Page 65 of Wedding Bells in Silverwood

The greeter offered them menus, and as Holly perused the names of the delectable dishes, she felt bubbly inside. Even if they didn’t go dancing, this was enough for her: spending a lovely evening with close friends and family and enjoying a delicious meal.

After they placed their orders, Kim leaned forward. “All right, it wouldn’t be a bachelorette party if we didn’t talk about boys. So first: Nick. We can all agree that he’s hot, right? I mean, well done, Holly. Seriously.”

Holly giggled.

“That’s a weird question for me to answer,” Rachel said. “So I won’t.”

Lucy and Kim laughed.

“Fine, fine.” Kim waved a dismissive hand at her. “Then I’ll just say it. Nick is so hot.”

Lucy put a hand on Rachel’s arm. “Don’t worry. Eddie’s hot, too.”

“And Sean,” Kim added. “I mean, what’s in the water in Silverwood that makes all the men here sexy?”

Vivian chuckled and then shushed the group. “They’re going to kick us out before I can eat my duck.”

The waiter brought the champagne Kim had ordered and poured a serving for everyone.

“Ladies, raise your glasses,” Kim announced. “And let’s toast our Holly, who is arguably even hotter than Nick. May your marriage be blessed and last forever.”

“Hear, hear!” Vivian said before sipping her champagne.

Kim, Lucy, and Holly all took a drink, but Rachel set down her glass.

“I thought you liked champagne,” Holly said. “I’ve seen you drink it before.”

Rachel shifted. “Yeah, no, I like it. I’m just, uh, waiting?”

“Waiting for what?” Lucy asked.

“Um …” Rachel rubbed her neck, looking around at the rest of them and shrugging.

“But it was a toast,” Kim said. “You have to drink to the toast.”

Holly narrowed her eyes.Rachel didn’t drink in the limo, either. Or at her house the other night.

“Oh.” Holly covered her mouth with her hand but quickly dropped it and cleared her throat. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have, uh … No, it’s fine. You don’t have to, you know. Um, hey, should we talk about our hot men some more?”

Rachel’s cheeks turned crimson.

“Oh em gee,” Kim whispered. “Are you PG?”

Lucy and Vivian gaped at Rachel.

Holly playfully smacked Kim on the arm. “Kim, I was trying todefusethe bomb I just lit.”

“It’s okay,” Rachel said with a laugh. “I guess the cat’s already out of the bag. And we all know it’s impossible to stuff that darned cat back in the bag.” She paused for a second. “So, yes. Eddie and I are having another baby.”

The table was filled with gasps, squeeing, and words of congratulations. Holly got goosebumps all over.

“Thank you.” Rachel waved them off. “But no, stop. We wanted to wait until after Nick and Holly’s wedding to say anything.”

“But why?” Holly asked.

“We didn’t want to steal any of the attention.”

“Aw, Rachel, I wouldn’t have thought you were trying to steal attention. I’m so happy for you. Now, I’m going to be the aunt to two little ones. That’s amazing. Really, congratulations.”

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