Page 2 of Captivating Mr. Second Chance

Laney was used to it; they’d been together for three years. Bobby ruled a restaurant empire, a superstar chef with occasional guest-hosting gigs on the Food Network. He was handsome, charming, and Australian. What more could a girl want?

That was the question she’d been asking herself more and more lately.

When her friends frowned, Laney wrinkled her nose. “No, don’t do that. It’s fine. I’m fine.” To prove it, she held up the bottle of wine, cheersing the screen before pouring more into her glass. When she moved to pour more into Gem’s, her friend raised her palm over her glass. “You don’t want anymore?”

“No. I’m good.”

“Are you sure?” Laney shook the bottle a little. “We have at least two glasses left.”

When Gem only offered her a closed-lips smile, Laney knew something was off and set the bottle back down. “You all right?”

Gem dragged her fork through her vegan basil and zucchini gnocchi. “Eh.”

“Eh?”

“What’s wrong?” Bronte asked, unable to see how pale Gem appeared when she pushed back the short bangs of her pixie cut.

“Gem’s not feeling well,” Laney said.

“Drink too much?” Sam guessed.

“Is it the food?” Laney asked. The more she considered it, the more obvious the clues seemed that her friend hadn’t been feeling well. Since they’d met up this afternoon, Gem had pretty much let Laney jabber on when she usually would’ve been more energetic.

Gem held her water glass in her hand, her big, dark eyes scrutinizing it as if she wasn’t sure if she should drink it or pour it over her head. After a moment, she pressed it to her forehead. “It’s hot in here, huh?”

Laney shook her head. It wasn’t hot at all. Mid-January in San Francisco was mild, and the restaurant was cool enough for her to layer up.

“I…um…” Gem lifted her head, first meeting Laney’s gaze and then focusing on the phone screen. “I haven’t felt right for the last few days, and now that I’m thinking about it…”

Seconds passed before Laney, Bronte, and Sam all spoke at the same time.

“Oh my god.”

“Shut your face.”

“You’re pregnant.”

“I don’t know,” Gem said, licking her lips a few times, and now shereallylooked sick. “I was tired, but I thought it was from travel and then from the retreat.” She pressed her water glass to her forehead again.

“When was your last period?” Sam asked.

Gem spoke toward the table. “End of November.”

“Is Jason getting his wish?” Laney asked, earning a laugh from everyone, including Gem. Her husband had said he wanted enough kids to field his own basketball team.

Bronte’s eyes practically bugged out of her head in excitement. “Do you have a test? You have to take one right now. I’m dying.”

“You’re dying,” Gem repeated with a smile that quickly faded, and she dunked two fingers into the water and dragged them across her opposite wrist. “I’m dying.”

“Yeah, okay, okay.” Laney grabbed her purse and flagged down the server. “We’re going right now. I’ll call a ride, and we’ll stop by to grab a test.”

“Let us know immediately,” Bronte said.

Sam hiked her shoulders up to her ears. “Should I say good luck?”

“Save it for when I have to push out another one of Jason’s big-headed babies.”

Then Laney ended the call with a quick goodbye and hustled Gem out of the restaurant and into the waiting Lyft. With a pit stop for a Clearblue test, they were back at the two-bedroom condo Laney and Bobby shared in Russian Hill.

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