Page 142 of Theirs to Take

“Should we come back?” Mina asked.

“Nope—you’ve seen my boobs before and well, Ben’s gay, so I don’t think that he’s interested in my boobs,” Carrie teased. Shit, she hadn’t thought about Carrie and Evan knowing that Ben was gay. They had hung out a lot when Carrie was single and now, their whole “Make Eli jealous,” scheme might be foiled by her other best friend and Eli’s brother. She’d just have to be sure tokeep Eli and Ben apart when they were all together like this and suddenly, she was thankful that he had made a coffee run. The longer she could keep up the ruse, the better chance she had at convincing Eli to give her a shot.

“Yeah, if you could stop spreading that around, I’d appreciate it,” Ben said. “I have a little bet with Mina and I’ll lose if you keep telling everyone I’m gay.” He was always quick on his feet, and she smiled up at him as if trying to thank him for the quick cover.

“Bet?” Carrie asked. “What kind of bet?”

“It’s nothing, really,” Mina insisted. “I want to hold that baby.”

“Well, you are just in time to burp him. Do you know how to do that?” Carrie asked.

“I remember from my babysitting days,” Mina admitted. Carrie handed her the baby and she took him, loving the way that he snuggled into her arms. He smelled good and felt right there.

“He’s perfect,” Mina whispered to her friend.

Carrie swiped at her tears and nodded, “He is, isn’t he? Sorry, my hormones are crazy right now, but the nurses all assure me that it’s normal.”

“I wouldn’t know, but I’ll take your word for it,” Ben teased.

“Are you going to hold him too?” Mina asked.

“Not on your life,” Ben said. He even went as far as to take a step back from her as if not wanting to have the newborn thrust in his direction. “I’m not good with kids and they don’t seem to like me much either. Trust me, it’s best for both of us if that kid stays right where he is.”

“Aww—I had no idea that you were afraid of wee babes,” Carrie teased in her best Scottish lilt.

“I’m not afraid of them,” Ben insisted, “I just know my limitations.” Evan laughed and the baby started to cry. Mina tried to calm him but gave up and handed him back to Carrie.

“Sorry, Evan is working on his quiet laugh, but he hasn’t got it down yet,” Carrie teased.

“Not a problem.” Mina insisted. “I guess we should get going anyway.”

“I got the flowers you sent,” Carrie said, “thank you.”

“No problem. I might have also delivered a few things for the baby at your place,” she said. “I didn’t want to bring them here and have you two have to cart them home.”

“That’s so sweet of you,” Carrie said, calming her son.

“I’m sure that I’ll see you soon. Just call me when you’re up for a visit—no pressure though,” Mina insisted. She kissed her friend on the cheek and hugged Evan goodbye. “Oh, I almost forgot to ask—what’s his name?”

“We named him Jack, after my father. If it wasn’t for him sending me off here to live with my cousins, I would have never met Evan,” Carrie said.

“That’s sweet,” Ben said.

“Jack must be so pleased,” Mina said.

“He’s over the moon,” Evan admitted. “Now, we just need to get him to stop calling the kid, 'Little Jack’ so he doesn’t get a complex.”

Mina giggled and smiled back at the little family of three. “Nice to meet you, Jack,” she said back over her shoulder.

“Thanks for visiting,” Evan called as the door closed behind her.

“You good?” Ben asked.

“He’s beautiful,” she said, in her euphoric state.

“Yeah, he was cute—if you like babies,” Ben teased. She more than liked them, and now, she was sure that all she’d be able to do was daydream about having one of her own someday. If she could just convince the man she wanted to want her back, she’d be on her way to the family she was crazy enough to dream about.

Eli

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