"You know, during this last pregnancy, I couldn't stand the scent of cooked steak. It was so weird because I love beef. My doctor said it had something to do with hormones."
I jerked my attention to her, blinking.
“I doubt Kate is pregnant. Maybe you just ate something that didn't sit with you,” Ethan said, putting more soy sauce on his food.
"That must be it." But on the inside, I was doing some quick math to figure out when I was supposed to have my period. Except I was on the pill, so it couldn't be that.
"Why not?" Lucy responded to Ethan’s comment as she poked a piece of chicken with her fork and popped it into her mouth.
"I'm not pregnant." I said it to her definitively, and then I looked at Ethan to reassure him.
"You know the pill isn't a hundred percent effective. It's not even 99% effective like it says on the package. At least, not in normal usage."
Ethan glared at her. "Why are you saying all this?"
Lucy shrugged. "I'm just saying, queasiness and not liking certain smells could be signs of pregnancy."
Ethan looked at me with an expectant stare.
I would admit that Lucy's comment about the effectiveness or lack thereof of the pill did give me a different sort of unsettling feeling in my stomach. But I quickly pushed it away.
More likely, I was under stress because I'd agreed to go to Thanksgiving with Sam and his family. Or it could be that my relationship with Sam in general was stressing me out because despite all my best attempts, I was falling for him again.
"It's not that. Ethan's probably right. It’s something I ate that didn't sit well." It didn't explain why I'd felt a little queasy before I even ate this morning, but I liked Ethan's answer best, so I was going to stick with that.
"It would be nice if you were pregnant. The cousins would be close in age."
I gaped at Lucy. Why was she harping on this?
"I certainly hope she isn't pregnant."
My head swiveled to Ethan, gaping at him. "What is that supposed to mean?" I didn’t know why I was feeling defensive since I agreed with his sentiment.
"I don't know what's going on between you and Sam, but it's clear that you're not going to love him again. I almost feel sorry for him, the way he’s mooning over you like a clueless puppy."
"Ethan!" Lucy stared at him in shock.
I had to agree that it was a surprising comment coming from Ethan.
"What?" He turned to look at me. "I'm still pissed at him for what he did to you. Say the word and I'll kick his ass."
"I don't need you to kick anyone's ass for me."
He gave a curt nod and went back to scooping up chicken and broccoli. "That's why you shouldn't be pregnant."
Lucy's eyebrows rose to her hairline, even more shocked by that comment.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I was shocked too. He wasn't wrong, but still, I didn't like the feeling that he thought I couldn't be a mother.
He picked up his wine, taking a sip. As he set it down, he fixed his gaze on me. "Because you don't trust people anymore, Kate. You're definitely not going to trust him. Raising a kid is hard enough with two parents. I can't imagine doing it alone. Plus, you own a business that you work at ten, twelve, fourteen hours a day."
"She's not alone, though." Lucy glared at Ethan before turning her attention to me. "You have me. And despite what Ethan is saying here, you have him too."
"What does that mean?" Ethan asked.
"It means you're not being very supportive."
He looked at me, reaching out to put his hand on my forearm. "Of course, I'm here for you no matter what. I'm just saying that I agree with you. I mean, you don't want to be pregnant, do you?"