Page 70 of Castleton Hearts Boxed Set

“I can’t believe this is happening,” I said.

“I know. I just can’t picture Gretchen as a mom. She’s going to have to think about someone other than herself, for once. And she’ll have to give up drinking on the weekends,” she said.

I guess that was something.

“That poor baby,” I said. Kid was doomed, with parents like that.

“Seriously. Can you imagine those being your parents? I can’t imagine what awful name Gretchen is already picking out,” Linley said.

I blew my nose and suddenly lost all of my energy.

“I feel like I need a nap now,” I said.

“Take a warm bath with lots of candles and Epsom salts,” Linley said. “And I’ll bring you dinner.”

I was so lucky to have her as a friend.

“Wait, does Em know?” I asked. She was going to lose it when she found out she was going to be an aunt.

Linley shook her head. “No, no one knows, other than me. And I wouldn’t have even known if I hadn’t looked at the name and address on the order. Honestly, it seems a little tacky.”

It kind of was.

“How far along is she?” I asked. Did I even want to know?

“Not sure. The order came through online. I’m supposed to drop it off at Gretchen’s before five, so I’m guessing she’s going to have a party or something,” she said.

That sounded about right. I wanted to message Em and ask her if she’d been invited to a party with her parents and Wyatt and Gretchen, but then she’d get suspicious.

“Fuck, this is all bizarre. I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet,” I said.

It probably wouldn’t until I saw Gretchen with a visible belly. That was next to impossible to picture.

“You go take your bath, I’ll bring you food, and then you can come over tonight, if you want,” she said.

“Thank you. I promised I’d see Esme at the bar, so I’ll stop by there for a drink before I head over.”

We had a plan, and that was something. Linley gave me another hug before she left.

Taking her advice, I got myself into the tub with soothing music and candles and I also added a tray of snacks because I wanted to be fancy.

It didn’t fix all my problems, but it did make me feel a tiny bit better. The tiniest bit.

Linley dropped off dinner, and I didn’t ask her if she was on her way to drop of Gretchen’s cake. I also didn’t ask what she’d frosted on it to announce the pregnancy. Probably something really cliché and basic. Gretchen didn’t have a whole lot of imagination. I’d had art class with her one semester, I should know.

Deciding that one bath wasn’t enough, I actually got back in the tub and had dinner there. I emerged a full-body prune, but I didn’t care. I dried my hair and pinned it back before putting on a loose dress and heading out to the bar to see Esme.

“Hey,” I said, leaning over the bar and giving her a smile that felt forced.

“Hey,” she said, beaming and then her face fell after looking at me for more than a moment.

“What’s wrong?” she asked immediately.

I’d done my best to take down the puffiness of my eyes after crying so much, but I guess I hadn’t done a good enough job.

“It’s nothing,” I said.

She reached across the bar and took my hands.

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