“Name”—TheGooGooDolls
Well, so much for telling Nico first.
“Our babies are going to grow up together!” Korrie said, full of excitement and smiles once the shock wore off. The guys had all convened inside to grab beer while the women chattered out by the pool.
All the women were ready to plan a baby shower and gender reveal.
“Don’t you do them together?” I asked.
“Psh!” Kira waved off my question. “If we break it up into two, then we can have cake and shit twice.”
I laughed at her logic, despite my worry at what this would do to Chains. It made me feel like shit that everyone would know before him. That was one thing I zipped my lips on.
“So, umm, who’s the father?” Korrie asked in a whisper with a slight wince.
My gaze dropped to my still wet top as I plucked at the embroidered hem. “Umm, well, I would rather not say yet.”
Crickets.
“Uhhh, okay,” Korrie warily replied, breaking the awkward silence.
“The dad doesn’t know yet,” I hedged, then regretted my words. What if they put two and two together? Everyone knew Chains had been gone a while.
“Oh,” said Loralei.
“Are you okay with this? Did we make you uncomfortable being so excited?” Korrie asked, worry in her eyes.
I actually laughed.
“Yeah, I’m okay with it. At first, I was scared, but I’m happy. Is it crazy that I’m already in love?” I asked. My palms pressed protectively to the swell of my belly.
“Absolutely not! I was in love with little Parker before I knew if he was a he or she,” Kira replied.
“Same, girl. Trace and Angeline owned my heart from the second I knew their tiny hearts were beating,” Korrie added.
Loralei pressed a hand to her own rounded belly. “I’m completely in agreement.”
Kira started to giggle, and Parker laughed in her lap.
“What’s so funny?” asked Loralei as she cocked her head to the side, giving Kira a look as if she’d lost her damn mind.
When Kira had control of her laughter, she wiped the tears from under her eyes and kissed Parker’s silky dark hair. “Look at us. We’re a walking talking baby factory. Must be something in the water at the clubhouse.”
My eyes went wide and I started to choke on my own damn spit. I grabbed my cup of water and gulped some down.
Korrie stared at me. My heart flipped and skipped as I watched the wheels in her head spinning. When her eyes bugged, I inwardly braced myself.
“It’s Chains,” she whispered.
“What?” I asked, pretending I had no clue what she was talking about. Another drink of water was in order to occupy my mouth.
“It’s Chains. He’s the dad, isn’t he?” she asked in a dramatic whisper. Everyone froze, and three stunned gazes locked on me.
“I—Why would you even think that?” I stuttered.
Korrie scoffed. “Look, your brother may be blind, whether it’s intentional or he’s really that dense, but we’ve all seen the way you two looked at each other. That man was damn near eating you alive with his eyes before he left.”
Inhaling deeply, I slowly let it out before casting a worried glance over my shoulder. “I don’t want the guys to know until I have a chance to tell Chains,” I said, tone heavy with worry.