Page 124 of Wild Card

Harley gives a little gasp and points to my bag. “Are those…”

Rowan whips out the mega-size bag of special edition tropical-flavored gummy bears she asked me to bring and waves them like a carnival prize.

“Willow found them.”

“Hand them over, sister. I’m on the verge of strangling Achilles and Tom!” she hisses their names and grabs at the candy. Her rounded stomach limits her range, banging into liquor bottles. “Dammit!”

“Harley, you saw what happened to me and had to know this was coming. Hell, you were a part of ousting me from my job.” Jewls speaks casually, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

I give Bex wide eyes, trying to convey I don’t know this story.

“Tom and Major did the same thing to Jewls when her pregnancy progressed,” Rowan speaks like she’s revealing a super-secret.

“That was different! You were planning a wedding, building a house, working two jobs, and carrying two babies,” Harley argues. “I am great, the baby is healthy, and I’m not showing any signs of stress, discomfort, orswelling.”

“Not yet. But the next seven weeks are loaded up ‘til the wedding. Then three weeks later, you’re having a baby. It’sTIME.”Jewls emphasizes the word, and Harley’s angry façade drops.

Her eyes pool with moisture and she sniffs, dropping her chin. “I love this place. We started here with a goal to visit Europe and look what’s happened. This bar is magic.”

Jewls sucks in a breath, and I swear there’s a hint of tears before she blinks them away. “You’re having a baby, Jay. Take the memories and build on them.”

That does it. Tears stream down Harley’s cheeks and Rowan pushes the gummies across the bar top.

My own tears threaten.

“Oh shit, Willow’s going down. Suck it up, ladies. Tom will never let me have another ladies’ night if he sees this.” Shayla tosses a napkin at me.

Harley swipes at her cheek. “My husband is an overbearing ass. If I knew this was my last night, I’d have invited everyone!” She rips open the candy and tosses a handful into her mouth, moaning.

A few weeks ago, at the cookout, Wyatt shared his gummies with Harley and she couldn’t stop raving. Luckily, I stocked up. Rowan remembered my stash and recommended I bring some tonight.

Now it makes sense.

She knew what was happening.

From the looks of it, Jewls and Shayla knew as well.

Before my mind can wander to all the reasons I didn’t know, Harley picks up on it and stops chewing, pointing at me accusingly. “Why did you have these? Did you know something?”

I shake my head violently, not wanting to be in the line of fire. “Swear, no idea!”

“I asked her to bring them.” Rowan comes to my rescue.

“You knew something?”

“I found out an hour ago.”

“Me too, it was a sneak attack by the men. They waited until you were here and we couldn’t get to you,” Jewls explains.

“Same here, Tom didn’t tell me until you had clocked in. Why do you think he parked his ass up here the last hour, not letting me have any time with you?” Shayla scowls toward the back. “Now he’s hiding like a coward.”

“I know I’m an outsider and have no say, but it’s really romantic.”

All attention swings to Bex, who has a glimmer in her gaze and a dreamy smile.

“You think railroading me out of my job is romantic?” Harley mocks.

“Never mind. It’s not my business,” she backtracks, taking a huge gulp of her drink.

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