Blue Lines(45)

“Wow, just like that?” Audrey asked, a little shocked.

Piper shrugged her shoulders. “When you know, you know.”

Audrey smiled sweetly up at Tate. “You’re right. I’m so happy for you! What are you having? You never told me.”

“We don’t know yet,” Piper said with a grin. “I made the appointment the other day. We’ll know in a couple of weeks.”

“Why haven’t you found out yet?” she asked. “I found out as soon as I could.”

Piper smiled sweetly. “I wanted to wait for Erik.”

She felt his fingers tighten on the spot below her armpit and she glanced up at him to see him looking at her with a weird look on his face. Was she not supposed to say that?

“Aw! That’s so freaking sweet! Hopefully it’s a girl so that she and Penelope can be best friends! Like we are!”

Piper giggled nervously, because having a girl would be a lot of work and there would probably be daddy issues, with not having a father around.

Sigh. “Yeah, that would be awesome.”

Out the corner of her eye, she noticed that Audrey’s sister, Fallon, and her husband, Lucas Brooks, were walking toward them. Fallon looked spectacular, pregnant and very happy. She was surprised when she found out Fallon was pregnant. The last time she saw her was when Audrey was in the hospital and she had apparently kept it a secret at the time. Fallon and Lucas had gone through a lot in their relationship, too. Time had healed old wounds and allowed each to mature, but seeing them together now there was no doubt theirs was a marriage meant to last.

And what a man to start and end with. If there was one man other than Erik who could make Piper trip over her own two feet, it was Lucas. He was beyond sexy, with tattoos covering every inch of him, dark hair, and those gray eyes that could make any girl swoon. He was sex on legs, but he had eyes only for Fallon, and even though it was a losing battle, Piper had eyes only for Erik.

Fallon stopped beside Audrey and gave her a big kiss on her cheek.

“The place is amazing; you did good, sis.”

Audrey’s smile grew as her cheeks reddened. “Thanks! It was a lot of work, but everyone has been great.”

“Aw, we all are always here for you,” Fallon gushed.

“Yup, don’t forget that,” Lucas said, kissing Audrey’s temple.

“Piper! Is the rumor true?” Fallon asked with a grin on her face.

Piper smiled, placing her hands on her belly.

“That I’m knocked up by this guy and that we are married? Yes, crazy kids, I know.”

Everyone laughed as Lucas shook his head.

“It is awesome knowing that there is a girl out there who could knock Erik Titov off his rocker. Congratulations, guys,” Lucas said, toasting his glass to them.

Everyone did the same as Erik laughed, bringing Piper closer to him.

“I don’t know about off my rocker, but she does rock my world.”

Everyone smiled as Piper rolled her eyes with a plastic grin on her face. A part of her wanted to run into the nearest bathroom and cry, because she hated to lie to the people she loved. They all seemed to be happy for them. Little did they know this relationship was one-sided and Piper needed to remember that. She needed to quit thinking of the possibility of Erik changing and falling in love with her; it wasn’t going to happen.

Looking down at where his hand rested on her waist, near their unborn child, she began to feel aggravated … this didn’t matter to him, none of it, and she wanted to swat his hand and walk away. This wasn’t fair, and when she glanced up at him, it must have been written all over her face, because he knew something was wrong. He moved a piece of hair that had gotten stuck on her lip gloss and smiled.

“You okay?”

She blinked and felt her eyes flood with tears. God, she hated her stupid emotions. One minute she was head over heels for him, another she wanted to kill him, but now she just wanted him to hold her, and tell her there was a chance he could love her. Why did she have to go through this while being pregnant? If she wasn’t pregnant, she would have a level head, her hormones wouldn’t be all out of whack, and she wouldn’t think with her heart so much.

“I think I need a drink and a Gummy Bear cupcake.”

“Okay,” he said, and was about to lead her away, when Fallon stopped him.

“Hold on, I want a picture of us three with our bellies!”

Piper watched as Fallon pulled her phone out and handed it to Lucas. Taking hold of Piper’s arm, she brought her close while Audrey hugged Fallon’s other side. Piper looked up at the camera and smiled brightly as the picture was taken. Fallon reached for the phone and Piper smiled as she looked at their photo, their bright faces and growing bellies.