“What happened?”
“It’s … I have … something I need to talk about.”
“Of course,” she agrees and leads me into the house. “Wine?”
I nod because I might as well get my fill of it before I get pregnant, right? But when she hands me the drink I still can’t figure out what to say.
“Is something wrong? Are you hurt?” she asks and I shake my head. No, I’m not hurt. It’s nothing like that. “Is it Leann?” She’s the only one who knows what’s happening with Leann and I feel grateful at the genuine concern in her voice.
“I met a guy.”
“A guy? Geez, Emma, I thought it was something bad. Why didn’t you tell me you were seeing someone?” She settles back on the couch, getting comfortable and looking somewhat excited at the prospect.
“It’s just … it’s kind of complicated.”
“Okay, what’s so complicated about it?”
“I’m moving in with him.”
“Moving in?” Her tone is incredulous, eyes wide as she stares at me. “I didn’t even know you were dating and now it’s serious enough that you’re moving in?”
“Like I said, it’s complicated.” I still don’t really know what to tell her. And what to keep quiet.
“You’re going to need to tell me something, Em.”
I let out a deep breath and take a long drink of my wine while Becky watches me, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“Are you sure nothing is wrong?”
“Yeah. It’s just, we’re going to have a baby.”
“You’re pregnant?” She stares at me in shock and then reaches for the glass of wine in my hand. “You can’t be drinking that.”
“I’m not pregnant. I mean, I’m not pregnant yet.”
Her eyes narrow as she stares at me. “You’re going to need to back things up and explain what’s going on.”
At that, I gulp down the rest of my wine and hold out the glass. Her cue to refill it so I can begin the whole story. “You are not going to believe this.” A pause. “My boss wants to hire me to have his baby.”
“He wants … what?”
“My boss wants to hire me to have his baby. As in he’s putting together a contract for me to move into his house and have his baby.”
“Okay, he’s either a psycho or a weirdo. What kind of guy is into that kind of thing?”
“It’s not like that. I mean … okay, maybe it’s a little like that but I told him I’d do it.”
“You told him what?!”
“It’s good money. I mean, I don’t know the specifics yet but he’s offering a place to live and an allowance and everything. I can help Leann.”
She looks concerned at that, brow furrowed as she stares at me. “You know your mom and Leann wouldn’t want you selling yourself off to some crazy person for them, right?”
“It’s not selling myself off. And we’ve actually been having sex for a while before all of this. He’s … gorgeous. And he’s amazing in bed. You have no idea.”
Slowly the look on her face morphs into a wicked smile. “Amazing, huh?”
“Absolutely amazing,” I promise. “That’s one of the other reasons I agreed to it. I’ve talked to people around the club about him. And … whew, Becky, you have no idea,” I repeat. “I’m actually looking forward to this in some ways. I mean having a baby is going to be … different. But the sex leading up to that? That part is going to be phenomenal. He’s this tough guy, bad boy type and …” I can’t hide the little shiver that runs through me and she laughs.