PMU Boxset 2

by MacMillan, Jerica

  And since I know telling them will only be met with judgment and condemnation, it’s so much more important to me that Chris be happy too. I really, really, really want the excitement and the belly kiss and the tears in his eyes and the dreaming about all the things we’ll do once the baby’s here. I didn’t even realize how much I desperately need that from him until right this moment. And even though he’s done nothing to make me think he’d be anything other than supportive at a bare minimum, way deep down inside, the scared little girl part of me that always felt judged and alone is worried he’ll be mad. Or upset. Or … not happy.

  “Megan.” He jostles me to get my attention. “You’re starting to worry me now. Please just tell me. Whatever it is, we’ll handle it, okay?”

  “Nothing’s wrong, Chris. It’s good news.” I smile up at him, unable to help the dramatic pause so I can swallow down all my fears and believe in all the good in our relationship. “I’m pregnant.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Chris

  “I’m pregnant.” I blink at my girlfriend as the words echo in my head, bouncing around until they fracture apart, meaningless, and put themselves back together again.

  “Chris?” she asks, her voice tentative, uncertain.

  I gasp, pulling her in and wrapping her in a giant hug, picking her up off the ground. Then I put her back down in a hurry, but not so fast I drop her, because … “You’re pregnant? We’re having a baby?” I hope I didn’t hurt her or squeeze her too hard.

  Now she’s laughing, and tears glitter on her lower lids as she nods, still hanging onto my arms. “Yes.” A tear slides down her cheek. “I’m pregnant. I found out a few days ago, but you’ve been so distracted and busy, and I didn’t want to tell you on the phone.” She’s talking so fast her words are running into each other, but I’m well versed in Megan spilling out all the information she’s been holding onto, so I’m keeping up just fine. “And then you were so tired when you got here, and then we had the Christmas party, and then you had to get your speech together, and I didn’t know if you’d be happy or upset, and I didn’t want to stress you out more than you already were—”

  I cut her off with a fierce kiss. “You didn’t know if I’d be happy?”

  She lifts one shoulder in a shrug.

  “Babe,” I say softly. “Megan. I love you. I love everything about you. Of course I’m happy to have a kid with you.”

  Her shoulders slump, and she lets out her breath in a whoosh. “It’s just … it wasn’t planned. And I was on birth control. And …”

  She trails off as I shake my head, dismissing all of those concerns. “I’m happy,” I tell her. “I promise.”

  Those seem to be the right words, because her smile firms and widens. “Yeah? Me too.”

  Unable to help myself, I pull her in for another hug, picking her up and spinning her around as she laughs. When I set her back on her feet, I kiss her, this time slow and deep, pouring all my emotions into the kiss. Yeah, maybe it wasn’t planned. But our kid is going to be the coolest. With a pro ball player as a dad and an artist as a mom, how could it not be?

  Ending the kiss, I pull her arm through mine again and point us in the direction of the car. “Come on. You’re pregnant, so we gotta get you out of the cold.”

  She laughs at that statement. “I’m pregnant, not fragile. If I get too cold, I’ll let you know.”

  I shrug. “Still. Plus, we have an afterparty to get to. And now we need to stop somewhere and pick up champagne”—I glance at her—“and sparkling cider for you before we get to Lance’s. We need to celebrate.”

  She lets me open her door for her when we get to the car, looking up at me before I close it, a hint of doubt once again shadowing her features. “You’re really happy about this? For real?”

  Bending, I kiss her. “For real,” I reassure her, my face inches from hers as I look deep into her eyes, hoping that will broadcast my sincerity. “My parents will be thrilled they’re going to be grandparents, too.” Her face falls, and that’s when things click into place. I suck in a deep breath. “But your parents won’t be.” She shakes her head, her lips forming the word no, but no sound coming out.

  Sometimes I forget that she still wishes her parents would come around. After that fateful Thanksgiving when I showed up at their house and her dad demanded that she move back home and we walked out together, I dismissed them entirely. Even if we got married yesterday, they’d never approve of me, of our relationship, of Megan. She’s not the weak, abused little girl they want her to be. She’s a fiercely strong woman who’s fought to overcome so much of the damage they tried to inflict on her. But this wound still runs deep, and even though she hides it most of the time, in situations like this, it becomes more obvious.

  I crouch down and wrap my arms around her. “This baby will be loved,” I whisper. “So loved. And we will make sure that he or she can be whoever and whatever they want. And they will know they’re loved no matter what.”

  She nods against my shoulder, her tears dampening my neck.

  “I love you,” I tell her. “You are also loved, no matter what. I will always be here for you and for our baby, and my parents will too. Whatever you want, whatever you need, we’ve got you.”

  She pulls back and looks me in the face. “Thank you,” she whispers. “I really needed to hear that.”

  I tuck a curl behind her ear. “I will tell you that as often as you need, okay? I meant it before when I said that we’d handle whatever. We’ll handle this too. When we get back home, I’ll give Sanderson a call. His wife just had a baby. They can give us tips on the best doctors in the area, and we can start making a plan. This is good news. And now we need to go tell all our friends so they can celebrate with us.”

  She smiles and wipes her cheeks, running her ring fingers under her eyelids. “You’re right. It is good news. A doctor recommendation would be nice, because I feel so lost, and I don’t have any friends with babies to ask for help.” She settles her hands in her lap and looks at me with affection clear on her face. “I love you. I’m glad you’re happy.”

  I give her one last brief kiss. “Of course I’m happy. I have you. Everything else is just gravy.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Matt

  Chris and Megan don’t arrive until about twenty minutes after the rest of us, and when they do, Chris bursts through the door holding a champagne bottle aloft. “It’s time to celebrate!” he declares.

  Everyone just kind of stares at him for a beat, then Megan giggles and steps under his raised arm, her face flushed and smiling. “I’m pregnant,” she announces clearly into the silence. “I just told Chris, and as you can see, he’s a little excited.”

  A beat of silence greets her announcement, and then the room erupts in gasps and congratulations. Abby makes a beeline for Megan and gives her a big hug, and Lance steps up to slap Chris on the shoulder.

  Chris is all smiles as he accepts Lance’s congratulations and then turns to me when I approach, hand extended. “Congrats, man. That’s awesome. I’m happy for you guys.”

  “Thanks, man.” Chris pumps my hand a few times and hands off the champagne bottle to Lance, who leads the way to the kitchen. I trail behind them, watching from the doorway as Lance pulls down a variety of glasses—a couple of champagne flutes and the rest regular drinking glasses.

  “Here.” Chris sets down another green glass bottle on the counter. “This one’s for Megan. Or anyone who just doesn’t want champagne.”

  “Nice,” Lance says as he proceeds to open the champagne.

  Abby puts a hand on my shoulder and scootches past me with a smile, quickly stepping close to Lance and picking up one of the champagne glasses just as he’s about to pull the cork. “Here, let me,” she says, positioning the glass under the neck of the bottle and expertly catching the bubbles that cascade out.

  Lance tilts his head toward Chris. “That’s for him. Megan’s getting the other flute with sparkling cider. Then we’ll use t
he other glasses for the rest of us.”

  “Then we’ll have a toast,” I say as Abby hands Chris the glass.

  I help pass around the champagne and sparkling cider and stand in the middle of the room, my glass held aloft. “To Chris and Megan and their new baby.”

  Echoes of, “To Chris and Megan,” and, “Cheers!” ring out as we all sip our drinks, then everyone settles back into conversations, taking turns flocking around the lucky couple.

  I stand off to the side and watch, content to let the conversation flow around me at this point, honestly kinda shocked by the fact that they’re the first ones to get pregnant.

  Not that I think they’ll be bad parents. On the contrary, I’m sure they’ll be great. I just never really pictured Chris as a dad. I guess some part of me still sees him as the playboy, almost-college-dropout that he was when we lived together, even though he pulled up his grades and graduated and has been with Megan for years.

  My money was on Abby, personally. They’re the only ones of us who’ve actually tied the knot, after all. They’re both out of school, Lance has a stable job with good benefits, and Abby freelances. Though for what I’m hoping for, it’s good that it’s not Lance and Abby. No way would he leave his job if she were pregnant.

  Mostly it’s just a shock that any one of us is having a kid in the foreseeable future. It’s bonkers. I still feel like the same twenty year old I was when we moved into this house. But I’m not. I have a degree, a long-term girlfriend who lives with me, my own business …

  Speaking of business, I turn and see Lance heading for my spot holding up the wall. He lifts his chin in a gesture of greeting. “Crazy, isn’t it?” he says.

  I nod. “I was just thinking the exact same thing.”

  “Good for them, though. They both seem excited about it, even if it wasn’t planned.”

  That revelation has me turning to face him directly. “I wondered about that.”

  Lance shrugs, once again looking over our group of friends scattered around his living room, jackets and ties discarded, shoes off, relaxed and happy. “Things happen, y’know? It’s good, though. They’ll be fine, and that kid will be spoiled rotten.”

  Laughing, I agree. “And have a bohemian streak a mile wide.”

  Turning back to me, Lance lifts an eyebrow. “What about you? Any Matt Juniors on the horizon?”

  This time my laugh is more spluttering shock. “No. Not unless it happens like it did for them. Hannah’s getting her feet under her at a new job. I’m looking to hire a new marketing person and keep expanding my business. Now’s not the best time to add a baby to the mix. Speaking of …”

  Lance looks down at the glass of champagne in his hand, turning it back and forth a few times before draining it. “Yeah … about that.”

  My stomach sinks. I already know what he’s going to say before he even says it.

  “Abby and I were talking …”

  “She doesn’t want you to give up your job.”

  He meets my eyes. “That’s not … Actually, she told me to take the job with you if it was what I wanted.”

  “Right,” I say, nodding like a bobblehead. “Okay. Sure. So you just don’t want to work with me. I get it. No worries, dude. I’ll uh … I’ll … shit.”

  “You’ll set up a meeting with me for next week and listen to my proposal.” When I force myself to meet Lance’s eyes again, they’re not full of pity or pain at letting down a friend. No, they’re actually full of fire, his face lit up in the way it only gets when he’s seriously excited about something. “I love the idea of your company, Matt, and I would be thrilled to get to come on a trip with you once or twice a year as a perk of handling your marketing. But I also like the variety of handling a whole stable of clients and working with my team to make the best use of someone’s marketing budget. We’re fantastic at our job, and I think we could make better use of your money if you contract with us to work on this for you rather than you having to hire me. Besides, man, I looked at the financials you sent over and you really can’t afford me as an employee. Not making what I’m making now. And you can more than afford the agency fee, which is one hundred percent a business write off, and you don’t have to worry about payroll taxes.”

  At first I’m not sure what to say or how to react to this. I had an idea in my head of what I wanted, how I wanted to run my company, and I’d built up this fantasy of working with one of my best friends, him and Abby and Hannah and me all traveling and surfing together and having the time of our lives.

  But he said no. Except not really. He’s just tweaking the parameters. I’d still be working with one of my best friends, but I wouldn’t be his boss, which, to be honest, could’ve definitely put a dent in our relationship eventually. And we could still do the traveling and having fun, too.

  Blinking a few times while all the new pieces click into place, I let out a breath and nod. “Alright. I’ll call you on Monday and set something up.”

  Lance grins, relief taking over his face. “Good. I was hoping I could convince you to go for it. I think it could work out well for all of us.”

  He holds out a hand for me to shake, and I take it, my own grin taking over as I really take in the picture he’s painted. “Yeah, man. I think you might be right.”

  “Lance! Dude, get over here,” Chris calls from his place on the couch. “We need you to settle something.” Abby and Megan are both staring at him with narrowed eyes.

  “Uh oh,” Lance mutters. “Better go play referee.”

  “Good luck,” I tell him, laughing. Better him than me, for sure.

  Hannah steps up next to me, slipping an arm around my waist. I wrap my arm around her and pull her in close, sighing in contentment. All is right with the world with Hannah next to me, even if Lance did just throw me a curveball. A good one, but still not what I was expecting.

  “What’d he say?” she asks, confirming that she was watching my entire conversation with Lance.

  “He said he wants me to come in for a meeting to listen to his proposal.”

  Her shoulders slump under my arm. “So he didn’t take the job?”

  I shake my head. “No. But don’t worry. I think he’s right that this will work out better for everyone.” I pull her around in front of me and drop a kiss on her sweet, pink lips, still flavored with the champagne. “He’ll still run all my marketing, just from his position at the agency. He doesn’t have to give up anything, I still get one of my friends helping me out, and you still get to go do what you love.”

  Her face brightens. “Really? You’re okay with not having someone in-house?”

  I contemplate her question for a moment, checking in with myself, and then nod. “Yeah, I really am. It’s Lance, not some random stranger, so I trust him. This’ll be good. For all of us.”

  She smiles and gives me a squeeze. “Good. Then we have even more to celebrate tonight. I’ll get more champagne.”

  Before she can wriggle out of my arms, I let my hand slip down to cup her ass and use the growly voice that I know turns her on. “Oh, yeah. We’ll have plenty to celebrate later when we get home.”

  Her eyes darken with lust, and she gives me a coquettish smile as she rubs her tits against my chest. “We definitely will.”

  And with that, she spins away, her laugh trailing behind her as she heads for the kitchen.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Lance

  Evan and Layla and Daniel and Elena are the last to leave, though they don’t linger for long after Chris, Megan, Matt, and Hannah bundle up and head out.

  Abby gives hugs to Layla and Elena, promising Elena they’ll get together soon and telling Layla to be sure to plan something for the next time they’re in town. I exchange fist bumps with the guys as they settle their coats on their shoulders.

  “Thanks for coming, guys,” I tell them.

  Evan grins at me. “Thanks for having us. I know we’re kinda tagalongs, but we had fun anyway.”

  I scoff. “You’re not t
agalongs.”

  Daniel gives me a doubtful look, but doesn’t verbally disagree.

  Abby laughs, and squeezes between us to give them each a hug in turn. “The secret is that we’re all tagalongs. Lance, Chris, and Matt are the three who started this group. Then I came in and brought Megan along with me. Then Matt found Hannah again, and you guys all came with her. You’re always welcome here. Don’t be strangers.”

  “Thank you,” Layla says, the comment mostly directed at Abby, but she glances at me to let me know I’m included too. Which is nice. It seems like she’s remembering that she’s not such the odd one out here. She and Abby have a lot in common in terms of personality. She seemed to stay closest to Abby and Elena tonight, so hopefully she felt comfortable enough. I suppose the fact that she didn’t convince her boyfriend to bug out early with her is proof enough that she wasn’t too uncomfortable.

  “Drive safe going across the pass,” I tell Evan, same as I told Chris and Megan before they left.

  Evan waves a hand. “We’ll be fine. It wasn’t too bad coming over, and the weather’s been good while we’ve been gone.”

  We exchange another round of goodbyes, and then they’re all out the door. Once the door closes behind them, Abby lets out an audible sigh of relief.

  Grinning, I turn to face her. “Happy everyone is gone?”

  She gives me a return smile and steps into my open arms. “I enjoyed having everyone here, but it’s been a busy few days, and yes, I’m glad for the quiet and for all of them going back to their own places.”