Page 79 of I Wanna Be Your Lager

“If it’ll hold your weight, it’ll surely hold the weight of a ten-pound baby.”

“Ten pounds?” Eve screeches.

“Could be twelve pounds,” Jake adds.

“Wait! Why is the number going up?” Her wide-eyed gaze flits between me and Jake.

“When you were born, you were a pretty big baby,” Jake says.

She presses a hand to her chest. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll have a big baby.”

“Genetics play a role in it,” I add. “So we need you to get in the crib.” I drop my arm and hold out my hand for Eve.

“Are cribs meant to hold the weight of adults?”

“No. But we’ve made a few…” I glance at Jake and shrug, “modifications.”

Eve’s lips press into a thin line. “If this collapses to the floor… I don’t know what I’ll do, but you’ll owe me. Owe me big. Both of you.” She points a finger between me and Jake. “I’m thinking a full spa day.” She turns to me. “And dinner. Like the best dinner anyone has ever eaten.”

I laugh. “Anything you want.”

Jake removes the side railing and rests it against the wall. With Eve’s hand resting in mine, she steps up into the crib and sits down in the middle, cross-legged.

A few seconds pass, and she blows out a breath. “I think we’re good.”

“Maybe we should leave you there all night just in case,” I tease.

“Oh, hell no! I’m not sleeping in the crib.” She uncrosses her legs, and I help her to her feet.

“Alright. I think my job here is done,” Jake says.

Eve wraps her arms around him in a hug. Jake reluctantly hooks his arm around her waist. “Thank you.” I don’t know if it’s for helping with the crib or coming here to mend our friendship. Maybe both.

After they release each other, he clasps my shoulder. “Take care of her. If you don’t, I know where you live.”

I smile at him. “Got it.”

Eve walks Jake to the front door. After it clicks shut, her feet pad up the stairs and meet me in the nursery. She wraps her arms around my waist. “So everything is back to normal?”

I brush a strand of hair off her forehead. “Is it the way it was? No. But it’s a new normal. It might take time.”

“Good, because I really didn’t want to have to make a choice between my brother and my boyfriend.”

“We’re a title now?”

“Boyfriend seems easier than ‘guy I slept with, who didn’t get me pregnant, but now I’m currently sharing a townhouse with.’ ‘Boyfriend’ has a better ring to it.”

“And I finally get to sleep next to my girlfriend with no interruptions or sneaking out early in the morning.” I spin her in my arms so she’s facing me. My thumbs brush over her cheeks, and I drop my forehead against hers. She lifts her chin, pressing her soft lips to mine.

She pulls away slightly. “I have a twenty-five-week ultrasound next week. It was pushed back a few times due to scheduling conflicts, but since I’ve been feeling fine, Sofia said itwas okay. Anyway, it’s routine. To make sure the baby is healthy. If you want to?—”

“Yes.”

She laughs. “I didn’t even finish.”

“If you’re asking me if I’ll go with you, the answer is yes. I would want nothing more than to be there with you.”

This baby may not biologically be mine, but it feels like it is. I’ll be there for both of them as if it is.

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