Page 29 of SCRUMptious

Just then, Aoife strolled up, her beach ball belly leading the way. She’d gotten so much bigger since I’d last seen her. It was still hard to believe she was going to be a mom. But more importantly, Eoin—my 22-year-old best friend—was going to be adad.

If he can be a dad, why can’tyou—?

I put a lid on that idea before I could finish the rest of that sentence.

“I’m Aoife. You must be Lauren. Nice to meetyou.”

After another round of introductions, the four of us made our way inside the museum.

“So, what did you want to see first?” Eoin turned to me with the museum map in his hands.

I shrugged. The truth was, I didn’t have the first clue about anything here. I just knew the place was open late and that smart people like Lauren typically liked museums. Turning to my girl, I asked, “What do you think?”

Studying the map in her hand for a quick moment, she glanced back up. “The bog people?” she asked, looking between the rest ofus.

Aoife scrunched up her nose. “You go on ahead. They freak meout.”

Eoin laughed and rolled his eyes as he led the way toward the part of the museum that housed the famous bog people. “Not this again.”

“I don’t care what you say; they should have decomposed like everyoneelse.”

“You know why they didn’t though, right?”

Back and forth they went as we walked, sounding as if they’d had this discussion countless times before. Which they probably had. Eoin and Aoife had known each other their whole lives. While I’d been growing up in America, they’d been visiting places like this on school field trips.

“They’re cute,” Lauren whispered. “How long have they been together?”

I smirked. “They grew up in the same town and have been friends forever, but they’ve been together less than ayear.”

Lauren’s eyes grew wide, and I chuckled. “Yeah, she got knocked up literally the first time they hadsex.”

“Holyshit.”

“Yup, prettymuch.”

Her eyes wandered to my friends. Eoin was dragging Aoife toward the clear glass case while she exclaimed promises of retribution.

She continued staring at them, a speculative look on herface.

“What?” I asked.

Lauren shook her head. “It’s nothing,” she said, moving toward the display.

As she went, I studied her the same way she’d been studying Eoin and Aoife, wondering what she’d been thinking. It sucked that they’d gotten pregnant so young, but it was doubly hard because Aoife looked a few years younger than she was. Because of it, they dealt with a lot of judgmental assholes who looked at her and saw just another pregnant teenager. I didn’t think Lauren was like that, but knowing her stance on kids, I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe she wasn’t judging themtoo.

Stepping near, I wrapped my arm around her waist and bent down to whisper in her ear. “They’re good people and they love each other.”

Her eyes darted up to meet mine. “What?”

I notched my chin toward Aoife and Eoin, who were looking at a nearby display of ancient Irish artifacts. “You had a look on your face justnow.”

“Oh, no. Nothing likethat.”

“What’s it like then?” I asked, studying herface.

We hadn’t known each other long, but I’d quickly learned to read her expressions, so I knew when Lauren was holding back on me. She would have made a terrible poker player.

She glanced toward Eoin and Aoife again and then back to me. The right side of her mouth hitched up in a small grin. “It doesn’t seem like an unplanned pregnancy has put a strain on their relationship. You look at them and you can immediately tell they’re inlove.”

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