“Okay,” Grace said with a nod. “I’ll try to do it all without crying.”
Bennett glanced back and forth between the ladies not sure if he should laugh or not. Relief flooded him as Makayla started to laugh and Grace joined in. He wasn’t sure he was equipped to handle a woman who had raging pregnancy hormones. From tears to laughter in minutes. It was enough to give him whiplash. He could only imagine what it would be like when Makayla got pregnant. She had enough mood swings as it was.
“So we’re good?” Bennett asked, just wanting to make sure that there was nothing else that might pop up without notice.
“We’re good,” Grace said, her usual calm, professional demeanor falling into place. “I just need to fix my makeup.”
“Well, let’s go,” Makayla said. “I think Bennett is getting ready to have a meltdown of his own, having to deal with us.”
Bennett didn’t bother to deny the comment since it was fairly close to the truth. He was going to need a guys’ night out after this. How did husbands deal with pregnant wives for a full nine months? Living with them, even, not just spending a few hours with them at work. It was definitely a mystery to him, but thankfully not one he would have to be solving since that wasn’t his role in Grace’s life.
“Are you sure that you should be doing this?” Bennett asked as he followed Grace into the amusement center where they had reserved the laser tag room for a joint bachelor/bachelorette party for Ethan and Makayla.
She stopped and turned around to look at him. “Why? Because I’m pregnant?”
“Well,” Bennett began, uncertain if he should continue given the look on her face. The arched brow and questioning expression made him scramble to find another excuse since it appeared the pregnancy one wasn’t going to fly with the expectant woman.
“I’m fine, Bennett. It might be different if I was nine months along or if I was playing against strangers, but I can still move relatively easily, and I trust everyone to not run me over.” She turned back to look around the large entryway of the amusement center. “Let’s find the guy I’ve been emailing about all this.”
Bennett followed Grace as she walked toward the large front desk. When she’d come up with the idea of doing a laser tag party at the amusement center, Bennett had had his reservations—and they’d all centered around whether it was a good idea for Grace. He had to accept the fact that she knew what was good for her and wouldn’t do anything that would jeopardize the baby.
It had been a busy few days since Grace’s meltdown in his office. Now they were in the final countdown to the wedding which would be on Friday night at the cabin out at the lake. Ryan, Kenton, and Gabe had all arrived the day before and would be joining the rest of the people that had been invited to the laser tag party. Grace had wanted to be there early to make sure everything was in order once everyone else arrived.
“Everything is ready for you,” the young man behind the desk assured her. “We also have the room set up as you requested.”
“Thank you so much. May I put some things in the room?” Grace lifted the bag she carried. “We brought a few decorations and other things.”
“Yep. Just follow me.”
Bennett trailed behind Grace and the young man, his thoughts all over the place. Ever since Kenton had arrived a couple of days earlier, he’d fought to be civil and not let the feelings from the past spill into the space he kept between the two of them. He’d resolved to not let anything overshadow Ethan and Makayla’s wedding.
“Can you help me with this stuff?” Grace asked when the man had left them alone in the room.
“Sure. What have you got?”
She came to stand next to him and fished through the bag she held. “Plates.”
Bennett took the plastic wrapped paper plates and looked at them. They were plain, but in the burgundy color Makayla had chosen for her wedding. He worked the plastic off them. “Did you want me to set them on the table or put them around the table at the seats?”
“We’ll just put them at the end of the table and then put the pizza and chips in the center. Erin is bringing a bunch of cupcakes.”
“Hopefully it’s a big bunch,” Bennett said as he set the plates onto the table. “I can never eat just one.”
“Well, you can have my share,” Grace offered then handed him a pack of napkins. “This baby has decided it doesn’t like sweets this week. Can you believe that?”
Bennett turned away to hide his smile. Grace sounded so appalled at the idea, which wasn’t surprising given that she usually loved anything sweet. “I’ll be happy to eat your cupcakes in addition to mine. Does what the baby likes change frequently?”
Grace dropped down into a chair as she continued to pull stuff out of the bag. “Sometimes it’s daily. Sometimes it’s weekly.”
“Any pickles and ice cream cravings?”
“Not yet, but I made sure to pick up a jar of pickles and some ice cream to have on hand just in case the craving hits in the middle of the night. I can’t be out chasing down craving ingredients at one in the morning.”
Bennett paused in ripping the plastic off the cups she’d handed him. Her words were a stark reminder that she was doing this on her own. Other pregnant women had husbands who would go out to get them what they craved. Grace didn’t.
“Well, you know that once you’ve moved back into the building, Tami, Makayla or I will be more than happy to do a craving run for you. Just give one of us a call.”
Grace stopped her rummaging and sat with her hands resting on the bag as she looked at Bennett, her face serious. “Why? That’s not any of your responsibility.”
“It’s not about responsibility. It’s about friendship.”
“I get that about Tami and Makayla, but what about you?”
Bennett stared at Grace for a moment, trying to decipher her words. Did she not consider him a friend? While they certainly hadn’t been close, and for awhile he had kind of avoided her because of the hurt she’d inflicted on him years ago. However, in recent years, he’d thought that they had come to a place of friendship—not as best friends, for sure—but friends nonetheless. That she didn’t feel the same hurt him more than he’d thought possible.
Without responding, Bennett returned his attention to the cups. It felt like his world had shifted just a bit. He really hadn’t dwelled too much on the roles they played in each other’s lives, especially since she’d married Franklin, but if his reaction to her words proved anything, it was that he’d at least assumed they were friends.
“Bennett—”
“Is this where the party’s at?” Gabe’s booming voice cut Grace off, which was just fine with Bennett. He had a feeling that he wouldn’t want to hear anything more that Grace had to say about their non-existent friendship.
He glanced over at his brother and spotted Kenton standing behind Gabe. Kenton was frowning, his gaze bouncing between Grace and Bennett. “Uh, Gabe…”
Bennett gave Kenton a subtle shake of his head and set down the pile of cups he’d finally freed from the plastic and picked up the next set. He resisted the urge to take his frustration out on the innocent party ware.
“How are you, Gracie Lou?” Gabe asked as he stooped to give her a hug. “I hear congratulations are in order.”
Grace reached up with one hand to grasp Gabe’s shoulder. “Thanks, sweetie. It’s good to see you again.”
“Wouldn’t miss this wedding for the world.” Gabe dropped down onto a chair next to her. “Are we eating before laser tagging?”
“No. I just wanted to get everything set up beforehand. We’ll be coming back here when we’re done.”
“What’s with the joint party, dude?” Gabe asked as he got back to his feet. He slapped Bennett on the shoulder.
“This was what Ethan and Makayla wanted.” Bennett glanced at Gabe and shrugged. “Since it’s their wedding, we do what they say.”
A few more of the guests drifted in before Ethan and Makayla showed up. Bennett was happy to se
e James Dawson walk in with his wife, Erin. And it had nothing—well, almost nothing—to do with the fact that they were carrying bakery boxes filled with cupcakes.
“How are you doing?” James asked once he’d set his boxes down on the table. “Keeping busy?”
Bennett had finally finished up with the party ware, so he stepped away from the table with James. “You know it. It’s been a bit crazy. We’ve been picking up business because of the issues Denton Homes had.” He crossed his arms, watching as his younger sister, Sammi, and Tami helped Grace finish setting up the table. “We’ve been doing interviews this week to get a little more help on the admin side as well as some guys for construction.”
“We heard that Grace was pregnant.”
Bennett nodded. “It was a surprise for all of us. Her most of all, I’m sure.”
He was glad for the conversation with James and a few of the other men that showed up. They usually had more socialization, but over the past month, he’d been so tied up with work, they hadn’t had much time with each other. Plus, with it being summer, quite a few people had been on vacation. James and Erin had gone to Scotland for three weeks with Erin’s foster sister, Noella and her Scottish husband, Finn. Even their small Bible study group had been on hiatus for the summer. It felt good to be back together again, even if they were going to be shooting at each other.
It wasn’t long before everyone who’d been invited was in the small room. One of the employees came in to explain how the laser tag would work and soon they were suiting up and taking possession of their weapons. They had planned to have two teams, but it couldn’t be girls against guys since their family and friends group tended to be testosterone heavy. Instead, they just counted off and split up.
As they filed into the laser tag area, Bennett put aside the incident with Grace and focused on having some fun with his closest friends and family. He and Kenton ended up on the same team, which surprisingly, didn’t bother him as much as it might have.
10
Everyone was in high spirits as they made their way back to the room where the food and cupcakes waited. There were six extra large pizzas in the middle of the table, and it didn’t take the group long after grace was said to make a significant dent in them.
Grace stood for a moment staring down at the pizzas, trying to figure out which one the baby would tolerate the best.
Ham and pineapple? No.
Veggies? Nope.
Meat Lovers? Definitely not.
Plain cheese it is.
Grace reached for a slice and put it on her plate. Truthfully, she wasn’t very hungry at all, but it had nothing to do with the baby. She just hadn’t been able to get her conversation with Bennett out of her head. Her comment had been a knee-jerk reaction to keep Bennett at a distance. When he’d mentioned being willing to do midnight runs for her cravings, she’d had a sudden moment of imagining what that might be like. That had taken her thoughts to a place where she wasn’t comfortable going.
Not yet.
Not ever.
Moving around the table, Grace found an empty seat between Sierra and Mitch. She was happy to be able to sit down. She was already starting to feel weird twinges in parts of her body. According to the pregnancy books she’d been reading, it was only going to get worse. Six more months and then everything would once again change for her future. Her job wasn’t going to be hers for much longer. And then what?
“Earth to Gracie. Earth to Gracie.”
Gracie glanced over at Mitch. “Hey, sweetie. What’s up?”
“I think that’s my question for you,” he said as he peered down at her plate. “I thought you were supposed to be eating for two. It seems like you’re barely eating for one.”
“Baby isn’t feeling it for pizza today.” Grace stared down at her slice of pizza seeing only how the grease sat in puddles on the cheese’s surface. She swallowed hard, wondering if she should have just stuck to the potato chips someone had brought. Her morning sickness might not be as gone as she’d hoped. Or maybe now she had just moved on to food aversions. Ever changing food aversions. At this rate, she wouldn’t have to worry about having to lose weight after the baby was born.
“What does baby feel like most days?” Mitch asked as he reached over and took the pizza from in front of her. Apparently, he wasn’t taking any chances that her lack of appetite might lead to an upset stomach or worse. He knew all about her pregnancy induced vomiting.
Grace picked up her glass and took a sip of water. And then another. “Water?”
“You’re gonna need more than that. You need to have a talk with that child of yours. Tell her that she needs to let you eat or else.”
“First of all, she?”
“Well, yeah, I happen to think it’s a girl,” Mitch said with a shrug.
“And second…or else?”
“That’s what Mom always used to say when we were acting up. You better do this or else.”
“Ah… I’ll make sure to have a conversation with…her.” Until that moment, Grace hadn’t thought too much about whether she’d be having a girl or boy, but Mitch’s comment brought the thought of her baby’s gender to the forefront of her mind.
As Mitch turned to talk to whoever was on the other side, Grace let her gaze search the room until it landed on Bennett. He stood talking to James, and if someone hadn’t known better, they might have taken them for brothers. Both were tall with dark hair and strong features. They were even dressed similarly in jeans and polo shirts.
Working with Bennett as best man and her as matron of honor had been a challenge for Grace. Every day she lived with the knowledge that she’d hurt him and that—as she’d proven again earlier—she just kept hurting him. She wondered if it would make any difference if he knew that she hurt too.
She looked over to where Kenton sat with two family friends—Forrest on one side and Tennyson on the other. Inadvertently, she’d dragged him into things she never should have, and she was pretty sure that what had transpired all those years ago between the three of them was the reason that Bennett and Kenton were estranged.
It was just more of the guilt she carried. Would Makayla still be her friend if she knew what she’d done to Bennett? And how she’d used Kenton?
Tension and anxiety churned within her, and Grace tried to keep her breaths even and steady. All of the sudden, it felt like everything that had been even slightly worrying her pressed down on her. Everything going on with Bennett and Kenton. The new person starting work at the company on Monday. Makayla’s wedding. The move. The pregnancy.
Life.
She was not prone to panic attacks. In fact, she had never had one. But that didn’t mean she didn’t recognize what was happening to her. However, the last thing she wanted was to have a panic attack at what was supposed to be a fun event for her friends.
Thankfully, conversations continued on around her which gave her the chance to slowly get her panic under control. One day at a time. That’s all she could do.
“Chips?”
Grace stared at the bag Mitch held out to her, running the idea of chips by her finicky stomach. Deciding it was worth the risk to get something into her system, she took the bag and dumped a handful onto her plate. “Thanks.”
Finally able to push aside her anxieties, Grace tuned into the conversations going on around her. Sierra was talking with Danica and Dalton about their upcoming school year. They had just a few weeks remaining until classes started up again. Mitch was joking with Tami about her continuing relationship with Keenan who, once again, hadn’t been able to join them because he was playing an out of town game. Grace was happy to see Tami open to having a relationship once again. She’d been turned off dating after a not-so-great relationship while she’d been in university and had continued to keep men at arm’s length through university and even after she’d started working.
When they’d been seniors in high school, before Grace’s grandmother had died, the three of them had come up with a wedding p
lan. Tami was going to be maid of honor for Grace, Grace was to be maid of honor for Makayla, and then Makayla was to fulfill that role for Tami. After Tami had sworn off relationships, she had offered to give up her role in Grace’s wedding so that Makayla could be maid of honor for Grace. Makayla had declined and insisted that Tami still be Grace’s maid of honor. Their wedding pact was still in place which was how she’d ended up with her role in Makayla’s wedding.
“Did you and Bennett have a hard time coming up with a plan for this?” Mitch asked.
Grace glanced over to where Bennett still stood. “No. I came up with a few different ideas to present to him and let him make the final decision. I had paintball, laser tag, bowling or roller skating.”
“Roller skating?” Mitch asked with an arched brow.
“Well, I figured since you all ice skate so well, roller skating would be a breeze.”
“Knowing our luck, one or more of us would have ended up with broken bones. Just a few days before the wedding.” Mitch grinned. “I think Makayla would have killed you.”
“At least I wouldn’t have been one of them since you wouldn’t catch me on skates at the moment. Bennett wanted something that everyone could do even though he still wasn’t convinced that laser tag was safe for me.”
“Over-protective Bennett in action once again,” Mitch commented as he dumped some chips on his plate. “I’m surprised the guy doesn’t have a head of gray hair courtesy of all the worrying he does about us younger sibs.”
Grace picked up a chip and nibbled on it. That one trait was what had attracted Grace to Bennett so long ago. She’d met him for the first time when he’d come to pick Makayla up from school one day early in their junior year. Bennett and Makayla had been arguing over Makayla’s plan to hang out with Tami, Grace, and a few other girls and guys from their class. She’d wanted him to come back an hour later, but he’d been certain that their mom and dad wouldn’t approve since they didn’t know the other kids.
For the Love of Grace: A Christian Romance (The Callaghans & McFaddens Book 2) Page 9