Page 81 of Seeing You

The thing that hit Billie the hardest was the fact that she wasn’t jealous. Sure, she wished she was the one who got to tell everyone that she was pregnant and starting a family, but right now, she was far too happy for her sister to feel anything but love. Someday it would be her turn and she knew her family would be thrilled for her. Her time just wasn’t right now, and she was okay with it.

At least…that’s what she was telling herself.

Ending things with Marcus was the first step toward finally achieving the life she always dreamed of. Now she knew for sure that they wouldn’t work and could finally move on.

Once her heart healed.

For the next few hours, Billie enjoyed catching up with her sisters and friends. Calvin was finally sleeping through the night, and Ashlynn was over her cake cravings—but not all of them—and now was obsessed with frozen pizzas and apple juice.

Just not together.

Avery shared that she and her husband, Leo, were thinking of moving. Leo got a job offer in Richmond, and they were beginning to seriously contemplate it. And then there was Chloe, who was looking positively radiant as she talked about how she told Tanner she was pregnant.

“I already knew,” she told them. “I had taken a home test, but…I’m never late. Ever. Tanner had some parent conferences after school the other day, and I went to see Dr. Reynolds. She confirmed it and I was just so excited that I didn’t know what to do first!”

Pausing, she took a bite of her dinner before continuing.

“You know I have a huge craft room at home, and I called Tanner and asked him to run some errands after he was done with the conferences. We didn’t really need anything, but I needed to keep him out of the house for as long as possible. So, I went to work on creating one of those first day of school boards—you know the ones that have the name, how it’s their first day of whatever grade, teacher name…that sort of thing. Obviously, it’s too soon to know the sex of the baby or anything specific, but I had it say Baby Westyn’s First Day of Kindergarten—you know, since we’re both kindergarten teachers, and the date and year that will happen. It was so cute! I wrapped it up along with the pregnancy test—the one I took because I saved it—and gave it to him when he got home!”

“Was that the day you asked him to come to the shop and ask if we had cupcakes or anything with frosting?” Jade asked with a hint of amusement.

Chloe nodded with the biggest grin. “I already knew the only thing you had in the case that day were the brownies—which we both love—and it would make the perfect dessert.” She sighed happily. “The look on his face was just…” Another happy sigh. “Itwas everything. He had no idea I was going to the doctor or that I even suspected I was pregnant, so he was completely surprised!”

“What a great idea!” Billie gushed. “And it was completely perfect for the two of you! Very clever!”

“Thank you. We’re hoping to have everyone over this weekend so we can tell Mom and Dad. We already called Tanner’s parents because they don’t live close by, but I thought it might be nice to have everyone come over for dinner so we can tell them together. What do you guys think?”

“I think that sounds like a lot of fun!” Jade said. “Just tell us what to bring, and we’ll be there.”

“Same,” Ash agreed. “It’s kind of nice how we can do this sort of thing—you know, having them both at the same place at the same time without any drama.”

“Absolutely,” Billie added. “Although I thought Dad was back up in Laurel Bay this week visiting everyone. Will he be back by the weekend?”

“Oh, I forgot about that,” Chloe said with a pout. “I’ll call him and ask. But we might have to just tell him over the phone because I don’t want Mom to find out from anyone else but us. The longer we wait, the bigger the chance of someone else mentioning it to her. I’m ready to tell everyone I run into!”

“I’m going to text him now,” Ash volunteered. “I’ll just say we’re all getting together for dinner and ask if he’ll be back. This way you can relax.”

“Thank you!”

Jade looked over at her with a sympathetic smile and Billie knew she was just being a good friend and sister-in-law. No matter what anyone thought, this was an excellent distraction and the perfect way to bust her out of the pity party she’d been having.

“I’m going to make cupcakes!” she said happily. “Half with blue icing, half with pink. We’ll save anything more elaborateuntil you do a gender reveal—if you choose to do one. No pressure.”

“Thanks, Bill,” Chloe said, reaching over and squeezing her hand.

“How come they get cupcakes, but Reid and I got cookies?” Ashlynn whined.

“Because you asked for cookies!” Billie reminded her. “You asked for giant, big-ass cookies! Those were your exact words.”

“That does sound like me…”

Everyone nodded. “I was there, and I can confirm,” Jade told her. “You even had pictures!”

“Oh, well…sorry. I didn’t remember that,” Ash murmured.

“Are cupcakes okay with you, Chlo, or is there something else you’d prefer? I can make a cake or do something assorted? Really, it’s your choice.”

“Definitely cupcakes. Like I said, Tanner and I really love anything with frosting, so…” She giggled.

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