* * *
“Noah and I talked about living arrangements post baby,” I tell my mom and Katie the next weekend over lunch. Noah is out of town again this weekend, shooting another wedding. He says he hates it, but after seeing the invoice laying on his desk, I understand why he agreed to do it. He’s making more this weekend in twelve hours than I do in three months.
No wonder he’s always offering to buy me stuff.
“Oh.” Mom’s eyebrows go up “And?”
“He’s going to live with us after Ella is born. Well, probably before too, actually. I don’t want to deal with moving stuff and a newborn at the same time.”
“Do you really want to do this, Lauren?” Mom asks.
“Yes. It’ll be a million times easier to live together and raise a baby.”
“You don’t do something just because it’s easy,” Mom reminds me.
“I’ve seen Harry Potter enough to know ‘easy’ and ‘right’ aren’t the same thing, Mom.” I shake my head and look at Katie for support, but she looks just as unsure as our mother. “And he’s moving in with me. If it doesn’t work for some reason, he’ll move back out. But I don’t think that’s gonna happen.”
“Honey,” Mom starts, “you made a poor choice the night you and Noah … you know.” She waves her hand in the air. “You didn’t mean to get pregnant. It was an accident—don’t worry, you know that I support you and my grandbaby no matter what. But you don’t accidentally move in with someone. You’re young. Yes, you will have a child, but that doesn’t stop you from living your life.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“She means don’t trap yourself with Noah,” Katie says bluntly. “Single moms date people other than their baby daddy.”
“Katie!” I exclaim, feeling betrayed. She gives Mom a sideways glance. Great, they’ve been talking about this without me. “Guys, I’m not selling my soul or anything. Yeah, I didn’t mean to get pregnant. Obviously. But it happened and Noah and I decided to give things a try and so far it’s working.”
“You said ‘so far,’ like you think it’s not going to work.” Katie pushes her salad around on her plate.
“Really? You’re going to pick apart my words?” I set my fork down, abandoning my pasta, and rest my hands on my stomach. “I’ve been skeptical. Very skeptical. Come on, you know me. Who’s better at coming up with the worst possible outcome of any situation than me?”
“She has a point,” Katie says and gets a glare from my mother. “And even Colin says Noah’s behaved since he found out.”
“He has!” That one incident at The Roadhouse doesn’t count, right? “I’m not going to deny Noah’s bad behavior in the past, but it’s in the past.”
Mom nods. “Old habits die hard, honey.”
“What, you don’t think I’m good enough for him? You think he’ll leave me for someone else?”
“Not at all,” Mom says carefully, seeing the tears in my eyes. “I don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all. You’re still my baby girl. You’ll understand when you hold your own little one.”
And now I’m close to crying again. Stupid hormones. I tip my head up and blink back the tears. “I know, and thanks for looking out for me. Just believe me when I say I want Noah to move in. Ella is his daughter too, and I really like being with him. There’s more to him than I ever would have guessed, and I like all the extra stuff I’m seeing.”
“He treats you well?” Mom questions.
“Very well. He makes me laugh, makes me feel pretty, even with this thing.” I pat my belly.
“Just be careful,” my sister says, eyes meeting mine. “I know how much you want a happily ever after. I don’t want you to force it.”
Doubt begins to creep over me. Am I forcing anything? “I’m not. Noah and I are taking things slow. We said from the start if being together as a couple didn’t work, we wouldn’t force it because neither of us want that.”
Mom nods. “Consider all your options, Lauren.”
I nod, take a deep breath, and reach for my lemonade. I guess I won’t bring up Noah wanting Ella to have his last name just yet. “I am, and I will. In the end, I want what’s best for Ella.”
“You’re a smart girl, Lauren. I know you’ll do the right thing.” Mom pats my hand and smiles. “Now, let’s talk about the baby shower.”
Chapter 18
NOAH