Page 55 of The MC's Surprise
32
Sierra
“What do you mean when does he get here? He’s not coming. Women only,” Charlotte said with a look so full of disdain, it bordered on a sneer. Like I should have known already that men weren’t invited to baby showers. I didn't see why that would be the case. It was his baby too.
She huffed an irritated sound and spun on her heel, stalking back inside. Skylar and I shared a look before following her. When we stepped into the building, I found myself holding my breath. Just how bad could it be?
“What the…” Skylar muttered under her breath as we entered the gym. Because yep, Charlotte had decided the community center gym was the best place to hold a baby shower. And not even the whole gym. Only half of it was set up with tables and decorations while a group of teens played basketball on the other side of a padded divider that slid out of the wall. The sound of screeching shoes and the pounding of the ball almost drowned out the tinkling nursery music playing on a tiny radio in the corner.
“Why is everything cow themed?” Skylar asked loud enough for Charlotte to overhear. There were a few other women there, none of whom I recognized. They looked like copies of Charlotte with their spindly heels and long blown out hair. Her friends maybe?
Charlotte glanced over her shoulder, giving me a once over and a sneer. “Well, since I didn’t know the gender or whatever, I had to pick something. I figured I’d pick something that resembled the mother.”
Her friends snickered, but I just gave her a bored look. I wasn’t going to let her snide comments get to me. I was closing in on my due date. I wouldn’t be this big forever.
“You don’t like it?” one of her friends asked, faux shock on her face. “We spent so much time and effort on making it look nice for you.”
That almost made me laugh. Aside from some wonky balloons taped to the walls and black and white streamers, there were a few cheap table covers that were all brown for some reason, and paper plates and cups that were cow themed as well. I’d seen pictures of the events Charlotte had thrown at the casino. The effort she put into this one screamed dollar store chic. I’d never thrown an event this bad, not even when I was strapped for cash and fighting to keep my business alive.
Instead of pointing that out, I chose to move on. I told myself not to have any expectations for this party. I couldn’t let it get to me.
“When will my mom get here?”
“Oh… I knew I forgot to do something,” she replied with an exaggerated pout. “Don’t be mad. I was just so busy with work and planning this. I completely forgot.”
“But you’re, like, an adult, right? You don’t need your mommy at your party,” another blonde brat sneered, flipping her hair like the popular girls did in high school.
“What about her other friends?” Skylar demanded. “Vegas said he gave you a list of people to call.”
Charlotte lifted one shoulder with a smug grin. “Oops.”
I was going to leave because this was obviously a dumpster fire of a party, but I knew if I did, then she’d win. Besides, I wanted to see just how far she’d go to piss me off. And I wanted to see how she’d react when she didn't get her way.
“It’s fine,” I told Skylar. “What’s the plan for this thing?”
“What do you mean?” Charlotte snapped.
“Like games? Usually people play games at baby showers, right?” I shot a questioning look at Skylar, who nodded in agreement. “Right. And food? Or is this just a gathering to hang out?”
It looked like it annoyed her that I was pointing out the flaws in her event, even if she’d done a shit job on purpose. When I raised an eyebrow at her, she scowled back at me.
“Give me a second.”
She spun around, gathering together with her friends in a huddle. Skylar and I took a step back, doing our own little huddle.
“What the hell?” Skylar demanded.
“I know. I told you she didn’t like me. I’ll bet you anything they didn't plan a single game or anything like that because they expected me to get angry or cry and leave right away.”
“Why didn’t you?” she asked, eyeing me curiously. “I mean, I would’ve. This isn’t a baby shower. I don’t even want to stoop low enough to call it a party.”
I shrugged, eyeing the little group to make sure they didn’t do anything crazy. It was a little risky staying, since Charlotte was obviously vindictive, but I was curious just how far she’d go.
“I want to see what else she comes up with. I had zero expectations for this party, so it’s not like I’m disappointed oranything. I thought it’d be fun to drag this out a little and see what she comes up with.”
Skylar’s mouth twisted to hide her grin. “You’re evil. Count me in. Are we making comments on how disappointing it all is or just pretending everything is normal?”
“Second option,” I replied, straightening a little when the huddle broke. “I don’t want her going back to Vegas saying I was rude to her. She’s his friend after all.”
