Page 117 of The Goal

“I know. But I still could have gotten an abortion.” Honestly, that’s a thought that weighs on me every minute I spend trying to figure out how I’m going to make this all work.

“But you didn’t, so stop looking backward.”

“I know,” I say again.

“You have feelings for him.”

I busy myself with finding a place for the clean bottles and other baby gear. “I like him.”

“You can say the other L word. It won’t kill you.”

Annoyed, I glare at Carin. “Like you’re any better, Miss Commitmentphobe. Since when have you run around telling guys you’ve hooked up with that you love them?”

“Never, but I’m not afraid of it like you are.”

“I’m not afraid of it.” Am I?

She rolls her eyes.

“Whatever. It’s irrelevant, anyway. Tucker’s in this because he’s in love with the baby and that’s good enough for me.”

Carin opens her mouth to rebuke me, but Tucker strolls into the kitchen before she can get a word out. “Ready?” he asks me.

I flick a gaze toward the microwave clock. Crap. It says we have about twenty minutes before class starts.

“Yup. You guys are going to have to leave,” I tell Carin. “Tuck and I are going to a breathing class.”

She raises a brow. “For what?”

“To help her when she’s in labor,” Hope explains as she enters the kitchen with D’Andre on her heels. She comes over and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “Call us later, okay?”

“I will. And thanks for helping out today. All of you.”

“No thanks necessary,” Hope says, and Carin and D’Andre nod in agreement. “We’re here for you, B. Now and always.”

Emotion wells up in my throat. I have no idea how I wound up with such amazing friends, but I’m sure as heck not complaining.

“You don’t sound tooexcited about this,” Tucker comments twenty minutes later. He holds the door to the community center open for me.

“And you are?” A yellow sign decorated with balloons greets us. “This process is so hard that I have to learn how to breathe? That’s not normal.”

“You watch any of those YouTube videos?”

“God no. I didn’t want to psych myself out. Did you?”

“A few.”

“And?”

He gives me a thumbs-down. “I don’t recommend them. I’m wondering why we usebrass ballsto describe someone who’s really strong, because after the second video, my balls tried to climb inside my body. Plus, my YouTube history is officially fucked.”

“Ha. Exactly why I didn’t watch any.” I wag a warning finger at him. “Stay by my head during the birth or you’ll never want to have sex with me again.”

“Nah, I can separate the two.” He drags his hand down my spine to rest it on top of my butt, which, like my boobs, is growing in size. “This ass is made for tapping.”

“So anal is all I’m going to get after childbirth?”

He grins broadly. “Why not both?”

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