LITMIR.BIZ

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couldn’t respond so she just nodded, thankful that Natalie had saved her from saying the words aloud a second time today.

      “Wait, what?” Bree nearly shrieked. “You’re pregnant and you haven’t mentioned it yet? How could you leave that massive detail out of the story?”

      “One bombshell at a time, okay?” Amelia frowned. “I just found out and I’m still a little shell-shocked by the whole thing. I mean, it’s as though my whole life has gone irrevocably off course. You think it’s bad to marry your best friend on a whim? Find out you’re having his baby, too. There’s no pretending it didn’t happen anymore. There’s no annulling it and sweeping the memory of it under the rug.”

      “That’s why you’re trying to stay together,” Gretchen noted, the pieces finally clicking together for her. “What will you do if it doesn’t work out? Get divorced and work out a custody arrangement?”

      “Yes. It will be okay, though. We’ve agreed that no matter what, we’ll stay friends.”

      “Um, Amelia,” Natalie said, “you don’t really think that’s going to happen, do you?”

      “Of course it will,” she insisted. They’d been friends for fourteen years. They could do it. Of course, that had been without sex and emotions and custody agreements in the way.

      “I’m not trying to upset you,” Natalie clarified, “but you need to be prepared for this. At the end of the month, you two might break up. And it may go okay for a while, but eventually things are going to fall apart. You’ll try for the good of your child, but it will get hard. I’ve seen it happen. He’ll show up late to bring the kid back from his weekend and you’ll get irritated. You’ll want the baby for a holiday that’s supposed to be his and you’ll argue about it. Make the most of these thirty days, Amelia. If you don’t have a husband when the time is up, don’t plan on having a best friend for much longer after that.”

      She hadn’t thought about that at all. She was certain they would be okay, but she had seen it happen to other people. If she thought sex might ruin their friendship, shared custody and a strained relationship would certainly do it.

      Natalie reached out and placed a hand over Amelia’s. The supportive gesture made tears threaten in her eyes. She never cried. Hated to, actually. She always saw it as a weak feminine gesture her mother used to manipulate her father. But in the moment, all the emotions and worries of the past few weeks came to a head and before she could stop them, teardrops started spilling over her cheeks.

      “Damn hormones,” Amelia lamented.

      “Aw, honey, it will be okay.” Bree got up and snatched a tissue from the other side of the room to give to her. “Everything is going to work out, I know it.”

      “It absolutely will,” Gretchen chimed in. “No matter what happens with Tyler after the thirty days are up, you’re going to be a great mom. We’re going to throw the greatest baby shower in the history of baby showers. And I’ll paint a mural in the nursery. We can even turn the extra office into a playroom with toys and a crib so you can bring the baby to work. Bree’s getting married soon—we could have babies all over the place before too long.”

      Bree’s eyes widened a touch and she choked on the last sip of her latte. “Um, yeah,” she said with a rough cough to clear her lungs. “Babies all over the place.”

      Amelia had to smile through her tears. She really did have amazing friends. Gretchen was right. No matter what happened with Tyler, things would work out. Neither the marriage nor the baby had been planned, but she would make it through this. “Thank you, guys. I feel a lot better, now.”

      “That’s what girlfriends are for,” Natalie said with a soft smile. “You know we’re always here to celebrate, commiserate or eviscerate. Whatever you might need.”

      “Okay. For right now, all I need is to keep this quiet. Please don’t mention it to anyone. Really. No Facebook posts, no offhand comments when clients are here, no telling my mom I’m at the obstetrician if she calls and I’m not around. We’re keeping all of this a secret until we decide what we’re going to do. You guys are the only ones that know.”

      “Sure thing,” Bree said. “I won’t tell a soul.”

      “Me, neither,” Gretchen agreed. She looked up at the clock on the wall and sighed. “We’d better get back to it. I’ve got the future Mr. and Mrs. Edwards coming by to pick their invitations on their lunch break.”

      All four of the women stood and started back to their various tasks. Mondays were Amelia’s Fridays. She was off the next two days, so she needed to get things in order for the upcoming weekend. That meant submitting her grocery order to the food suppliers. She also needed to email the finalized reception menu to a couple doing a ’50s rockabilly-themed wedding. There wasn’t time to sit around and mope about her situation for long.

      Life went on. And so must she.

      * * *

      Tyler was pretty certain today might qualify as one of the longest days of his life. Probably because he hadn’t slept since he arrived in Nashville and the two days had blurred together into one. By the time Tyler rang the doorbell of Amelia’s apartment to pick her up for their dinner date Tuesday night, he had been awake for forty hours straight.

      He’d learned early on that sleep was for the guy who came in second. He’d accomplished a lot since he dropped Amelia back at the chapel. He’d made arrangements to manage his business dealings from Nashville. He got some of his employees to take on more business travel to free up his calendar. There was still a trip to London on his schedule in a few weeks, but he would play that by ear. He really needed to be there for the Sotheby’s auction. Perhaps he could talk Amelia into joining him for that trip.

      Work handled, he met with a real estate agent and toured half a dozen potential homes. He was pretty certain he’d found the one, but he wouldn’t decide until Amelia had seen it. He’d also turned in his rental car and picked up something more suitable for the next few weeks.

      With the logistics in place, he directed his attention toward more romantic pursuits. He made dinner reservations and set out in search of a nearby florist that carried her favorite flower. She’d said she wanted romance and that she expected him to know exactly what she would like. Well, mission accomplished.

      Amelia opened the door of her apartment. Before she could even say hello, her gaze dropped to the bouquet of roses in his hands. Not just any roses—green beauties. They were a pale-green-and-ivory rose with darker green edges. The flowers reminded him of tiny cabbages, really, but she’d always loved them. Her favorite color was green after all.

      “Wow,” she said. She looked up at him with a wide smile brightening her face.

      “I was about to say that same thing.” Amelia looked amazing. She was wearing a plum-colored dress that popped against the ivory of her skin. It almost looked like strips of fabric wrapped around her body. It had cap sleeves with straps crisscrossing over her collarbones. It molded to her shape, making her incredibly voluptuous figure even more outrageous. She had the kind of dangerous curves that required two hands or a man could lose control. “You look beautiful tonight.”

      “Thank you. This is a Herve Leger bandage dress I saved up to buy, and I’ve never had the opportunity to wear it. It’s on the snug side to begin with, so I figured I should wear it tonight while I can. If I could get away with it, I’d wear it every day until I hit my second trimester, but it’s just not that practical.”

      Fashion before comfort with Amelia, always. “I would vote for that. I wouldn’t get anything done staring at you the whole time, though.”

      “You’re sweet,” she said, a rosy color rising to her cheeks. “I can’t believe you remembered my favorite flower.”

      “Of course I did,” Tyler said as he held the bouquet out to her. “For you.”

      “Come in,” Amelia said as she took

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