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“Sorry, but he sounds too good to be true.”
“I don’t know,” Todd defends me. “They’re still in their honeymoon phase… I was like that with Andrew for the first, like, two years we were together.”
I allow myself a small, smug smile of satisfaction and turn my back on Constance, trying to look interested as Todd recounts how he met his husband. But in the back of my mind, something is nagging at me.
That list… the ‘dream guy’ list. My mind puts the puzzle together. It’s Nick. I basically just described Nick.
The realization makes my heart ache even as I smile and nod along with the conversation. The near-perfect man has been right in front of me this whole time, I’m now pregnant with his baby, he wants to be part of my life, part ofourlives —and I can’t have him.
It makes me feel even more alone, even though Nick has offered more than once to be there if I need him. What more could I ask for?
What more could I lose?
Later that day I try to decompress with a walk through the city shops, stopping at my favorite café for a small coffee with a lot of sugar. It’s not a great idea, but I am really craving coffee today.
A pretty blue storefront catches my eye, partly because of the display in the window. A pile of plush animals cuddled up together. It’s cute and I can’t help smiling.
It’s some kind of high-end baby boutique I’ve never noticed before. A store I never would have walked in until now. But this is my new reality. I’m pregnant and going to be having a baby in less than a year. I might as well dive in.
Pushing the door open, I scan the store as the bell overhead tinkles. An older woman with round glasses greets me with a kind voice and lets me know she’s here to help if I need it. She gives me a big smile and heads back to whatever task she was doing before I arrived. I let out a quiet sigh of relief. I hate shopping with someone looking over my shoulder.
As I roam the store, I pick up little items here and there. They have adorable teeny tiny clothes, itty bitty shoes that make my heart swell, and an entire aisle of high-end strollers and cribs. Then there’s the technical stuff I don’t want to think about quite yet: pumps and diaper genies, bottle nipples in various sizes, milk warmers and cloth diaper covers.
The bell tinkles again as I get lost in pairs of socks with cute little animals on them. I’m holding a little floral onesie, trying to imagine what my baby will look like when I hear:
“Ohhh!”
I look up, and blink, expecting to find two strangers who have run into each other. But instead, my eyes meet Vanessa’s. And she’s talking to me.
Oh.
Oh, sh—
Before I can finish the thought, Vanessa’s gaze drops to my stomach and the onesie I’m cradling gently.
Chapter 18
Nick
Ihearthefrontdoor open and I emerge from the pages of numbers I’ve been staring at for the last hour. I tap my phone and check the time. Just after 7 p.m. Who could be—?
Vanessa storms into the living room, where I’ve been holed up with a financial report I’ve been meaning to get to for ages. Lately, I’ve had such a hard time focusing on work.
“Hey! Is everything okay?”
I take in her frazzled expression, windblown hair, and the absence of my nieces—she must have left them at home.
“Scarlett and Aimee?”
“They’re fine,” she snaps, tossing a pillow from the armchair and sitting down. “You and I need to talk.”
My mind whirrs, trying to figure out what she’s so upset about.
“I just saw Blair,” she says.
My gut clenches. It’s been a few weeks since I found out about the pregnancy and I haven’t said a word to anyone.
“Oh.”
