AllFreeNovel
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I turn at the sound of Elle’s voice. She finds me on the lower portion of our patio, where Noah has built a fire pit, curled under a blanket. There’s a fire burning, but I’m still chilly. In my hand, a glass of wine. I poured it, thinking this would be my last for a while and yet I haven’t touched it. I can’t seem to lift the glass to my lips to taste the sweet, berried drink.
“Hey.” I uncurl and move so my sister can sit next to me. “What are you doing here?”
Elle sighs. Something’s on her mind. She leans into me, wrapping her arm around mine. “Do you ever wonder how we got so lucky?”
A small chuckle escapes me. “Is that what you call this?”
She nods against my shoulder. “Our lives could’ve been vastly different . . .”
Elle doesn’t need to finish her thought. She’s right. Our lives could’ve been different. Hers at least. I feel in my heart I would’ve married Noah regardless. Would we be as well off as we are? Possibly not. But he could’ve still gone to the NFL or even Major League Baseball. He had options.
Who or what we wouldn’t have is Harrison, the man who stepped up and brought two five-year-old’s into his life and treated us as his own from the beginning. He’s never once let anyone believe we weren’t his daughters. And he’s never been jealous of our father. He took his last name so we’d all match. It doesn’t matter how many times I tell him, in all those mushy Father’s Day cards that he means the world to me, he truly does.
“Things happen for a reason, Elle.”
“They do. The world works in mysterious ways.”
“So do you,” I say as I nudge her. “What’s up?”
Elle sits up and faces me. “Don’t be mad. Okay?”
“Okay.” I’ll be mad no matter what because she told me not to, which means she’s about to say something to piss me off.
“I want you to hear me out before you interject.”
“Okay.”
She sits up a bit straighter. “Tomorrow, we start our shots,” she says. “And in two weeks, they’re going to take our eggs and make some embryos. Then implantation and if all goes according to plan, we’ll be pregnant. Together.”
I nod since she asked me not to say anything.
“I’ve been thinking that maybe I don’t do the procedure at the same time you do.”
“What? Why not? Isn’t that the whole point of doing this together?”
“It is, P. But I’m worried.”
She lets her statement hang in the air.
“I don’t think I could enjoy my pregnancy as much if I were to be pregnant and you weren’t,” she says as tears spill over. “You asked me to carry your baby for you and I told you no because Ben and I want to start a family. That weighs heavily on me. Me telling you no was the worst thing I’ve ever had to do. I want nothing more than to see you become a mom, but it would destroy me if in twenty days you don’t find out you’re pregnant and I am.”
“Please don’t cry.” I wipe my own tears and then pull my sister into my arms. “I know I’ll be sad, but I’ll be so happy for you and Ben. You guys deserve to have the baby you want.”
“And we will, but we’re waiting until after your procedure. Once we know it’s been successful and you have a baby growing in your belly, I’ll go in. Until then, my focus needs to be on you.” Elle lifts her shoulder slightly. “And the wedding I’m supposed to be planning.”
My eyes widen. “Shit, we forgot to go to the venue last weekend.”
“I blame Liam and his surprise trip. Why was he here, anyway?”
I glance toward the house, looking for Noah, even though I know he can’t hear me. “He’s struggling so I thought if his dad came, they could do the man-to-man thing. It seemed to work.”
“Don’t worry, Ben’s up there with him. What’s up with Noah, anyway? He seemed off at the appointment?”
“Football and this baby stuff. He hasn’t told me, but I think he feels like he’s letting me down. He’s not but you tell a stubborn man he’s wrong and see how well that goes.”
“Ben bought us a book on pregnancy. He’s reading it. I’m not. It has pictures and nope.” She shakes her head. “Anyway, he’s reading and fist pumps, so I’m like what are you doing? He tells me that women who breastfeed are more susceptible to getting pregnant again after childbirth because of all the hormones and shit—I don’t know I wasn’t listening—anyway, my husband says we don’t have to worry about that since he’s shooting blanks.”
“He’s pretty proud of himself, I see.”
