Page 50 of Teasing a King

“I’m not listening to this,” she says, sticking her fingers in her ears. She looks so much like a child right now that I almost laugh. I lean in close to the other three women.

“Okay, here’s the deal,” I say in a low whisper. “Hope and I have talked about this. It’s so crazy, but we both realized the same thing. It’s this.” I motion for everyone to lean in even closer. They do. I sigh, shooting Hope a worried look.

“I don’t know if I should tell them,” I say.

Hope shrugs. “They want to know,” she says in a low voice.

I nod. “Okay. Here goes.” I take a deep breath. “It’s,” I whisper, looking at each woman’s face in turn. “None of your business,” I finish in a loud voice.

Hope and I laugh as we sit back in our chairs. Quinn tosses her napkin at me with a sour look on her face.

“Tease,” she says, but she’s laughing now too.

Claire looks around at the rest of us. “Can I unplug my ears now?”

Quinn glares at me. “Yes. These two are no fun.”

I laugh. “I thought it was pretty funny.”

Hope shrugs, reaching for her mimosa. “Me too.”

“That’s what you get for that car crash joke,” Hannah says, sipping her mimosa.

Claire sighs. “Is this what life’s going to be like for the next 40 years? Listening to the four of you talk about my brothers’ junk? Because if so, I might have to opt out of brunch with you horny bitches.”

Quinn laughs. “You’re one to talk. You’re always going on about Garrett. I was starting to think you’d never get a girl’s night out again.”

Claire doesn’t look contrite in the least. She shrugs. “I have no complaints.”

Our food arrives, stopping everyone from teasing Claire about the dirty details of her sex life with Garrett. Instead, we all gang up on Hannah, teasing her about when she and Finn are going to turn Liam into a big brother.

“Fine, fine,” Hannah says, holding up both hands. “If you must know,” she says with a smile, “We’ve decided to pull the goalie.”

Quinn lets out a high-pitched squeal that draws the attention of several nearby tables.

“I’m so excited for you!” she says, squeezing Hannah in a tight hug.

Hannah blushes slightly. She waves a hand at the rest of us and rolls her eyes. “It’s not like I’m pregnant right now,” she says. “I just said we’ve decided to let nature take its course and see what happens. It might take months or even longer for us to conceive.”

“Not the way you two go at it,” Quinn mumbles.

Claire rolls her eyes but doesn’t chastise her. She turns to Hannah and smiles. “Well, you’re already an amazing mom, so whenever it does happen, I know that’s going to be one lucky kid.”

“Thank you,” she says.

“A toast,” Hope says, raising her glass high. The rest of us follow suit. “To the next generation of the King family and the amazing women bringing them into this world.”

We all touch our glasses together, the sound of tinkling glass filling the air. I look around the table at my friends and feel a sense of pride to be a part of this amazing group of women. To be a part of this family.

Chapter Twenty-One

Van

“Mya, how’s the nursery coming along?” Ronan asks. Mya glances across the table to where my brother sits next to Quinn.

She smiles. “Good. It’s nearly finished. We just have a few more things to add. But it’s coming together.”

“She can’t decide on the crib bedding,” I say with a wry smile.

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