Page 90 of Floored

Molly watched with a soft smile when I curled my hand over my stomach. A soft bump greeted me, and I motioned for her hand. She slid her chair closer, eyes widening. "Can you feel it moving?"

"Yeah." I took her hand and set it along the top of my bump, and we waited. I tried pushing on the side, and then felt it again.

Molly gasped. "Ohhhh, hi little Banana, I'm your favorite Aunt Molly."

I laughed as she tucked her head down beneath the table and kept talking to my stomach. A couple passed us, not even trying to hide their WTF faces. I waved.

"And we're going to do so much fun stuff," she kept going, rubbing the top of my gently moving stomach with her palm. "And I just love you so, so much." When she sat back, her eyes were bright. "Goodness, that's amazing."

"You should have one," I said slyly.

Her cheeks went pink almost immediately. "Noah said that the other day."

"Really?" I squealed. "Oh please, please, please, get knocked up so we can have babies grow up together."

She laughed. "I caught him looking at baby Wolves stuff the other day, and I think it's Jude's fault for sending that jersey at Christmas. It got him thinking about, I don't know, everything. We're so happy and so busy, but if you wait for life to be the perfect time to do things like get married or have babies or travel, you'll never do it."

"Very true." I thought about Jude, and how if it hadn't been for our night at the bar, and my shitty memory with birth control, he'd still be alone. I was young, so it was different for me. "Do you think Noah will propose soon?"

Her eyes sparkled happily. "I do. I overheard him asking Paige something about her ring, and he didn't realize I was in the next room."

"Molly!"

It was her turn to squeal. "I know!"

"Promise me something," I said, gripping her hands with mine.

Her eyes got big at my grave tone. "What?"

"Please try not to get married like, the week of my due date. Because then my options are being as big as a whale in your wedding pictures or missing it because I'm in labor and I don't particularly like either option."

She laughed. "How about we wait until he proposes first, then I can worry about setting a date." Molly nudged me under the table with her knee. "Look at you, Lee, planning ahead and everything. Did you swap personalities with Claire?"

"I know, I know."

"Ready to go?" Molly asked.

"Yeah. I told Paige I'd help her make the dough tonight for family dinner."

"Oooh. Pizza?"

I nodded. "Little Banana wants some."

"Another reason me and that kid are going to get along just fine."

I followed Molly out of the cafe and found myself glancing back at my phone screen. Wanting that glimpse felt a little bit like his tease about being addicted to scones. Two months away from Jude, and I still craved the pieces I could get. Even though the picture was in thumbnail, I stared at his face, wishing that any planning I did could include a clearer picture of what role he'd have in my life, in Little Banana's life.

But as February came to a close, and March dawned a little warmer, a little less gloomy, we stayed exactly in the same place—getting to know each other—and I knew that I'd have to be okay with that.

26

JUDE

I'd learned a lot as winter thawed into an early spring in England. Not all things I wanted to learn, mind you, but I'd learned them all the same.

First, it was entirely possible to sit out of a game and still feel the amount of pressure you felt when you were starting. And losses hurt just as bad from that vantage point as well.

Second thing I learned was that I yelled. A lot.

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