Page 92 of Sudden Summer

“You don’t have to do this with us here.” Jessie’s face dropped as she spoke. “If you want to wait until you’re alone. I shouldn’t have assumed…”

I held out my hand, smiling as Jessie dropped the box into my hand like it was a bomb about to explode.

“I’m glad you both are here.” I passed Juniper’s bottle to Jessie. “She’s getting fussy, would you be able to⁠—”

“You don’t even need to ask!! I’ve missed my sweet girl…”

Two minutes later, I walked out from the bathroom, the test in my hand. My legs were a little wobbly as I sat on the couch, placing the test face down on the coffee table.

“Thank God for those little plastic caps. I would die to see Beau’s face when he finds out your pee was touching his coffee table,” Jessie teased.

“He’d probably be into that, actually,” I joked.

Jessie's face fell in horror. “Oh my GOD, Birdie! Ew! I didn’t need to know that.”

“Payback for the sun room text you and Hawk dropped in the family chat.”

“You weren’t supposed to know what that meant…” Her whole face had gone red. “Oh shit, let me start the timer on my phone!”

“Why does this feel like we’re about to launch a rocket into space?” I asked.

The girls giggled, but Vi’s warm, emerald eyes were back focused on me.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.” I blew out a harsh breath, wiping my hands on my shorts. “I mean…I’m nervous. I’ve only been dating Beau for like three weeks. He just found out he’s already a dad. The timing is just…”

“Hey,” Jessie interrupted my spiral, “you guys took thirty years to get to this point. I think everyone, including Beau, is hoping the next phase of things is quicker. The two of you could probably announce you were getting married tomorrow, and no one would bat an eye. Things work out when you’re with the person you’re meant for. We’ve all known it for years. It was about time you both caught up.”

I laughed. “It does feel so right…I don’t know. Maybe that’s why I’m so nervous; I don’t want to mess it up now. I don’t want to get my hopes up, either.”

The timer sounded, and Violet’s hand landed on my shoulder.

“Ready?” Jess asked.

“As I’ll ever be.” I took the test and flipped it over, immediately looking for the two lines to show I was pregnant.

But in the window, clear as day, was only one.

“It’s negative,” I whispered as I stood, taking the test with me into the bathroom and throwing it in the trash can. There was no point in stalling. The girls already knew I’d wanted it to be positive.

“Birdie…” Violet’s soft smile greeted me as soon as I stepped back in the room.

“It’s okay, really. That would have been awful timing, with everything going on with my job and the newness of this next step in our relationship. Beau is just trying to settle into life with Juniper.”

“With Juniper and you.”

I bit my lip, praying the tears I could feel starting to press against my eyes would not fall.

“I really wanted to believe I might be pregnant.” My shaky voice cracked, and I pulled my feet up onto the edge of the sofa, wrapping my arms around my knees.

“I know exactly how that feels, so whatever you need to say, whatever you need to do right now, we’re good with that. Right, Jessie?” Violet’s hand was gently running up and down my arm.

“Whatever you need, Birdie.”

My eyes wandered to Juniper, almost asleep in Jessie’s arms.

“Beau keeps talking about having more kids, can you believe that?” I scoffed. “The man who cried while I rested my head on his chest when Juniper came home, because he was so worried he wouldn’t be enough for her, wants more kids.”