Page 76 of Crashing the Altar
Aspen clapped her hands. “All right, now that that’s settled. Who needs a refill?”
“I’ll take one,” Bex replied.
“Me too,” Penny chimed in.
She reached over the table and collected their glasses, careful not to disrupt the game board. “You guys don’t have to skip out on the alcohol just because I’m nursing. Want me to spike your next round of sweet tea?”
“I’m good. I’ve got an early morning.” Penny played it off like a pro.
“Bex, how about you?” Aspen prompted.
“Uh, I better not.” Bex wasn’t nearly as smooth, her eyes shifting as she spoke.
A sharp gasp rang out, and Aspen’s hands flew to her mouth. “Oh my God. Are you pregnant?”
Penny stiffened beside me. The question hit a little too close to home, even though the heat and suspicion was firmly focused on our friends.
In my periphery, I caught Tucker gripping Bex’s hand under the table, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
Bex shut down any hope Aspen had of the pair of best friends becoming moms together with a single shake of her head. “No. Not pregnant.”
There was definitely something going on with those two, but it was none of my business.
“Of course, she’s not pregnant,” Mac scoffed. “If she was, Tucker would have told me. Isn’t that right, bud?”
The way Tucker cleared his throat was telling. “Yep. Sure.”
“See?” My brother-in-law grinned like an idiot, completely oblivious.
Aspen rounded the table to squeeze his shoulder on her way to the kitchen. “My mistake. I forgot you’re totally in the know.” She kept the sarcasm light enough to remain undetected by her husband, but I caught it and hid my laughter with a cough.
Go figure,thatdidn’t escape Mac’s notice, and his head snapped up, eyes sharpening as he assessed me. “You getting sick? Reagan hasn’t had her shots yet.”
Penny snickered, uttering under her breath, “She’s not a dog.”
“Nah, just got something stuck in my throat.” I made a show of taking a long pull from my beer. “See? All better.”
Mac’s chest rumbled in displeasure. This wasn’t a side of him we saw often, but it would appear he was overprotective of his daughter. I couldn’t fault the guy; my kid was barely the size of a prune, and already, I was prepared to lay down my life for them.
He might be a little off the wall, but he was showing the makings of a great dad.
My niece was a lucky little girl.
“Good thing you have her doctor on speed dial,” Bex joked.
“Yeah.” Mac nodded slowly, his eyes unfocused as though he were already imagining the first time his baby girl caught an illness.
I felt a pang of preemptive sympathy for my sister when that eventuality did come to pass. Mac would be an absolute mess, and she’d have two babies to take care of.
Honestly, I didn’t know how he’d made it through the delivery in one piece.
Game night continued, but my mind was elsewhere. More than once, I had to be reminded that it was my turn, caught staring at my wife with the sleeping infant tucked against her chest. Like there was a gravitational pull, my chin kept coming to rest on her shoulder, peeking down at the tiny angel sent down from Heaven to brighten our lives, all the while imagining hours spent cuddling our own baby once we became a family of three.
It was going to be fucking magical. Everything I ever dreamed but never thought I could have.
When the final game concluded, all but Penny stood to help clean up. Bex followed Mac and Aspen into the kitchen after clearing the snack plates and drink glasses from the table, while Tucker helped me sort the various game pieces and cards, putting them into their designated slots inside the box.
Once he was certain we were alone, Tucker spoke, keeping his voice low enough to avoid being overheard. “If you two aren’t ready to share your news, you might want to stop making heart eyes at that baby, or you’re going to give yourselves away.”
