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“You and Tyler never dated before, did you?”
Amelia took a sip of her water and shook her head. “No. We’ve only ever been friends. You know how I am with men. If we’d dated, we would’ve broken up by now. It was always more important to have him in my life than to act on some physical impulse.”
“Natalie said he was hot. Like, Chris Pine hot. How could you go all those years without so much as kissing him?” Gretchen asked.
The simplest answer was that she just hadn’t allowed her mind to go there. Yes, he was handsome. All the things they’d talked about in the coffee shop earlier were correct. He had a lot of the attributes she valued in a prospective partner. But in the end, he was just Tyler. That canceled out a lot. “We did kiss once, in tenth grade. This stupid girl dared us at a party in front of everyone.”
“And?”
“And—” she shrugged “—it was awkward. I only have a sister, but I thought that might be what it was like to kiss your own brother. Zero chemistry. A very uncomfortable experience. After that, it was easier to keep things platonic.”
“Tell me it was better the second time around,” Gretchen groaned.
“It was. A million times better.” Amelia should’ve taken into consideration that their first kiss had been with an audience of their peers. On a dare. They’d been fifteen and she had braces. Neither of them had had much experience to go on. It had been a recipe for disaster, but what a difference a dozen or so years could make! “I honestly couldn’t believe I was kissing the same person. Even knowing it was Tyler and I shouldn’t be doing that, I couldn’t stop myself.”
“What happens in Vegas...” Gretchen said, as though that explained everything.
And in a way, it did. The lights and the alcohol and the heightened emotions inspired you to move out of your comfort zone and do something exciting for a change. Unfortunately, not everything that happened there stayed there. The consequences had followed her home.
“What did Tyler say to change your mind about getting divorced all of a sudden?” Bree asked as she thoughtfully twirled her long blond hair around her finger. “You’ve already had a month to think about it, and I was pretty sure you were set on that when you left.”
And now they came to the part she was avoiding. “I was. We were. But um...things changed. I, uh...”
“You’re pregnant,” Natalie stated. There wasn’t an accusatory tone to her voice, just quiet resignation. She gave Natalie a lot of grief for being uptight, but she was very observant. She saw everything, even the things people tried to hide.
Amelia couldn’t respond so she just nodded, thankful that Natalie had saved her from saying the words aloud a second time today.
“Wait, what?” Bree nearly shrieked. “You’re pregnant and you haven’t mentioned it yet? How could you leave that massive detail out of the story?”
“One bombshell at a time, okay?” Amelia frowned. “I just found out and I’m still a little shell-shocked by the whole thing. I mean, it’s as though my whole life has gone irrevocably off course. You think it’s bad to marry your best friend on a whim? Find out you’re having his baby, too. There’s no pretending it didn’t happen anymore. There’s no annulling it and sweeping the memory of it under the rug.”
“That’s why you’re trying to stay together,” Gretchen noted, the pieces finally clicking together for her. “What will you do if it doesn’t work out? Get divorced and work out a custody arrangement?”
“Yes. It will be okay, though. We’ve agreed that no matter what, we’ll stay friends.”
“Um, Amelia,” Natalie said, “you don’t really think that’s going to happen, do you?”
“Of course it will,” she insisted. They’d been friends for fourteen years. They could do it. Of course, that had been without sex and emotions and custody agreements in the way.
“I’m not trying to upset you,” Natalie clarified, “but you need to be prepared for this. At the end of the month, you two might break up. And it may go okay for a while, but eventually things are going to fall apart. You’ll try for the good of your child, but it will get hard. I’ve seen it happen. He’ll show up late to bring the kid back from his weekend and you’ll get irritated. You’ll want the baby for a holiday that’s supposed to be his and you’ll argue about it. Make the most of these thirty days, Amelia. If you don’t have a husband when the time is up, don’t plan on having a best friend for much longer after that.”
She hadn’t thought about that at all. She was certain they would be okay, but she had seen it happen to other people. If she thought sex might ruin their friendship, shared custody and a strained relationship would certainly do it.
Natalie reached out and placed a hand over Amelia’s. The supportive gesture made tears threaten in her eyes. She never cried. Hated to, actually. She always saw it as a weak feminine gesture her mother used to manipulate her father. But in the moment, all the emotions and worries of the past few weeks came to a head and before she could stop them, teardrops started spilling over her cheeks.
r /> “Damn hormones,” Amelia lamented.
“Aw, honey, it will be okay.” Bree got up and snatched a tissue from the other side of the room to give to her. “Everything is going to work out, I know it.”
“It absolutely will,” Gretchen chimed in. “No matter what happens with Tyler after the thirty days are up, you’re going to be a great mom. We’re going to throw the greatest baby shower in the history of baby showers. And I’ll paint a mural in the nursery. We can even turn the extra office into a playroom with toys and a crib so you can bring the baby to work. Bree’s getting married soon—we could have babies all over the place before too long.”
Bree’s eyes widened a touch and she choked on the last sip of her latte. “Um, yeah,” she said with a rough cough to clear her lungs. “Babies all over the place.”
Amelia had to smile through her tears. She really did have amazing friends. Gretchen was right. No matter what happened with Tyler, things would work out. Neither the marriage nor the baby had been planned, but she would make it through this. “Thank you, guys. I feel a lot better, now.”
“That’s what girlfriends are for,” Natalie said with a soft smile. “You know we’re always here to celebrate, commiserate or eviscerate. Whatever you might need.”
“Okay. For right now, all I need is to keep this quiet. Please don’t mention it to anyone. Really. No Facebook posts, no offhand comments when clients are here, no telling my mom I’m at the obstetrician if she calls and I’m not around. We’re keeping all of this a secret until we decide what we’re going to do. You guys are the only ones that know.”
