Page 37 of Shining Pearls
“Which Dean knows and fully accepts,” Claire quickly shot down that objection before staring at me, obviously expecting a better answer.
Her unwavering gaze made me feel as agitated as if I was facing a firing squad as I searched for the reason why Dean and I couldn’t be a couple. Finally, thinking of something to grasp onto, I said, “He and I are best friends. I don’t want to ruin that.”
“Most successful couples are best friends with each other.” Claire said simply.
I knew she was right. It would be so comfortable and easy to slip into a romantic relationship with Dean. He was already my best friend and confidant. I just wasn’t sure about making him my lover, too.
Leaning in a bit further, Claire whispered, “Do you not find him to be sexy?”
Knowing that wasn’t the issue, I said, “No, that’s not it. I do think he’s sexy.”
“Me too!” Claire said a little too enthusiastically. “If I wasn’t with Alex…” She slowly moved her head from side to side and let the sentence dangle to allow me to draw my own conclusions, which made a strange surge of jealousy flare in my chest.
She’d been watching my reaction closely. Even though I tried to hide the flash of envy from my expression, she saw it. Pointing a finger at me, her eyes sparkled with the excitement of new knowledge as she accused, “You didn’t like me saying that. You’re jealous!”
I frowned and shook my head in denial, even though I knew it was true.
Rather than calling me out on the lie, Claire tilted her head to the side as she looked at me. “What’s the problem then? Why don’t you want to be with a great catch like Dean?”
I stared at the lovely woman across from me as I searched my brain for an honest answer to her question. It dawned on me that there truly was absolutely no reason for me not to be with Dean––if he would have me.
34
Claire
Alex gave me a strange look after we got home and Hannah ran off to her room to change out of the white uniform she had worn to karate class. “Did you have a nice time chatting with your new friend, Josie?”
I knew that my budding friendship with his baby mama made my husband uncomfortable, as was to be expected, but he needed to get used to it. I walked over to stand right in front of him and put my arms up around the back of his neck before smiling up at him. “I did. She’s a terrific person, and we have some great laughs together.”
“At my expense?” He asked, revealing the first tinges of self-consciousness.
I shook my head before reassuring him. “Of course not. Actually, we mostly laugh at how ridiculous our bodies are becoming as they continue to grow. I’m starting to feel almost like the Dursley aunt fromHarry Potterthat swells up so much she finally floats away like a balloon.”
Alex tipped his head back and chuckled at that ridiculous mental image.
Although I smiled with him, my expression quickly turned serious again.
Always seeming to be in tune with my emotions, my husband immediately stopped laughing and gazed down at me before saying sincerely, “You grow more beautiful every day.”
We shared a long, sweet kiss that alleviated any self-doubt I had been harboring about my round, third-trimester pregnancy body.
Pulling back, Alex asked, “Are you sure it’s a good idea to be seen around town with Josie?”
I had the feeling I knew what he was alluding to, but I asked him to clarify anyway. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“We just need to think about the way it looks. People in town are already starting to whisper and suspect that I might be the father of her baby.”
I glared up at him. “So?”
He blinked several times as he looked down at me. “So? I thought you might be embarrassed to have anyone know the truth. I don’t want anything to be said or done that will cause you any more pain than you’ve already been through.”
I stared up at my husband, stunned that he always managed to put me and my feelings first. “I don’t want to shout it from the rooftops because it’s honestly not anyone else’s business, but we can’t hide from it, either. Josie’s baby is yours. We know that, and we need to properly acknowledge it. It may not be how we had always assumed our lives would work out, but it’s the way it is, so we need to handle it like responsible adults.”
Alex was gazing down at me with an utterly enamored look, so I forged on. “Josie’s child is a half-sibling to Hannah, and this baby.” I looked down and patted my volleyball-sized stomach before continuing. “Our girls deserve to have that baby in their lives, and so do you. It’s your child, Alex.”
“I thought you wouldn’t want the constant reminder of my affair in our lives. I don’t want to do anything that will risk hurting you any more than I already have.”
Shaking my head, I said, “You can’t turn your back on this baby or Josie. The affair happened, it’s a part of our history, and we need to deal with it.”
