Page 51 of In Her Shadow

ELOISE

“Wow! These are awesome.” Katelyn's face lights up when she pulls the PVC boots out of the bag, and I smile to myself when I remember the distaste on Ren's face. I’m kind of glad his uncle called him on the way over here, and that he had something he had to go and take care of. It gives me more time to spend with Katelyn, which has been so much harder since I moved out of the city.

“How’s the whole pregnancy thing going?” Katelyn pours herself a glass of wine and at least pretends to be interested. She took the news of me being pregnant surprisingly well, although I shouldn’t really have worried about telling her. She’s always had my back. I don’t think kids are in her grand plan for the future; she’s not the maternal kind, so I’m just grateful that she made an effort to ask.

“Better than it was, I only feel sick in the mornings now. I’m a little more tired than usual, but other than that, it all just feels kinda normal.” I decide to miss out the part about me wanting to jump Ren’s bones every five seconds; just talking about it is likely to set me off.

“And how are things over at Casa de Psycho?” She smiles sarcastically.

“Don’t say that.” I shake my head, reminding her that she agreed not to judge. Katelyn doesn’t know the whole story, so she can’t judge.

“Come on, you know I’m only playing. I have to admit I had my reservations, but Ren’s shaping up to be an okay guy.” She rests back and sips her wine.“Of course, the millions of dollars in the bank helped me come to that conclusion, but what can I say? I’m shallow.” She shrugs unashamedly.

I haven’t shared with her that, after doing a little delving into the businesses he owns, I’ve discovered that Ren is in fact abillionaire. I’m still trying to get my head around it myself.

“Any news on yourmystery intruder?” She hyphenates the words with her fingers, making me look at her strangely.

“Why did you say it like that?” I pick up my water, not liking where this could be heading.

“Oh, come on, you really think Ren was telling the truth? He wanted to scare you so he could take you to his mansion and keep you all to himself. I’m not faulting him for it; it was a solid plan. It worked for him, and my best friend has bagged herself a millionaire; everyone's a winner. But don’t be naïve about it, Eloise.”

“I saw the intruder for myself on my neighbour’s door cam.” I figure a white lie won’t hurt. If she knew about the cameras that Ren had installed in my home, she really would make me get my head checked.

“Ren wouldn’t scare me like that, and like I said, I saw it with my own eyes,” I tell her firmly, placing down my water and wanting to move on from the subject.

“How do you know the guy in the helmet wasn’t him?” She proves she’s not letting up.

“It wasn’t Ren, and even if it was, I don’t care. I’m happy. You know how much I’ve wanted a family of my own, and this may be happening a little sooner than I expected it to, but?—”

“Eloise Meadows, did you forget to take that pill on purpose?” Her mouth gapes open.

“What? No. I would never.” I can’t tell her that I wasn’t even taking the pill in the first place. She's already cautious of Ren, and I want my best friend and my boyfriend to get along.

“Come on, I’m your best friend; if you can’t be honest with me, who can you be?”

“I love Ren, but I’m not that desperate,” I assure her.

“I’m sorry. Guess I’ve been watching too many daytime chat shows since I started working from home, and I’ve gained ten pounds, right on my ass.” She stands up to show me. “I’m seriously considering setting up a home gym in the garage.”

“You're being paranoid, your ass doesn’t look any bigger. Andyoudon’t get to moan tomeabout getting fat,” I warn her with a smile on my face.

“It’s not classed as fat when you're pregnant, and Ren has to love you no matter how big you get, you're bringing his child into the world. Us single gals don’t have that luxury.” I smile when I think of all the drawings Ren did of me at various different stages of pregnancy, and wonder if they’re still hanging up in that warehouse. Now that I’m over the initial shock, I’d like to see them again. I’d like him to talk me through each one and tell me the thoughts behind them. It’s obvious that he’s a very talented artist, yet I still haven’t seen him draw anything.

“You okay?” Katelyn interrupts my thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I shake the thought away.

“Stop daydreaming about your boyfriend and help me decide who’s taking me out Saturday night. I’m stuck between a personal trainer and the marine.” She takes out her phone so she can show me her competitors.

“Did you fix the job you had to do for your uncle?” I ask, playing with my food rather than eating it when we’re back home and sitting at the table.

“Yeah, it’s all taken care of.” Ren smiles at me, making it clear he’s not going to elaborate. “I thought you liked salmon.” He looks down at my plate when he realizes I’ve not eaten much of it.

“I love salmon, but Katelyn put out some snacks while I was there, so I’m not that hungry.” I smile at him before I broach the next subject. “You wanna make a start on those negotiations?” I ask him playfully. I’ve been thinking a lot about it throughout the day, and I think he’s going to be happy with the decision I’ve made.

“Sure.” He rests back in his chair and waits for me to start. So I take a deep breath and make a start.

“I love my job, but being a mom is something that I’ve always aspired to do. I know once he or she gets here, I’m not gonna want to miss a single thing. So, I’ve decided that once the baby comes, I want to be a full-time mom.” I wait for his reaction.

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