Page 29 of Giving It to the Man-Whore

Their drinks were already with them, and Mel pushed a straw into her strawberry milkshake.

“Why don’t you want to have a baby in the hospital?” Penny asked.

“I just don’t. It’s not really natural, and women have been giving birth at home for a long time.” She pushed some hair off her cheek, recalling the deep scratch that had been fading over the past week.

Tara’s ass had been kicked out of the club. She hadn’t seen the other woman, but Pea had assured her the club had delivered her a warning to get the hell out of Sinners’ Corner.

“But the point is you don’t have to.”

“It’ll save money.”

Penny rolled her eyes. “What is with you saving money? We’re talking about your comfort here. If something was to go wrong, and I’m not saying it will, but you’ve got to be prepared, Mel.”

“I’ll always save money, sweetie. I’ve had a bad experience with that, and I’ll always be frugal. I’ve got a college education to think about now. I want him or her to have the best. I don’t want to be wasting money because something looks pretty, or to save on some pain.”

Her sister wasn’t agreeing with her. “You really need to talk to Pea about this.”

“I will. I promise.”

Natasha returned, and they talked about all of the stuff a first-time mother would need. Penny was amazing, and Leonardo slept through the entire journey. It was clearly too much for him already at such a young age.

Watching Leonardo sleep sent a shot of longing through her. Mel wanted this baby.

On the way back to town, she got Penny to drop her off at the library. She wanted to borrow some books on birthing, and every single process so that she could make a sound decision.

It was late, a little after five, so there weren’t a whole lot of people in the library. She spotted Big Ricky in the back, where his gaze could see the reception desk easily. Mel ignored him, and walked up to the blonde, Prue, as she was typing on the computer.

“Hello, Melissa,” Prue said. Her smile was as kind as her eyes.

She couldn’t help but smile at Prue. She had that way about her that brought out a protectiveness inside Mel.

“How are you doing?” Mel asked.

“It’s been good. I’m not going to complain about a busy day at the office.” For a library it was always good to keep it busy. She’d heard Prue’s fears before when she’d been listening in on a conversation with another woman. If there wasn’t enough activity within the library, they could shut them down and put the funding elsewhere. The day after, Mel had made it a habit to visit the library.

“Could you point me in the baby section? I’m looking on anything from a list of what to call your child, to giving birth, and then aftercare.”

“So the rumors are true?”

“Rumors?”

“You’re pregnant.”

She nodded. “There’s already talk about that?”

“Whenever it’s about the MC, there’s always talk. I heard you killed someone Friday night, or you beat the crap out of someone, or you cut a finger off. I heard it was a party.”

The joke made Mel laugh. “It wasn’t much of a party. Once my sister let the cat of the bag, so to speak, Pea and I had to talk.”

“He didn’t know?” Prue rounded the counter, and got her to follow toward the elevator.

“I hadn’t told him. I didn’t know what to say to him. For some strange reason, ‘guess what, we’re having a kid’ didn’t seem like the right words.”

Prue laughed.

“You’ve not asked if it’s Pea’s?”

“Why would I doubt if it’s Pea’s baby?” Prue asked with a frown.

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