Page 130 of What if It's Us

I choke out a laugh. “You’re so fucking perfect.”

29 WEEKS

“Hey, Mama,” Blakely greets me in my office. “If you don’t mind my saying so, you’re looking a little…”

She winces so I finish her sentence for her. “Large? Round? Bulbous? Swollen? Bulging? Huge?”

She laughs. “How about…glowing.” She winks and gives me a sympathetic smile. “You look absolutely glowing.”

I lean back in my office chair, my hands resting on my stomach because, quite frankly at this point, there’s nowhere else to put them. “Look at me, Blake. I’m a swollen fat-ass turkey complete with that thingy that pops when it’s done,” I tell her, pointing to my belly button.

“Well in case nobody has told you yet, Marlee, you’re pregnant. With triplets, I might add. I think that entails a bit of…growth. You’re literally baking three buns in that oven. And at twenty-nine weeks, you’re still at work. You should pat yourself on the back for that. And then get yourself the hell home and off your feet until those babies come.”

I shake my head. “No can do. Where the team goes, I go.” I shrug and then sigh with a hopeless cringe. “Plus, when it’s timefor these babies to come I don’t want to be that far away from Ledger.”

Blakely offers me her hand. “Well then come walk with me. I left one of my notebooks in the community room this morning after the charity meet-and-greet and I need to grab it before I leave for the day. Plus, walking is good for those swollen ankles.”

“Ugh, you’re not wrong,” I say, turning in my chair and pulling myself to my feet. “One fat-ass penguin waddle coming up.”

“I’ll waddle right along with you. We’ll call them sympathy waddles.”

“You’re a true friend, Blakely.

We take the elevator down to the second floor and waddle down the hallway toward the community room.

“Oh, hey Marlee!” Ella practically shouts as she steps out of the very room we’re walking towards.

“Hey Ella,” Blakely says, waving as we near the room. “I left my notebook in there this morning. On the back counter. Did you happen to see it while you were in there?”

Ella nods. “Yep. And I just moved it to keep it safe for you. Come on, I’ll show you.”

She happily loops her arm with mine and together we step into the community room.

And then I stop dead in the doorway.

Holy…shit.

The room is unrecognizable.

There are enough balloons in here to float a small car. And there’s a massive banner stretched across the wall, reading in blocky glitter letters:MARLEE’S BABY BASH!

Confetti falls from the ceiling in slow, menacing puffs as the entire team, including the front office personnel, Scarlett, Corrigan, Layken, Ella, and Blakely shout, “SURPRISE” the moment they see me.

“Oh, my God,” I say, carefully stepping over a decorative hockey puck diaper cake. “What is happening?”

Ledger appears from behind a pile of stuffed animals stacked to look like a net. He’s wearing a shirt that saysDAD IN TRAININGwith printed arrows pointing to different spots that readBACK SUPPORT,BURP ZONE, andSNACKS HERE.

He beams. “Surprise, babe! I’m throwing you a baby shower!”

I look around the room again.

One table is covered in cupcakes, each one decorated like a different pregnancy symptom. There’s ‘Heartburn Hazelnut,’ ‘Nausea Nougat,’ and ‘Mood Swing Mint’.

Another table has a mini stick-handling course labeled:Test Your parent Reflexes: Save the Falling Baby Bottle.

“Oh my God,” I whisper, both horrified and touched.

“I may have gone slightly overboard,” Ledger admits, cringing as he pulls me gently toward the center of the room. “But it’s all scientifically designed to distract you from the crushing anxiety of pregnancy.”

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