Page 43 of Twin Babies For The Grump

And now she’s hassling after me like she thinks that I’m going to just come out and tell her what? That I’m sleeping with the boss? I’m not about to go blabbing that to Adela right now, so Macy is certainly not on my list of people that will get a straight answer about my relationship with Owen.

It’s not her business.

“I don’t know,” says Macy, slyly. Her eyes seem bright, sharp. Like knives. “Is it?”

“No,” I tell her, looking Macy over with nothing shy of disdain in the word. “It’s not.”

Without waiting for Macy to say anything else, I turn and vanish into the building closest to me. It contains the oaken barrels where we leave the wine to age, the smell of it heavy in the air; oaken wood and freshly crushed grapes, with all of the other flavorings that they have in them.

The door clicks shut behind me and I lean against it, letting out a heavy exhale.

I might need to talk to Owen sooner about what we’re going to do than I originally thought; we might have something else going on here and I don’t want any rumors to smear our work here.

Chapter Nineteen

Owen

“Owen?”

Beau’s voice echoes through the open living room.

Excited, I step out of the kitchen, where I had still been loitering. “Beau!” I throw my hands up into the air. “Has anyone ever told you that you have incredible timing?”

“Many times,” says Beau. “What is my timing incredible for today?”

“I need someone to drink with,” I tell him, sweeping him into the kitchen. “A bottle of wine, a seltzer, something, anything. You name it, I’ll get it.”

“I could never pass on a bottle of Bale vintage,” says Beau, sounding amused. He takes a seat on the stool beside the island counter, watching as I go and get something out of the fridge.

It’s easy to find a bottle that I know my friend will like. I pull it out, hold it up, and then pop off the top cork.

I grab two glasses, setting them down on the island counter, and then pour the wine, red filling them up. “Drink up, my friend!”

He taps our glasses together. “What has you in such a good mood?”

“Does somethingneedto have me in a good mood?”

“Yes,” says Beau. “I have not seen you all smiles like this in a long time!”

I can’t keep my excitement to myself. It feels like it’s about to bubble straight out of my skin.

My first thought was to call my sister, but she’s been so busy lately that most of our conversations are brief. And this is the kind of news I want to tell in person.

“I knew that it was fate, coming back out here,” I tell Beau.

“Fate,” says Beau, with a smile. “Ah, yes. Owen Bale, the biggest fate man I've ever seen. I still remember when it wasfatethat had you breaking your wrist that summer.”

“It was fate,” I say, with a chiding cluck of my tongue. “It kept me home from that summer camp. My sister went and spent the whole time inside, rained out, with a bunch of strangers who couldn’t stand a simple little ghost story.”

Beau hums. “And what has fate brought you today?”

I take a long swig out of the wine glass and then set it down, bracing one arm against the marble-topped counter as I lean forward.

“Fate has brought me everything.”

“Elaborate,” says Beau, amusement clear in his voice. He has dimples when he smiles like this. “Please. I am truly curious now.”

“I’m going to be a father,” I tell him, the words coming out in a rush.

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