Page 131 of Never Forever

“Cheetos quesadilla?”

“Pregnancy Platter was different this time.”

“You should be careful,” I said. “Between pictures of us kissing and you ordering the pregnancy platter, people will start having ideas when they see me out and about pregnant.”

“They’re going to find out sooner or later,” he said, like it wasn’t a very big deal.

Maybe it wasn’t. If I’d done this alone there would have been endless headlines speculating on the baby daddy. This way there’d be endless headlines wondering who Matt Sullivan was, but they’d get bored pretty quick.

Because Matt was just a regular guy.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“Always.”

I was leading him into the kitchen, because the breakfast nook and the counter stools were the only chairs left in the place. But he paused in the doorway to the formal parlor. Also empty.

“Does the fireplace work?” he asked, pointing at the mantel on the far wall.

“Yeah,” I said. “But the wood is outside.”

“I know where the wood is,” he said. “You want to spread out the sleeping bag?”

He set down the Pappas’ bag like we were going to have a picnic in front of the fire. Actually, I couldn’t imagine anything better.

When he went out back to the wood pile, I spread out his sleeping bag. I went upstairs and grabbed a few blankets from my own bed to make us what looked like a pretty good nest.

“I don’t know if we have any matches,” I said, pushing around the blankets.

“I brought some,” he said. “We’re likely to lose power at some point.”

“Of course, Mr. Boy Scout. I don’t know how we’re going to explain to this kid that her father was the most prepared man to ever accidentally knock up a woman.”

“Maybe we don’t tell our child that?” Matt asked, looking at me over his shoulder while he set up his kindling tee pee in the grate. “You think it’s a girl, huh?”

“Piedmont curse,” I said.

“I thought you didn’t believe that.”

I didn’t know what to believe, so I just shrugged. He used some napkins from the to-go bag and within minutes a fire was sparking away.

“Yay!” I said, so delighted by this. “Good job.”

“It’s just a fire,” he said, but he was smiling too. “Come on, let’s get a look at this Pregnancy Platter.”

He took out a box that must have been for him and then opened the bottom box.

“It just looks like a salad,” I said. I poked a tomato with a fork.

“What’s on the bottom?”

“Potato salad?”

“It’s supposed to be Mac and Cheese.”

“Mac and Cheese with a salad on top?” I picked up the box and dug in. One bite and I closed my eyes with ecstasy. “With hot dogs! Honestly. Lola gets it. She just gets it.”

He opened up his box. A grilled cheese sandwich and fries. He set the fries between us. Also from the bag, he pulled out two drinks. He handed me a strawberry shake, which was heaven.

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