Seeing that I don’t want to talk about this, Virginia nods and lets it go. I take a long sip of my drink, belatedly wondering how this service thing works with her sitting right here.
Turns out, I don’t have to. When I finish, she grabs my glass and scoots out of the booth, going to get me a refill.
Perfect.
When she comes back, I can’t help smiling. “See, if I get this kind of service even when you eat with me, you should come to Sunday night dinners.”
“I do. I serve them. If you need someone to make dinner at Sin’s house next week so you guys don’t have to drag the baby out, let me know. I can tell Trent to schedule someone else here and come cook dinner there. I’ll get to see baby Nicholas that way, too.”
I sigh. “You’re not catching baby fever too, are you?”
Virginia shakes her head. “I’m a cool 98.6, no worries.”
&nb
sp; Thank God. Having her make dinner is actually not the worst plan I’ve heard. I figured we would do it at my house, not theirs, but I didn’t think about bringing the baby out. It’s Vegas, for Christ’s sake, it’s not like it’s cold.
“Oh, grab my phone, will you?” she asks. “It’s in my apron.”
I reach over and fish it out, passing it to her.
“So, for a gift, I was thinking—” She freezes, her eyes widening. “What the fuck? You didn’t tell me she was in labor!” Not even giving me a chance to respond, she scoots out of the booth.
“Settle down. Eat your food. The baby will still be there when you’re done.”
“Good lord, Rafe Morelli. I’m going to get you a to-go box.” Glancing at my drink, she says, “I’ll tell Trent I’m leaving too, so I can drive you.”
I’ve had one drink, but I don’t bother arguing with her. I intend to finish this one if she’s going to drag me out of here before I can even finish eating. Frankly, I could use it. I don’t feel ready to meet a baby I created. I’d like to distract her with something else, but now that she’s seen the text message or whatever it was, she’s going to be like a dog with a bone.
This is bound to be an experience. I wonder if Sin will be pissy with me. He hasn’t been over the course of Laurel’s pregnancy, but now his future wife is pushing my baby out of her vagina, and I don’t see how that won’t be weird.
Oh well, I guess we’re doing this.
Virginia tosses food into boxes and grabs her apron, flashing me an excited grin before leading me out of the restaurant. “You can just give her the onesie, say it’s from you.”
“There’s not a chance in hell I would have bought that thing. I wouldn’t even know where to find one.”
“I’ll say it’s from both of us then. No, that would be weird,” she realizes immediately.
“Virginia, it doesn’t matter. The baby isn’t going to remember who brought it gifts.”
“Well, if you haven’t already, I’m picking out a Christmas gift for you to buy him.”
“He can’t unwrap presents. He can barely open his eyes.”
“Stop being logical,” she tells me. “You’re having a baby.”
“Laurel and Sin are having my baby,” I say wryly.
“They’re not going to shut you out,” she states, a little too knowingly. “You know that. You’ll be as involved as you want to be. If you’re a dick, Laurel is just going to think you don’t want to be involved and that’s not going to be her fault. You’re allowed to be excited or nervous or whatever you’re feeling. You don’t have to be in control right now. A new human you helped create is about to emerge in the world. That’s a big deal.”
I do my best to ignore her as we approach her car. Shaking my head, I tell her, “We’ll take mine.”
“What’s wrong with my car?” she inquires.
“It’s small. Long legs.”
Virginia rolls her eyes. “Okay, Shaq.”