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Tiny whines.
"That’s what they say," Edward says bitterly. "For your own good." He grabs Tiny’s collar. "Come on, boy. I know how you feel. Let’s go get you something to eat."
He leads Tiny toward where Mira and Goldie are deep in conversation. Halfway there, Tiny breaks away. He gambols over to Goldie and comes to a stop in front of her. He plants his butt down, then sniffs at her stomach.
"Tiny, what?" Mira gapes.
Goldie looks down at Tiny with an exasperated look. "Shoo, boy."
Tiny sniffs at her belly, then woofs.
"Stop it, Tiny." Goldie scowls at the dog.
"Why is he sniffing your stomach?" Mira frowns.
Tiny woofs again, then wags his tail. He sniffs at Goldie, then turns around to glance at me. I kid you not. That mutt… He has an elevated soul.
Edward looks at the dog, then at Goldie, then turns to me. "Something you want to tell us?"
Goldie looks at me, then throws up her hands. "Should I? I mean we weren’t going to."
I walk over to her, past Edward, past the annoying mutt who decided to give away our secret.
"You might as well." I pull her into my side.
She glances around the room, then a big smile fills her features. "We’re pregnant."
"You’re pregnant?" Mira yells.
Everyone turns their gaze on her.
She flushes. "I mean, you’repregnant;oh my god,you’repregnant." She takes a step forward and trips on Tiny’s tail. The mug goes flying from her hand, the contents spilling over Edward before the cup bounces off his chest and hits the ground, then spins away.
"What the fuck?" He glances down at the coffee stain he’s wearing across the front of his suit, over his shirt, and the front of his pants.
"Oh god, I’m so sorry." Mira removes the scarf from around her neck and dabs at his suit lapel, then at his thigh, then his crotch.
Edward’s entire body goes rigid, but she doesn’t seem to notice.
"I’m not normally like this. I mean, I can be a klutz, but I thought I was over tripping over my two feet, or in this case, Tiny’s tail. But Tiny didn’t mean to cause the accident, did you?"
Tiny woofs, then head-butts her with enough force, the momentum causes her to tumble forward. Edward catches her. For a second, they stare at each other.
The air around them grows heavy with unsaid emotions. Then Tiny barks, and both of them jump back from each other as if scalded.
"Sorry, sorry, oh my god, I am so sorry. And I sound like I'm a record, stuck on repeat. You do know what I mean by a record, right?" She peers up at him. "Of course, you do. You’re much older than me—not dinosaur age, but close to it—so I’m sure you do."
Edward’s already rock-hard jaw grows more rigid. All expression is wiped from his face.
Mira pales. "Gosh, I didn’t mean to imply you were ancient. I mean, you're, what, twenty years older than me?"
Edward glares at her.
"Okay, fifteen, at least." She coughs. "Not that I don’t like older men. I have a soft spot for them." She shuffles her feet. "No, no, not that kind of soft spot. I mean, I find older men so much more confident. You know what you want, and you don’t hesitate to get it. You guys have your shit together, you know?"
Edward’s glare intensifies.
"I don’t mean I findyouattractive. Not that you’re not good looking. You have that whole tall dark and intense look going on, which I admit, is a turn on. Not that you turn me on." Spots of color stand out on her otherwise pasty complexion. "Oh my god, I didn’t mean to say that. Also, whoa—you’ll have to dry-clean your suit. I’ll pay for it, of course."
