Page 16 of Callahan

“Nope. I’ve got a hot date tonight.” She looked at Lainey. “Jonathan is taking me to Maxfield’s for dinner.”

“Ooh la la,” Lainey said. “Fancy.”

“I know right?Toofancy. I’m scared he’s going to pop the question.”

I couldn’t help but interject. “You’re scared? You don’t want to marry him?”

She stammered. “I—I mean, I do. I think. But in the future. Not right now.”

Lainey nodded. “I totally get it. I thought Shawn was going to ask me before he went overseas, and I wasn’t sure what I would have said. I mean, I was only twenty-two!”

Oh damn. Was that why Shawn could “never find the right time to ask her”?

She continued with a laugh. “Of course, I didn’t know I was pregnant then.”

Kristy’s eyes were like saucers.

“You never told me that! What if he would have asked and you’d said no? Do you think you would have broken up? Oh my God! That would have been horrible! You split up with him, and then find out you’re pregnant, and then he…”

The young woman’s voice trailed off when she realized what she’d been about to say.

Lainey was gracious and let it go with a smile.

“Well, he never asked, so I never had to make that decision.”

We were all quiet for a beat, and it felt like a good time for me to leave.

I hopped off the stool I’d been sitting on and enthusiastically said, “Okay, one pepperoni pizza. Should I get drinks?”

“If you want something other than water, orange juice, or Diet Coke.”

“Sounds good. Anything else?”

“Oh, you have to get their giant sugar cookie, too!” Kristy exclaimed.

Lainey put her hand on her hip. “Are you crazy? It’s bad enough I’m having pizza! I’m never going to get back into my pre-baby jeans if I don’t start watching what I eat.”

“I think you look amazing,” I blurted out without thinking.

Lainey rolled her eyes like she thought I was full of shit.

“I still have twenty pounds of baby weight to lose.”

I perused her luscious curves from head to toe, and back up again.

“Where? You’re perfect.”

Okay, now I’d said too much.

Lainey’s face softened, and she softly murmured, “That’s very sweet of you to say. But trust me, underneath these jeans is a definite mom bod.”

Damnit!

Now I was thinking about what she’d look like naked.

I think Kristy must have read my mind, because she pressed her lips together, as if to keep from laughing while she looked away.

I needed to get the hell out of there before I said something else inappropriate.

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