Page 33 of Entirely Yours
The cat decides it’s the perfect time to join us. He—or she—rubs up against my legs and lets out a loud meow.
“Was that a cat?” the voice asks. “I feel so out of the loop!” she whines.
Another voice comes over the phone. “Who are you talking to, Baby Bardot?”
“Hi, Anders, it’s Jules.” He rolls his eyes and mouths “sorry” to me, his fingers still tangled with mine. I should pull my hand free.
I don’t want to.
“JuJu has a girl there!” Bex whisper-shouts to Anders.
Jules groans. “Enough about that. How are you feeling, Bex?”
I hear a loud sigh through the speaker. “Like a fucking whale.”
My eyebrows shoot up, which Jules catches. “How many more weeks?” he asks her.
“Too many,” she says at the same time Anders says, “Four.”
“I just want to get this baby out of me! I don’t know how Mom did this four times.”
And now I get it—she’s pregnant too.Too.Ugh, I want to vomit.
I think Jules can tell because he puts an end to the conversation pretty quickly. “I’ll call you back later, okay?”
“Need to go make out with your giiiiirrrrllfriend?” Bex drags the word out for emphasis, but Jules just shoots her a disapproving look. “Use protection!” she adds, and then she’s gone.
“If only she knew,” I reply.
“She’d be fucking elated,” he says. “She’d probably make Anders pack up their entire apartment and move back here tomorrow.”
“Is it her first?” I ask.
“Second. Elodie is two and they’re having another girl. They won’t tell us the name, and I think it’s because they can’t decide.”
“Where do they live?”
Jules hands me another muffin. “New York City. Anders is an actor. He’s also Gabe’s best friend—that’s how he and Bex met.”
“So you’re an uncle. That’s why kids don’t scare you?”
He ponders that for a moment. “I wouldn’t say they don’t scare me. But the excitement outweighs the terror.”
“Newborns are hard. They just scream at you all the time.”
“I believe that,” he says. “You also didn’t have anyone to help you last time.”
I’m immediately defensive. “I had my dad.”
He nods. “You’re right. And I love the relationship he and Chloe have, from what I’ve seen of it. You know he’d be there foryou this time, as well. You’d also have my parents, Ben, Gabe, Bex and her family if they do eventually move back… and you’d have me, Thea.”
Hesitantly, he brushes my hair off my face, tracing down my cheek until his finger rests under my chin. “This time could be different.”
“Maybe,” I breathe, willing myself to pull away.
“I’ll take ‘maybe,’” he whispers before kissing my forehead in one of the most tender gestures I’ve ever received. “Now, let’s go make some posters, shall we?”
And that’s exactly how we spend the rest of the afternoon. Making posters, hanging them around town, and keeping my mind occupied. I shouldn’t be surprised that Jules knows the perfect way to help me process everything, but I am. By the end of the day, when it’s time to head back to the apartment for dinner, I’ve made my decision.
