Page 42 of Say I'm Yours, Firecracker

After scarfing down two cinnamon rolls—don’t judge, I was eating for two—I raided my closet for something to wear. I really needed to go shopping for maternity clothes, I’d made it down to the wire now and really didn’t have a choice.

My faithful leggings were uncomfortably tight, and I might have ripped a hole in them this morning when I couldn’t get them over my swollen stomach.

That left me with the maternity dress Xavier picked up for me last week. He surprised me with it at our last game night, stating it was too perfect to pass up.

It was a simple dress, fabric loose and flowy. Covered in wildflowers and ruffled at the bottom. Standing in front of the mirror with my blond hair still curled from last night I felt almost alluring. Like the pregnancy glow had finally kicked in.

I paired the dress with a simple pair of brown flats that had the best cushion a girl could buy, and gold earrings to match my gold pendant of Athena that I never took off.

Grabbing my bag I shuffled the contents around for my keys, pulling them out and checking one last time that I had everything I needed before locking the door and heading for our shop. During our phone call she instructed me to go in through the back door.

We had to finalize some options for Stacey’s bridal portraits coming up this weekend, and I really needed to answer emails I’d been putting off. I didn’t like to hurt feelings, but in business we had to go with what we thought was best, and the current caterer just hadn’t been doing so well the past two events we’d held.

Bellamy and I somehow swindled Billy into agreeing to cater Stacey and Garrett’s wedding. We both knew he’d be great, and we were moderately sure that he would love it.

Finn’s truck was in the parking lot, which wasn’t completely out of the normal. But it did give me pause. He was undoubtedly still upset with me. I needed to tell him and Eli that things couldn’t continue.

Bellamy was already in her office, I could hear her on the phone with one of our vendors for the upcoming wedding.

Making my way across the hall into her office, I took a seat and waited for her to finish. She hung up and went about her tasks for the day. I knew she was waiting me out, to see how long I’d wait before caving.

“I’m sorry.” I said, feeling like a total jerk. “I didn’t mean it.”

She looked up from her computer and gave me a small smile. “I’m still your best friend, Ronnie.”

“I know, and I shouldn’t have gotten so upset. I told Finn I want to see the house. I’ll even go today after our meeting with Stacey.”

Shaking her head she said, “Did you at least hear what Finn had to say about the house?”

I don’t think we actually talked about it now that she brought it up. “He had a plan?”

“Ronnie!” She chastised. “Y’all didn’t even talk about it? Did you?”

I had the decency to look away, because we hadn’t. I made a mental note to ask the first chance I got.

She gave me a cheeky look but didn’t press further as she closed her laptop. “Stacey will be here in a few minutes. It’s her last dress fitting before her portraits with Xavier.”

“Speaking of, where is Xav?” I asked.

She waved her hand. “Flitting about, said he’d meet us at the shop.”

I shrugged, that sounded like him. He was always busy, running around, working all hours of the day. I’d have to remind him it was my turn to host family game night, and that attendance was mandatory.

Tidying up the shop before Stacey arrived, I moved magazines and dusted the shelves. I was so lost moving around the space, and lost in my own thoughts that I didn’t hear the doorbell. Stacey giggled and I immediately turned around and nearly shrieked.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I waved my hand back and forth as I caught my breath. “No problem.” I squeezed out through pants.

Bellamy walked into the room, eyeing us suspiciously. “You okay?”

“I scared her,” Stacey said.

She rolled her eyes and motioned us toward the door, where a sleek town car was pulled up. Bellamy and I both didn’t like to drive, which was another concern for the house situation, but I’d save it for later Ronnie’s problem.

We sat in the car, me in the front, Bell and Stacey in the back. The driver pulled away from the curb and headed to the same dress shop where we had taken Haven to get her dress. It was easily one of the most expensive items on Stacey’s wishlist, but what our brides wanted, they got. Within reason.

She picked a simple gown that covered her from shoulder to wrist in ivory silk. The bust was a sweetheart neckline that complimented her long neck. It was a stunning dress with appliques that bordered the train.

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