Page 25 of Aftersome
Then ever so slowly, I detached myself from her arms and dropped my stare down to her stomach.
“Wren…” she whispered as she gently laid a palm onto her growing tummy.
Dressed in a tight tank top and cardigan, I couldn’t look away. My throat clogged with emotion as a stray tear fell down my cheek.
She was pregnant.
“I wanted to tell you over the phone, but since you were coming here, I wanted to surprise you.”
A slew of responses passed through me but mostly, I was blinded by the excitement and pure joy I had for the two of them. Though the idea of Kate having a baby one day never crossed my mind, seeing her now, with her hand protectively holding the swell of her stomach, I knew it was a path that was meant for her.
To be a mother.
“You’re…” I swallowed the giant lump in my throat and peered up into her glowing face. “You’re having a baby?”
Nodding, her smile didn’t reach her eyes, almost like she was nervous of the reactions I would have.
Jealousy? Envy, maybe, but I felt nothing but love.
“God, Kate.” I wiped away the tears that had fallen down my face. “You’re pregnant,” I said in disbelief. Her tiny little bump only poked out a few inches, but the sight of it made my heart flip. “You’re actually pregnant.”
Laughing, she smiled brightly.
“I’m actually pregnant.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle along with her. The last time I had seen her was five years ago when we met up after one of James’s hockey games. She was only an hour away from where I was, and back then, she was juggling her career in finance and dating a famous NHL player. That didn’t deter her, though. She was happier than ever. Bubblier than ever and now, here she was. Married to the love of her life and having a baby.
The person I had once known to drink a whole bottle of wine in one sitting, who waited until she had one pair of clean underwear left to do her laundry, was now a grown woman with a family of her own. Though to me, she’d always be the fun, outspoken Kate that I’ve grown to know and love, she had finally evolved into the person she was always supposed to become.
And God… I was so proud of her.
Ever so slowly, my hand reached out to her belly. I always wondered what it would be like to be pregnant. To feel the type of love and happiness only a soon-to-be mother could feel. It was something that always lingered in the back of my mind. A what-if.
“Are you happy?” I asked, knowing the answer was pretty damn clear by the twinkle in her eye.
“So happy, Wren.”
Good.
That’s all I ever wanted for her.
Nodding, I pulled my hand away from her stomach and caught James by the front door watching us. We weren’t close by any means, but we had a few conversations over the years he and Kate were together. In the beginning of their relationship, I was skeptical. His reputation didn’t exactly make it easy for me to like him, but watching them together, I realized they were perfect for each other.
Two people obsessed was more like it. And as unhealthy as it sounded, it wasn’t.
It was just… them.
“Get in here, you two, before you catch colds out there. You can talk more about my little future hockey player when you get inside,” James demanded.
While Kate rolled her eyes, I smiled and quickly grabbed one of my bags from the back seat before following her toward the house.
“And what if we’re having a girl? Are you still going to want them to play hockey?” Kate made her way to James who was watching her like she was the most precious thing in the world. Even as she ascended up the three stairs going to her front door, he reached for her hand as he wasn’t going to chance her slipping or falling.
“Depends. If she’s anything like you, then I think she’ll be okay.” He grinned.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Dropping a kiss to the top of her head, he wrapped an arm around her waist.
