything else. One day at a time. But I will tell you this. The sooner you tell Kiki, Sarah, and TJ, the better you’ll feel and they can strategize how to cover for you when you’re gone. Maybe even take some things off your plate in the meantime. And if it’s getting too much to work for them, you need to let them know.”
“But I owe them for so much.”
“Andie.” I lean in and wipe her cheeks dry. “Honey, you don’t owe them anything. That’s not how they operate. They love you and want you to be happy.”
“I don’t want to leave them, I love the three of them so much, but I don’t think I have the energy to work full-time anymore.” Andie looks over at Charleigh, giving her a watery smile.
I stand up, taking Charleigh out of her high chair. “I’ll go bathe her before we eat. Talk to them, babe.” I lean down and kiss her. “I love you and I love this baby growing inside you. We will be okay, I promise.”
She nods, and I head down the hallway toward the bathroom with Charleigh babbling. I put on a brave face for Andie because I can see how tired and upset she is, but she’s right. The timing of this pregnancy isn’t the greatest.I hope I can keep my promise.
Chapter 16
TJ
It’s been twoweeks since Connor agreed to interview potential surrogates and I’ve been on my best behavior not to rock the boat, but now that the holidays are over, I’m getting antsy, afraid we’ve already wasted time. Benjamin Blueberry was returned to the girls a few days ago, and I feel like I finally have my life back. No more screaming at random times, no more throwing up putrid water on my Versace silk shirts, and blessedly, no more diaper changes with ill-fitting Huggies. Kiki told me she wanted to tell Gloria, but as my bestie, she decided she’d rather hold it over my head until she needed a favor.
Today we are sitting down with prospective surrogates and I’m about to jump out of my skin. I’m so excited. The four lattes I’ve had this morning probably aren’t helping.
We’ve been on this Zoom call for five minutes and I can tell Connor likes Amy. I’m not as impressed. She lacks the spunk and go-getter attitude I’m looking for in the woman who will be carrying our baby for nine months. I called our lawyers to get the ball rolling on the adoption process but was disheartened to find out Gloria was right. It could take years. We’ve been put on a list and were told to get our look-book together for potential moms. Connor and I agreed it can’t hurt to interview the surrogates I found, feel them out and see if it’s a more viable option than adoption. Which is why we are currently listening to Amy from Seattle drone on about her mind-numbing tech job. I zoned out a few minutes ago.
Adjusting my tortoise-shell anti-blue-light glasses, I cross my leg over my knee and glance at my watch. “Sorry to interrupt, but I have a few pertinent questions before we have to move on to our next appointment.”
“Oh, sure.” Amy smiles, but it doesn’t make me feel happy. It annoys me. “Do you like sparkles?”
Connor heaves a sigh next to me. “Here we go.”
“Do I like sparkles? Um, I guess?” Her eyes flick to Connor. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
