Inked Devotion by Carrie Ann Ryan

Chapter 16

Brenna

Iscowled, looking down at the cupcakes in front of me. Pink lemonade with a lemon cream cheese frosting and a lemon curd center. They were perfection and what Annabelle had asked for. Only, something was off about them.

I tilted my head and studied them more. I knew that Annabelle would probably want sprinkles. I love sprinkles; they were a decoration perfect for most things, but I didn’t have the right ones at home. They were at the bakery, and I wasn’t going to drive there on my day off, just for sprinkles for Annabelle.

Okay, I would typically have, but the girls would be here any moment, and I didn’t want to be late.

I snapped my fingers and then went to my pantry and picked out the little yellow balls that would be perfect for the top. They were just sugar paste, but they would be the right texture for what I was looking for. They weren’t lemon-flavored, nor would they give you that crunch, but it would work.

I just finished decorating them when the doorbell rang, and I smiled. It had been a while since we had a girls’ night—not that it was night. We were doing a quick lunch before my doctor’s appointment, but this was the time that we had, and we were going to make it work.

I wiped my hands on my apron, took the apron off, and made my way to the front door. On the other side, Paige and Annabelle were already there, with Eliza pulling in behind them.

“You guys are disturbingly always on time.”

Paige snorted. “I drove us since Annabelle’s been queasy for part of the day, and she didn’t want to drive.”

I quickly moved back, letting them in. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I’m getting the second trimester morning sickness? I’m not a fan of how many weeks I’m along, and now it’s hitting me.”

I rubbed her back in sympathy and pretty much pushed her down onto the couch. “As someone who has to take meds now for my nausea, I understand.”

“Is someone sick?” Eliza asked, closing the door behind her. “I made cucumber sandwiches, but they’re not cucumber, more like a variety of different kinds of sandwiches, but they’re so cute. I like calling them that.”

“We always call them tea sandwiches,” Paige said as she ran her hand down her sister’s back. “Oh, I also brought a couple of side dishes I made—just a few little salads.”

My eyes widened. “A few?”

“I wasn’t sure what you all could eat. I mean, we have two pregnant women in the group now. That means sometimes they might not want chicken or tuna?”

My hand went to my belly without thought. “No, I’m doing okay right now as long as I take my meds. Before, I could only eat sugar.”

“That would be a way to enjoy the day.”

“For today, I can do mayonnaise, but I’m not sure about tomorrow. We’re going to have to play it by ear.”

Annabelle cringed and rubbed her belly. “I swear, I’m getting as big as a house. I may be having twins, but I didn’t realize I would get this big so quickly.”

Eliza practically beamed as she went over to her friend, kissed the top of her head, then put her hands on Annabelle’s stomach. When it was the group of us, we were comfortable invading each other’s space. Out in public, we were a little more careful since we didn’t want to invite anyone else to touch us without permission. “I am so happy. My family is all having babies. And you are having a baby soon, too.”

I looked over at Eliza and smiled. “Today’s the sonogram.”

“Is Benjamin meeting you there?” Eliza asked as she helped me set up the rest of the food on the table.

“He is. He has work that he can’t miss since it’s that time of year.”

Annabelle smiled. “I’m glad he’s going to be there. Jacob is always there for my appointments.”

I shrugged, pushing down any feelings I might have for Benjamin because it wasn’t safe to think too hard. “Of course he’s going to be there. He’s the father.”

“And your boyfriend,” Paige put in, and Eliza and Annabelle shared a look.

I sighed. “He is my Benjamin. Let’s leave it at that.”

“Oh, we’re absolutely not going to leave it like that,” Annabelle teased. “You are having a baby with my brother. We are going to be the aunts of your baby.”

Eliza beamed. “All of us will be the aunties of your babies. I’m really excited about this because this is going to give me so much practice for when Beckett and I start the adoption process.”

“You’re working on that quickly then?” I asked, handing over sparkling water for everybody.

“We’re working through the paperwork. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s what we want.”

“Anything you need from us, we’re here for you.” Paige clapped her hands. “I mean, look at us. I can’t believe how grown up we’re being. We’re having a brunch with pink cupcakes and sparkling water and cider, and no booze because half of us are pregnant.”

“And it’s ten a.m., and I’m not in the mood to drink,” Eliza added dryly.

“Ten a.m. means mimosas,” Paige teased.

“That is true. I think I miss mimosas most of all.” Annabelle grinned at me.

I snorted. “Mimosas are just so nice. Much nicer than morning sickness, or rather, afternoon sickness.”

“All day sickness,” Annabelle agreed.

“On that note, let’s eat some tuna fish and cupcakes,” Paige cheered.

Annabelle groaned. “I am starving, so I’m struggling to eat that, but let’s not talk about exactly what we’re eating.”

“That’s fine. We can talk about what your intentions are with our brother,” Paige said, rolling her shoulders back, but there was laughter in her gaze.

I swallowed hard. “I intend to co-parent with Benjamin and try not to stress the fuck out because we are still way early into our relationship even though we went about things in an opposite way. Please don’t ask me how I feel about him because I don’t know, and I don’t want to stress out. Can we talk about, maybe, Jacob? Yes, let’s talk about Jacob. Or Archer. Archer’s getting married. Let’s talk about that.” Again, Annabelle and Eliza met gazes, and I growled. “What is with that look?”

“It’s not a look, more of a question of what to say because it’s like you have two different relationships together,” Annabelle explained.

“What do you mean?”

Eliza sighed. “On one hand, you guys are discussing co-parenting because you’re trying to be adults and not step on each other’s toes because you’re having a baby. On the other, you’re in this new relationship where you’re starting to learn one another differently, and putting those together is difficult. You guys are going through this so well, and I love it for you, but if you need to explode, or talk to us, we’re here.”

I swallowed hard, wondering how I could have thought they wouldn’t have seen where I was standing. They were far too observant when it came to their friends. Hell, I was usually on the other side of that aisle.

“We don’t want to pry.” Paige grimaced. “I mean, we do want to pry because we love you, and he’s our family, and you’re our family, and we want to know everything. As someone who is also in a relationship, like everybody else here, sometimes we don’t have answers. And that’s okay that you don’t have answers. Do your thing. We’re excited for you.”

“I love you guys too. Now let’s talk about Archer and Marc. Are we throwing them an engagement party?”

“We will allow this change of conversation because, yes, we are throwing Archer an engagement party.” Annabelle picked up her phone. “Archer has already talked to us about a few things, and I’m excited for him. Our baby brother’s getting married.”

“Everybody’s changing and growing up. I love it.” Paige clapped her hands.

“I wish Archer would have been able to come today. Then we could start planning,” I added.

Paige smiled. “He can come next time, and we’ll make a huge plan because you know he’ll want to go big.”

“Does Marc want that?” Eliza asked as she bit into a tea sandwich.

Annabelle nodded. “I think so. Archer said that Marc told him that whatever Archer wants is going to happen.”

I met Annabelle’s gaze. “They seem nice together.”

“They do. Marc is just a lot more reserved than anyone I ever thought would be with Archer.”

“It’s hard for people to marry into the Montgomerys,” Paige muttered.

I had to wonder why it was her saying that and not Eliza and me. Then again, I wasn’t getting married, and Paige was the one bringing somebody else into the family, even if they weren’t engaged yet.

We talked about a few ideas for Archer, and then baby showers, and work and life and TV and just everything. It was a wonderful lunch, and by the time they left, I was exhausted. Yet energy shot through me because I was on my way to my sonogram. I quickly got ready and headed towards my OB, nervous as hell.

Normally I wouldn’t have told the Montgomerys about the pregnancy so quickly. I was only nine weeks along, and that wasn’t enough time for most people to feel comfortable doing so. I had needed to tell Benjamin, and we hadn’t wanted to keep secrets, so that meant we were doing things out of order. That was the label on my relationship with Benjamin. Completely deformed and out of order.

I pulled into the parking lot, and Benjamin was already standing outside, looking down at his phone as he typed quickly. I got my bag and made my way to him. He looked up at me then, his eyes warming for just a second.

My stomach clenched as I looked up at him, and I knew I was in trouble. Just that one look, and I was gone. Damn it, I needed to hold back, rein it in, and yet possibly we’re not letting that happen.

“I got here a bit early since I finished up at one location, but I need to head to the other job right after this. Water main break and the next neighborhood is screwing things up for us.” He leaned down and kissed me softly. “You look pretty. And taste like mint and lemon?”

“I brushed my teeth after I had a pink lemonade cupcake.” I did my best to ignore the flutters in my stomach.

His eyes widened. “Please tell me you saved me some.”

That made me smile. “Of course, I did. I’m not going to make a cupcake you enjoy and hand them all out without giving you one.”

“You know, this is why I like you,” he teased as we moved towards the front door.

He led us in, and we didn’t have to wait long as we were right on time for my appointment. I got awkwardly into the gown and dangled my feet over the end of the bed while Benjamin kept looking at his phone, frowning.

“What’s wrong?”

“Work things. And I was trying to give you some privacy while I stood here in the corner and pretended that I wasn’t watching you get into a paper gown.”

“Yes, because this is the hardest thing you’ve ever seen.” My dry tone made his eyes light up.

“Hey, you’re naked under there. I can’t help it.”

“Benjamin,” I scolded as my OB came in.

“Hi there, Brenna, it’s good to see you,” she said as she walked in.

“Hi, Dr. Geller. This is Benjamin. The um, father.” I wasn’t good at labels, apparently, but from the look on Benjamin’s face, he didn’t mind.

“Hello, Benjamin, it’s nice to meet you too.”

“I’m excited to be here,” he said, and it sounded like the truth.

“Good to hear. Since he’s here, I’m going to go over everything with both of you guys, and then we’re going to work on the sonogram.”

“Okay.” There were the normal questions, and at one point, nerves wrecked me, not because it was scary, just because this was different. I was finally doing it. I was going to be a mom.

In the most unexpected of ways.

Benjamin took my hand as the nurse walked in, and we began the sonogram.

I held my breath and tried to look at the screen, wondering what I was seeing. Then the most wonderful sound filled my ears.

A heartbeat. Quick, beautiful, and ours.

“There we go, your baby has a beautiful heartbeat. Everything looks great. I’m going to take a few pictures, and we’re going to go over a few more things, but everything looks great for now. Congratulations, you two.”

I looked up at Benjamin, and he held my hand tight, his eyes watery. I knew I was crying, and when he leaned down to kiss my cheeks, taking the tears away, I cried even harder.

“We are having a baby,” I whispered.

“We are.”

I looked up at him, and I knew I was in trouble. So damn in trouble. Because I couldn’t fall for him. Not so quickly. I couldn’t want more when we were figuring out what we had right then.

I was falling. Far too quickly, far too hard.

I knew when it came to the Montgomerys, once you fell, there was no getting back up. You were lost. Only I wasn’t sure he would fall with me, as that wasn’t the promise we had made. I was falling in love with Benjamin Montgomery, a single mistake I knew could break everything.