Page 33 of In the Works

After she had cleaned up, Bri grabbed her things and headed for the door. I followed behind, waiting to lock up behind her. But before she left, Bri stood on the threshold, resting her arm against the frame over my head. She leaned closer to me. “When can I see you again?”

I swallowed hard, trying not to invite her back upstairs right that second. “Can I check my calendar and get back to you?”

“Of course you can, darlin’.” Bri smiled down at me. Our eyes locked for a moment before I brought my hand to her neck and pulled her in for another kiss.

Teasing each other with our tongues, I felt my body begging for her to come back inside. But instead, I pulled away and squeezed her hand. “I’ll see you soon.”

She nodded and kissed my cheek. “Yes, you will.”

I watched her walk to her truck, still in her jeans and a wife pleaser. My mind swam as she waved at me.

What have I gotten myself into?

18

SARAH

I heldthe tiny onesie up to show Zoey. “Pretty cute.”

Zoey laughed. “It is, but we’re here for a crib. And weren’t you the one that told me buying newborn clothes is pointless because they grow out of it in, like, a couple days?”

My eyes flicked to the stacks and stacks of adorable, teeny tiny, folded onesies. Shrugging, I looked back at Zoey. “I saidyoushouldn’t bother. ButIwill buy whatever I want.”

Zoey gripped the cart and started to push it along the aisles of August and Co. As she walked, her belly bumped into the handles of the cart. She let out a groan and brought one hand to her sore back.

“No one warned me about how heavy babies are.”

Stopping in my tracks, I whipped my head around and narrowed my eyes. “You weren’t really around to warn. You were a Disneyland Aunt for a few years there.”

Zoey bit her lip and chuckled. “Oops.”

We kept strolling, soft pop from the store’s speakers setting the tone for our browsing. Combing the racks, I caught sight of a tiny flannel shirt, with blue jeans, and beige work boots. It wasundeniably adorable. But my mind automatically flashed with images of what Bri’s little country children would look like.

My chest tightened just at the thought of her. I could still feel her lingering all over my body.

Zoey walked up next to me. “Okay, seriously, what’s going on with you?”

Trying to recover, I shook my head. “Nothing, I just think it’s cute.

Raising an eyebrow, Zoey crossed her arms. “Don’t lie to me.”

“You’re so annoying.” I groaned.

With a wide grin, Zoey nudged me as she kept walking down the aisle.

After a second, I bit my lip and confessed, “I slept with Bri?”

“Like, she came over and hung out?” Zoey kept scanning the shelves, not bothering to look away from her shopping.

I swallowed hard and shook my head. Even though I’d just spoken, I suddenly couldn’t find the words to say it again.

Zoey stopped in her tracks as the pieces fell into place. Her mouth dropped open as she met my gaze. “Wait, seriously?”

Nodding, I smoothed my hair. “Yeah.”

“Huh.” Zoey’s forehead wrinkled. “So are you…?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know yet. I don’t think I ever, like, faked anything with Jason. I’m still trying to figure that part out. But it feels nice to just listen to my body.”

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