Page 28 of In This Together

Of course, she knew it was ironic to give her sister couples advice when her own love life was less than ideal.

‘For a bright woman, Sofia, you have let yourself get into a ridiculous situation.’ Just like her, Andrea thought. ‘You keep expecting Jay to change, to be an upstanding husband and start a glorious family with you, where he picks up the kids from daycare whilst you work your dream job. Leopards and spots, Soph. He won’t change.’

Leopards and spots. God, she was an idiot. Hunter was never going to leave his wife. He was never going to fall in love with her. They would never have a normal relationship. Did she even want that?

And as she realised she had been venting as much about Hunter as Jay, she noticed three pairs of eyes fixed on her.

Okay, she had overstepped, but that didn’t make her statements – whether about Hunter or Jay – any less true. ‘He’s taking you for a fool,’ she said, before draining her wine and wagging a finger at Marco to top her up.

She waited for Sofia’s retort and an argument to ensue. She would deserve the embarrassment of a showdown in the middle of a public place. Sofia rolled her jaw, glowering at Andrea. Then she inhaled deeply and said… nothing, which was somehow worse.

They’d fallen into uncomfortable silence until Rosalie said, ‘Hannah, how is TJ doing? Is he over his bug fully now?’

‘Was TJ sick?’ Sofia asked, finally breaking her stare.

‘Just a twenty-four-hour thing but nursery wouldn’t take him for two days. Ros was an absolute godsend, in a million ways. Cleaning up sick, cleaning myhouse, bringing TJ into the city. I thought he wouldn’t want to come back to me.’ Hannah chuckled, resting a hand on Rosalie’s knee.

Rosalie looked down to Hannah’s hand, then suddenly said, ‘Ladies… I think I’m going to have a baby.’

At that unfortunate moment, Andrea’s mouthful of wine sprayed out across the counter – it was that or choking.

‘You’re pregnant?’ Hannah asked, shock as evident in her voice as in Andrea’s spit up.

‘No, not yet, but I’m going to be.’ Rosalie reached for her purse on the counter and took out her phone. Tapping in her passcode, she pulled up a website and displayed the screen for them all to see. ‘I’ve found this agency called Swans. It matches you up to a baby daddy.’

‘Like a sperm donor?’ Hannah asked.

‘Kind of but not exactly. So I’ll fill in a checklist of what I consider essential and what I consider desirable in a man who would be the father of my child. Somewhere, a man will have done the same about his ideal mommy. The Swans agency matches our profiles and we, you know, make a baby.’

‘Wait, wait, wait,’ Sofia said, sitting up straighter in her seat. ‘So you guys – man and woman – both want to make a baby? Then who gets the baby?’

Rosalie beamed. ‘Well, that’s why it’s so much better than a donor. We both do.’

Andrea was aware of how comical she must have looked as she rubbed her temples and scratched her brow, trying to follow the idea. ‘It’s like a dating agency but for people who want to make babies?’

Rosalie sipped her drink and shook her head. ‘No, we both want to have a baby but haven’t found the right person, so we agree to make the perfect baby together, and we share custody. It’s just like parents who got divorced. Except much nicer because we won’t fight. See?’

‘Ros, I hate to point out the obvious here but there are no perfect babies,’ Hannah said. ‘Besides that, I mean parenting isn’t easy sharing it with the man you love, never mind a stranger.’

Rosalie drew her lips into a pout and nodded slowly. ‘I see. Silly Rosalie, that’s what you’re all thinking, isn’t it? She isn’t responsible enough for a child. She isn’t responsible enough to have a demanding job or husband. She only loves shoes, and purses, and… and clothes and…’ She stood from her stool and stuffed her cell phone back in her purse. ‘Shame on you, my so-called friends.’

God, she could be dramatic and ridiculous… in equal measure.Babysitting a tantrum-taking Rosalie was even lower on Andrea’s list of priorities than sitting in this bar. Still, she stood and reached out to grab Rosalie’s hand before she stomped away.

‘Rosalie, sit down. We are your friends and we love you, which is why we want to make sure you’ve thought this through. I mean, you did spring this on us. How long have you been thinking about it? What brought this all on?’

Rosalie’s bottom lip protruded before she replied. ‘Hannah has kids. Three! Is it so strange that I would also want someone to love and take care of? Someone to hang out with all the time and who would love me back?’

Andrea sighed. ‘No, Ros, it isn’t. It’s lovely. But why don’t we all chat it through some more? You would usually have a baby daddy to discuss things with in these situations, wouldn’t you? It’s not an easy decision to make on your own.’

Rosalie resumed her position at the bar, as did Andrea. The whole thing wasn’t worth an argument given, knowing Rosalie, it was a fad that would change direction with the next wind.

‘Have you spoken to your mom and dad about it?’ Hannah asked, wincing slightly in Andrea’s direction.

Of course, because here she was, the woman fucking Rosalie’s father, giving her advice about the birds and the bees.

‘Marco!’ Andrea called, raising a hand to the bartender. ‘We’re going to need another round.’

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