AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Wait. Donovan was going to be a dad?
Anna rolled her eyes heavenward in answer to Sasha’s question. “God, yes. I love that child with everything in me, but she has no boundaries right now. Sometimes Mom just wants to pee by herself.”
Sasha smiled and pressed a hand to her belly. “I can’t wait.”
Anna pointed at her with the slice of pizza. “You say that now, but let’s revisit it in seven years and see how you feel.”
Alexis took Veronica by the arm and pulled her into the living room. A woman with an explosion of blond curls and bright red-framed glasses was setting up a projection screen.
“And this,” Alexis said, “is my sister, Ellie.”
Ellie’s smile was bright and warm. “Nice to finally meet you, Veronica. I hope you don’t mind all this.” She waved at the projector. “I thought we could binge the new season of Bridgerton. Have you seen it?”
“Uh... no?”
“Oh! It’s so good. I’ve seen it twice, but I’ll happily watch it again. You’ll love it! The romance, the costumes, the hot men?—”
Alexis laughed. “Take a breath, Elle.”
Ellie’s gaze shifted to the hallway behind Veronica, and she leaned in conspiratorially, her eyes sparkling behind her glasses. “But I guess you don’t need fictional eye candy with him around.”
Veronica turned and watched as Connelly emerged from the bedroom. He was appropriately dressed now in jeans and an olive green Henley. Over it, he wore his favorite cable knit cardigan with leather elbow patches. With his leather laptop bag slung over his shoulder, he looked more like a college professor than the man who had rocked her world.
He came straight to her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pressed a kiss to her mouth that had her flushing hot from head to toe. The other women giggled like schoolgirls.
“I’ll be at The Mad Dog if you need anything,” he murmured. “Try to have fun.”
She fisted her hands in his sweater, unwilling to let him go. “I wish you were staying.”
“You do barrel rolls in planes not built for aerobatics,” he reminded. “You can handle a girl’s night, and I’ll be back around eleven.” He gave her another quick kiss and then released her.
“Alright, ladies,” he announced, grinning at the group as he headed to the door. “I’m gonna leave you to your girl talk and sexed-up period dramas. Behave and try not to drool too much. I just mopped.”
The room erupted with laughter and hoots as the front door swung shut behind Connelly.
“You go, girl,” Rose said, raising her glass in a toast. “Snagging Sexy Sweater Guy? And he mops, too? Sheesh. I’m lucky if Ash remembers to pick up his socks.”
Veronica snorted a laugh, surprising herself. “What did you just call him?”
“Sexy Sweater Guy. It’s what I mentally called him when he came into the pub to write before I knew his name.”
“I mean, she has a point,” Sasha said. “That sweater shouldn’t be sexy, but on him…?”
“So hot,” Anna finished, and the women all hummed appreciative agreements.
“Writers,” Ellie said and swooned onto the couch, dramatically fanning herself with her hand. “Who knew, amiright?”
* * *
“You made it,” Cal said when Connelly slid into the booth across from him fifteen minutes later.
“Yeah, sorry. Uh…” Connelly couldn’t stop his grin. He knew what he looked like—a man who had spent the afternoon rocking the bed with the woman he loved—but he didn’t care. “Something came up.”
Cal eyed him with a smirk. “Looks like it came up more than once. Lucky bastard.” He slid a beer over the table. “I was starving, so I took the liberty of ordering for you. Hope you like a porter and cheeseburgers.”
“Porter’s perfect.” Connelly picked up the glass and raised it in a toast. “I only drink beer as black as my soul.”
“My man.” Cal tapped their glasses together, and they both took swigs of the dark beer.
