Her Billionaires_ Boxed Set(123)

“TMI. I sooo did not need to know that.”

“My batteries need batteries.”

Josie shoved her fingers in her ears. “Lalalalalalalalalalala.” Laura laughed maniacally and started to feel full. One more shrimp on the plate, she speared it and dipped it in the aioli. Heaven. Pure heaven.

“So you’re going to talk to them now, right?” Josie asked quietly, prodding without being negative. Pushing her plate of friend green tomatoes away, she smiled at Laura, an encouragingly sympathetic look.

Laura pulled her unfinished plate into her zone of consumption. Mine now. Stabbing a tomato, she tried the tiger sauce. Horseradish. Was it worth the reflux?

Yes! Mmmmm.

“You’re right. I’ll talk to them. The baby is one of theirs and it’s time.”

Cupping one hand over her ear, Josie leaned across the table. “Say that again.”

“I’m telling them.”

“No—the part before that.”

Laura made a sour face. “You’re right.” Time for dessert! She dumped all the caramel and hot fudge all over the peanut butter hulk smash cake and sneered at Josie. “And no cake for you!”

“You think I’m going to try to take a bite of that from a horny pregnant woman? I’m not suicidal.”

Laura’s laugh carried through the diner, turning a few heads and yielding bemused smiles. Ah, it felt good to laugh, deep belly chuckles that came from relief and calm and goodness and light. The baby kicked again.

“She likes the cake,” Laura said, shoveling in another piece, following it up with ice cream.

“She’s a gourmand. What are you going to name her?”

A long look at her plate. “Hulk Smash. Hulk Smash Michaels.”

“Oh, that’s totally a porn name.” Laura threw a wadded napkin at Josie, who ducked.

Finally full, Laura pushed her clean plate away. If she overate, she’d regret it later. Pregnancy was no different from non-pregnant life, with the exception of evil reflux. “I don’t know. Whatever we name her it needs to be a collaborative effort.”

“Like the conception.”

Laura snorted. They were shifting into uncomfortable territory. “Yeah. Except no matter what, it’s only one of them who is the father.”

“Happy paternity testing.” Josie shot her a sardonic grin.

“Go ahead,” Laura sighed. “I know you’re itching to say it.”

“What?” Josie batted her eyes innocently.

“Just do it in a whisper.” Laura reached for her purse and fished around. Her bladder announced its presence and she stood, hips clicking and left leg screaming in pain.

“Maury, Maury, Maury,” Josie obliged, looking particularly pleased with herself.

“I’m suffering from sciatica and you’re chanting baby daddy cultural references.”

“And you still love me.”

Laura flashed her a middle finger as she waddled off to the bathroom. “You’re totally not my type!” she called back.

Madge happened to walk past. “Not my type either,” she said, frowning at Josie.

Josie sighed. “I get that a lot.”

“I’ll bet you do.”



He wasn’t a stalker. Really. No—really.

Mike kept finding creative—and not so creative— reasons for driving past Laura’s apartment building and Jeddy’s. If he had to meet with the resort’s tax accountant on some issue that went beyond what his onsite CPA could handle, he just routed himself through Somerville, because—why not? And sometimes he found himself really craving those fried green tomatoes and a toffee caramel peppermint sundae from Jeddy’s, so no harm, no foul if he stopped by—right?

Right?

The past three months had nearly killed him. So finding himself on the road right in front of Jeddy’s stuck at a traffic light, neck craned to the left to stare in the restaurant’s main window wasn’t out of the norm. He made this drive once a week or so.

What was out of the norm was the sight of Laura and Josie in a booth, eating and laughing. All the air in his lungs froze in place, the red light now the only entity keeping him here so he could gaze upon Laura’s face. Glowing. She literally glowed. The restaurant’s facade was a split set-up, the bottom half of the outer wall wood, the top half glass, so he could only see her and Josie through the window, her chest and arms and face animated as she threw a balled-up napkin at her friend, her mouth open and head tipped back in giggles and fun.

Relaxing, his entire body went liquid, the first time in months he felt grounded, the incongruity of keeping the Jeep running, foot on the brake, and counting out the seconds before the light changed somehow ignored by his nervous system.