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Two women sit on the porch, bundled under a woollen blanket and drinking something hot.
Another man pushes through the door and spots us immediately. Behind him is Mary. Her neutral features and tense shoulders signify that she wants to be here about as much as I do.
I recognize Zeke’s brother as the man I passed as I left the shop that day, feeling sexy and rebellious, utterly oblivious to what was happening inside my body at that moment. I squeeze Zeke’s hand, and he keeps me steady and moving forward.
I’m assuming the lean one is Xan, and the Goliath is Jet. Zeke told me there’s no getting them mixed up, and I see why.
Xan jogs down the steps, waving to us. Everyone else takes notice at the same time. Mary looks at me and immediately spins back to the house and disappears inside. There’s a pang of pain in my heart because I don’t understand why she hates me. Probably because of Jess.
The pain turns to jealousy, which startles me. I hate that Zeke had her, that she has the favour of his mom.
I shake the unwelcome, catty thought as Xan approaches.
Here we go.
“Nova,” Xan says, holding out his hand to me, and I take it. “So nice to see you again.”
My cheeks blaze instantly, and Zeke pinches his nose. “Fuck off, Alexander.”
Xan chuckles and steps back as I’m led into the small crowd.
“Everyone, this is Nova,” Zeke’s voice wobbles slightly, but he’s standing tall, his shoulders back, and he introduces me with a stern tone like I am a permanent fixture, not to be debated or argued. It’s kind of hot, this possessive aura. But I suspect it stems from his mom’s disapproval, which is way less desirable.
“Nova, this is Xan and Jet.” Jet switches the baseball bat from one hand to the other and then reaches out to shake my hand.
“Hi,” I say, trying to sound confident, like I would in front of the camera. But all I notice is the women watching me from the porch, not getting up.
My gut sinks. God, please don’t let this be a weird girl thing.
The little girl runs up to me with a big smile on her face. She flings her arms around my middle and I freeze, looking to Zeke. The hug lasts a fraction of a second but long enough to throw me off balance. I’m glad to have Zeke to steady me.
“Hi, I’m Millie.” Her grin lights up her entire face, and the pigtail braids are unravelling brown hair as the wind whips around her. She has this bright and cheerful aura that might be a little feral. When I was ten, my mother would have been horrified of hair like this. “Uncle Zeke says I’m going to have a cousin.”
Xan takes Millie by the shoulders to stop her bouncing around, and he raises his eyebrow at me apologetically. My stomach is flopping, and my mind is spinning with how open and free this kid’s life must be, and the happiness of it radiates off her dirt-smudged skin.
“That’s true.” I place my hand on my belly. I hadn’t thought about that. There are no kids on my side. My brother and sister are way older than me, but they are more career-driven than anything else. “Will this be your first cousin?”
Millie nods enthusiastically. “My mom doesn’t have brothers and sisters. I’m so excited.”
The way her eyes sparkle guts me deeper than anything else. I look to Zeke, who stares at his feet. He tilts his head slightly to look at me with an adorable grimace. He’s thinking the same thing as I am.
How am I ever going to be able to leave now?
“Can you feel the baby kick yet?” Millie asks with big, gray eyes like Del.
“Not yet. But soon. Around twenty weeks, they say.” I’ve got my showbiz voice on now. I am performing for the crowd. Calm, cool, and put together. Not the shaking, trembling numbness that threatens to break through at any moment.
“What are you at?” Millie’s brows lower into an interrogative frown.
“Eighteen.”
“When will it be born?”
She asks questions like Zeke does.
“March.”
“My birthday is in June,” she says, and I grin.
