Page 116 of Worth the Chase

“Knew what?” She played innocent.

“You’re pregnant.”

Everyone gasped at once. I was around Addi the most, so I’d noticed that she seemed off some days, she would pale around certain foods and excuse herself, and the most obvious was that she hadn’t been drinking at any of our family dinners at the farm.

“We’re not telling anyone until after your wedding. Please don’t tell Matthew. Or Thomas.” She pinned both me andBrooklyn with a pleading look. “We didn’t want to take anything away from your special day. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Are you kidding? I’m so happy for you.” I beamed because I was. “And you’ve just given Matthew the best gift ever.”

“What gift?” she asked.

“A reason to get me pregnant as soon as possible,” I groaned, but I was only playing.

Matthew had been saying that the cousins needed to grow up together, and the only way to do that was for us all to have babies at the same time. I swore he was more obsessed with the idea than I was.

He was going to be so happy.

I was already so happy.

“You have a baby goo in your tummy, Starfish Addi?” Clara’s eyes were wide.

“Yes, but it’s our secret. We can’t tell anyone yet. We’ll tell them after Uncle Matthew’s wedding, okay?” Addi practically begged, and Clara seemed to contemplate the idea, but hadn’t agreed to the terms yet.

“We sure are keeping a lot of secrets.” Clara wrapped her arms across her chest.

“I know this might not feel right to you,” Brooklyn said, but I could tell she was at a loss for words.

How did you tell a little girl who had been raised not to lie and always tell the truth to keep secrets from her dad?

“We are only keeping a secret because we don’t want them to know yet,” I interjected. “It’s like when you buy someone a present at Christmas or for their birthday. You don’t tell them what you bought them, right? You let it be a surprise.”

Clara looked relieved. “So, these are surprises, not secrets.”

Everyone collectively looked relieved.Surpriseseemed like a much better word choice thansecret.

“Yes! My dress is a surprise. We don’t want Uncle Matthew to know anything about it until he sees me in it.”

“’Cause you’re his present,” she said, and I laughed.

“Damn right she is,” Addi answered.

“Bad word.” Clara pointed.

“Sorry.” Addi pouted. “And the baby in my belly is a surprise until after the wedding because we want everyone to be focused on Uncle Matthew and Aunt Bella and not on the baby. Does that make sense?”

“Kind of.”

Brooklyn leaned toward me and whispered, “Please help me out and go try on your damn dress.”

Duh. The whole reason why we were all here. The final dress fitting.

I hopped up from the couch and stood. “I’m going to go try on my dress,” I announced, and I swore that they almost started crying already.

While I was in the back room, Sandy came inside to help me get everything tied and zipped up.

When I’d first come in, I’d opted to try on the standard white dress, but felt disenchanted. Even when my mom’s eyes watered, I had known the color was all wrong for me. My new dress wasn’t even remotely typical, but Matthew was going to love it. Not to mention the fact that it was the color of his NHL team when he used to play. It was my sentimental nod to that time of his life while also wearing the color that looked best on me. My wedding shouldn’t be the exception to that fact.

Slipping into the dress, I made sure to maneuver my way into the top portion. The back was wide open, with the exception of the straps and buttons that lined down my derriere. The material was silky, and it had a built-in train. The front of the dress dipped low between my breasts and fit my body perfectly.There was no veil because, to be honest, they didn’t suit the island theme.

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