Page 100 of Seven of Hearts

In response, he punched the other side of my ribcage.

“Look. We’ve got ten more weeks to go, little man. You’ve gotta quit trying to fight your way out.”

“Is he giving you trouble?”

I looked up to find Erica Pelham walking down the path between our houses, and offered a weak smile. “He thinks my organs are a trampoline and my ribs are monkey bars.”

She snickered as her two kids rode their bikes alongside her. “You’re going to have your hands full.”

I looked at the porch banister that was half-decorated with a lush green garland. “I may have overestimated my energy today. Maybe Christmas Eve wasn’t the best day to start decorating.”

Erica’s smile was kind. “Have the boys do it. I’ll send Steve down to help Logan when he gets off work.”

I parted my legs wide, grabbed the porch railing, and carefully squatted to pick up the tail end of the garland. “I was hoping to get it done before Logan got back.” I glanced at the time on my phone. “But it looks like it’s just going to be half-done.”

“I remember those days well,” Erica said as she tossed her curls over her shoulder. “Having the mental desire to tackle a full day, but not even enough energy to get out of bed.”

“It’s making me stir crazy,” I confessed.

“How’s the house coming?” she asked. “You guys ready for the baby to come?”

I glanced over my shoulder at the little cottage that was slowly becoming home. “Getting there. I’m still looking for a rocking chair that I love. I swear, the thrift shops hate to see me coming. I think they might start putting signs on the door that say they haven’t gotten new inventory.”

“I’m sure you’ll find something you like soon.” She glanced down at her kids. “All right, monsters. Let’s let Miss Leah get back to work.” She smiled at me. “We just wanted to check on you.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “How convenient that Logan is over at Kristin’s house and someone dropped by to check on me.”

Erica snickered as the kids turned to ride their bikes back down the path. “He may have sent me a text a little bit ago, asking if I could look out my window and see if you were putting up Christmas decorations.” She pressed her finger to her lips. “This will be our little secret.”

That man . . .

I laughed and said my goodbyes to Erica and the kids and finished looping the garland around the porch railing.

Logan may have said something about waiting until he got home to decorate, but I only had twelve hours until it was Christmas and I wanted it to be festive, dammit!

I should have known he would find some way to spy on me to make sure I wasn’t over exerting myself. I turned toward the doorbell camera we had just installed. I knew he’d be watching, so I flipped it off, then shook my ass to give him a little show.

My phone dinged with a text.

Logan:Hot mama.

A wreathI had snagged during a thrifting trip was sitting on the front step. I loved second-hand Christmas decorations. It was like bringing another family’s holiday memories into my home. I added some fresh ribbon and fluffed out the bow before grabbing a hammer and adding a nail to the door to hang it.

I centered the wreath and took a step back to make sure it was just right.

“Looks good.”

I screeched, clapping my hand over my mouth as I spun to find my mother standing behind me.

“Oh my god!” I pressed my hand to my chest, then my belly. “You scared me!”

It had been a month and a half since we had seen each other. From the outset, she was the same woman I had known all my life. But there was something distinctly different about her, I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

“Hi, Leah,” she said as she peered at the house.

I racked my brain, but I couldn’t remember telling her I had moved or what the address was. It had been something I wanted to address in person so that I could be clear when I told her that Logan and I were in it for the long haul.

So why was she here?

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