Page 119 of The Hookup
“Don’t worry,” Briony replied, hugging her as she walked in. “It’s only the four of us. Izzy couldn’t come.”
“Oh?” Kay asked, setting down her huge bag of baby gifts. She slipped off her jacket.
“Apparently, she’s got exams. That’s what Savannah said.”
“That’s a shame.” She had been keen to meet Izzy and to find out what she was up to.
“I did leave you a couple of messages,” Briony remarked, “asking if there was anyone else Savannah might want to ask along today.”
Kay blushed a guilty shade of pink. “Sorry. I’ve been …” She threw her hands up, indicating overwhelm. She had done nothing for Savannah. How selfish of her, therefore, to think she could go to her cousin and offload all her problems. “What about the school moms?”
“They’re doing their own thing for her, thank god,” said Briony, rolling her eyes. “I couldn’t handle hours of listening to women talking about babies and children.”
“Me neither.” And, with it just being a small group of friends, she already felt at ease. The idea of walking into a room full of women she didn’t know, didn’t appeal.
“No baby talk, okay?” Briony reminded her, wagging her finger.
“So we’re not talking about the twins? How can we not talk about them?” she asked lowering her voice as she followed Briony into a room. Max got up and rushed towards her as soon as she entered. “Glad you could make it,” she said, giving her a hug. “Briony says you’ve been impossible to get a hold of.”
“I know, I know. I’m sorr—” She stopped, speechless when she saw Savannah sitting on a couch. She looked enormous. “Freaking hell, Sav,” she cried in undisguised shock. “You’re huge, and I only saw you last week!”
“Thanks,” Savannah replied, looking slightly flustered. “I love you, too.”
Kay rushed over, grinning. “You’re supposed to be big. I think it’s the way you’re sitting,” she said.
“That’s a relief to know,” Savannah replied as she bent down to give her a hug, being extra cautious not to press against her stomach, which was hard, given that it was almost a bump the size of a toddler, it seemed like. They pulled apart and Savannah’s hands went to her stomach. “I feel like a pregnant blue whale,” she whined.
“It must be getting uncomfortable, with two Stones in there,” Kay commented.
“It’s starting to.” Savannah smoothed her hand over her bump. “I get breathless quickly, and I can feel the strain on my back, but this is still easier than when they’ll be out, I suppose.”
They all laughed.
“You’re going to have your hands full,” Kay replied.
“You two carry on,” said Briony. “Max and I are fixing things in the kitchen…and we have a surprise.”
Kay looked over her shoulder as Briony and Max disappeared out of sight. “A surprise?” She looked at Savannah. “What surprise?”
“I think I have an idea. We’ll have to wait and see.”
“Briony doesn’t want me to talk about babies too much,” Kay told her.
“The less said about that the better.”
“But we’re at your baby shower, and you’re obviously pregnant. What are we supposed to talk about?”
“They’re still locking heads over adoption,” Savannah whispered, looking in the direction of the door. “It’s a delicate subject.”
“Noted,” said Kay. “How are you feeling?”
“Slow, and heavy. They’re going to induce me a few weeks early. I cannot wait. Anyway, tell me what you’ve been up to,” said Savannah. “We couldn’t talk much when you came over.”
It was true. Tobias had been lurking around Savannah like an overprotective bodyguard and their apartment had been full of boxes, because they were getting ready to move to their sprawling new mansion.
“I’m sorry I’ve been off the radar lately. I’ve been hard at work,” she explained, not completely lying, but not telling the truth either. She could feel heat slowly crawling up her cheeks. “You know how crazy things get for me sometimes.” She decided against telling her cousin about her recent decision to change jobs. She was going to be extra diligent about where she was going to work next, and was taking her time to find a company that would suit her better.
She had tried to prove herself to Remington, and she thought he’d taken note, but if it had only taken Geoffrey’s pathetic and vindictive actions for him to give someone else the client account she had so badly wanted, it wasn’t worth staying here and killing herself doing crazy hours. She wasn’t valued enough, and she wasn’t putting up with it anymore.
