Page 72 of Heartbeats & Highways

“Mind if we join you?” Brielle asked.

“Not at all. I’m dying to know what happened between you and Homer,” I said with a laugh.

“And I’m dying to know why Homer brought you here and gave you the day off,” Brielle said.

I sighed. “Jazz first. Then I’ll spill.”

“He told me I wasn’t going on a date tonight and that I needed to cancel,” Jazz said with an arrogant grin.

“And you punched him in his face, right?” Brielle asked.

“Nope. I said I’d cancel.” Jazz took a small sip of her drink. “But I’m not going to.” She looked at Brielle. “By the way, I know you were the one who told him I was going on a date in the first place.”

“Just trying to move this relationship along. You’ve been really tightly wound, you know. So the sooner you and Homer get together, the happier we’ll all be. Plus, my parents are dying for grandbabies.”

“I’m not ready for babies,” Jazz said, but then she immediately contradicted what she said because her eyes went glassy with longing. “Mhmm. Homer babies . . .”

I lifted my hot chocolate to my lips to hide my smile.

“Your turn,” Brielle said to me.

“I’m guessing your brothers didn’t tell you. . .”

“Tell me what?” she asked.

“I’m pregnant,” I said.

They sat in stunned silence.

“And before you ask, no it’s not Savage’s. The father is my deceased husband. Savage is my . . . boyfriend, and he’s made it clear that he’s sticking around. Oh, and I found out today at the clinic that I’m actually having twins.”

“That’s a lot of information all at once.” Brielle cleared her throat. “So you had a husband . . .”

“Yeah.”

When it was clear I wasn’t going to elaborate, Brielle raised her brows and said, “So, er—congratulations?”

Jazz scratched her cheek. “Yeah, should we be happy for you or . . .”

I paused. “Happy. Mostly happy. There’s a lot of terrified in there too, but definitely happy.”

“I don’t know what’s crazier. The twin thing or the Savage being your boyfriend thing,” Jazz murmured.

I knew how important it was for Savage to tell Willa and Duke first that I was his Old Lady, so I didn’t divulge that now. But it would’ve explained why Savage was willing to raise the babies as his own.

“Yeah, this week has kind of been a whirlwind.” I shook my head. “That’s why Homer drove me here and gave me the day off. He came into work, and I was crying behind the counter. He saw the sonogram and?—”

“You have a sonogram?” Jazz asked.

I nodded.

“Can I see it?”

“Sure.” I opened the folder on the table and handed it to her.

She stared at it. “Oh, wow. Yeah. Twins.”

“Twins,” I repeated. “I was freaked out and crying and he drove me here and gave me the day off. He did it while growling and grumbling, but he’s just a big teddy bear. He did not like being called that, FYI. And I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but it’s true.”

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