Page 23 of Baby Me

“Silvia, are you sure it’s okay for us to invade yourhome?”

“Absolutely, love. As long as you can come up with a shower schedule, I’m always happy to have guests. We only have a small tank of water, so unless you’re the first one in, you’re out ofluck.”

“Oh, I’m sure we can work something out.” Evie hooked her arm into mine and gave me her full Barbie smile. “Come, I’ll show you where your roomis.”

“I’ll see you soon?” I askedCameron.

Instead of replying, he took three long steps toward me and kissed me hard on the lips, as if he wanted to make a point in front of Evie, who had never let go of my arm. While I appreciated his gesture, I hoped that Evie didn’t need a reminder that he was taken. Was I wrong? He let go of my lips, and I felt light-headed.

Cameron glanced to the side and gave our friend a knowing look. “Evie, remember when we talked about personalspace?”

She let go of my arm and stepped to theside.

“Will you be okay here on your own?” he asked, smoothing his thumb lovingly over mycheek.

“Of course Iwill.”

“Are yousure?”

“I’m pretty sure that if I survived Cortez, I can survive Evie,” I said in a lowvoice.

He chuckled. “Are yousuresure? She can be ahandful.”

“I can handle myself. Ipromise.”

“If you go across the street to the diner, they have delicious breakfast pancakes. Ask for the Canadian maple syrup. I should be back beforelunch.”

The loss of his touch brought immediate chills to mybody.

“I’ll bring your fluffy sweater aswell.”

“I was kind of getting used to your sweatshirt,” Iwhispered.

“Then keepit.”

“Hurryback.”

I kissed him once more and then followed Silvia inside the house, where she showed me our bedroom. Fortunately, there weren’t any bunk beds, and Evie’s bedroom was on the other side of the house. Now it was up to me to ensure that she didn’t forgetthat.

* * *

Over the nextweek and a half, we settled into a routine at Silvia’s. Every morning, Cameron left for a few hours to oversee the construction at the cabin, and I helped Silvia with the feeding, cleaning, cooking, and laundry. I never thought there could be so many towels and rags that needed to be washed daily. Evie stayed out of the way for the most part, especially in the mornings and evenings when most of the work had to be completed. It was like she had a sixth sense about chores, and she disappeared before we even had a chance to ask for herhelp.

I wasn’t sure where she went and decided not to worry. Instead, I took the opportunity to appreciate the quiet because when Evie was around, peace was a rare commodity. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her; in fact, I liked her more than I’d expected to, but her attention-seeking nature threw me off guard. When Evie was around, she was not only loud and constantly chit-chatting, but also very distracting. And it seemed that every day she found a new way to get under myskin.

Feeling more irritable than usual the morning of our Thanksgiving dinner, I decided to take a pregnancy test. I hadn’t missed my period, but something was off with my body, and I wasn’t sure what it was. My boobs hurt, my appetite had dwindled, and I could barely function without taking a mid-daynap.

I sat on the closed toilet seat, waiting for the slow second-hand to tick through the three-minute mark before I looked at thetest.

“Why are you so nervous?” Cameron was sitting on the bathroom floor with his back against thedoor.

“I don’t know how to feel aboutthis.”

“You don’t wantit?”

“No, I do want it. I’ll be disappointed if it’s negative, but if it’s positive… I don’t know… I’ve never been at this moment in my life before. I don’t know what toexpect.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you’ll make a greatmother.”

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