Page 68 of Natural Satisfaction

"No, it's nothing like that. I told him I don't have any friends, and I'll have to stand at the altar all by myself." She grabbed a tissue from a box on the bedside table and blew her nose. "Ollie said I won't be alone because he and Damian and Val will be standing there too, and so will the minister. That's when I started crying. And you know how guys are about tears. He told me to call my mom, but I called you instead."

"I'm glad you did."

"Ugh. I'm such a lunatic." She wadded up the tissue and tossed it into the wastebasket. "Ollie suggested it's hormones. What did I do? I managed to weep uncontrollably and shout at him at the same time."

"Ollie understands, I'm sure. Getting married is a big deal and comes with all kinds of stressful stuff that needs to be done."

She stretched her legs out, leaned back, and laid a hand over her lower belly. "It's more than that. Ollie doesn't mind if I tell you, so, um…" Mara sucked in a big breath and blew it out. "I'm pregnant."

"What? Mara, that's wonderful."

"I know, it really is. We found out yesterday, and at first, we were both over the moon." She shut her eyes and sighed. "But all this wedding craziness is getting to me. The hormonal mood swings aren't helping."

"Don't worry about any of that." I sat up straighter and pointed at myself. "You've got a crack wedding coordinator who's going to handle absolutely everything so the bride can take it easy."

"I can't make you do everything. I'm not even paying you."

"Forget about money. You are my best friend and seeing you and Ollie tie the knot is all the payment I need."

She half-smiled. "Thank you so much, Heidi. You're my best friend too."

I patted her knee. "And as for you not having bridesmaids, that's taken care of too. Eve and I will stand at the altar with you." I glanced at her red, puffy eyes, and realized I needed to do my best-friend job. "Let me get you a cool, damp cloth for your eyes and some chamomile tea to soothe your nerves."

Mara smiled a little more than she had a minute ago. "You're the best, Heidi. I love you."

"Love you too, Mara."

I hustled into the bathroom and got a cool cloth for her, then I insisted she lie down to rest. I settled the cloth over her forehead and partially over her face, so it covered her eyes. After that, I jogged downstairs to get the tea. Maybe I didn't have a paying job at the moment, but helping Mara made me feel useful in a way I hadn't experienced before. I couldn't regret quitting my job.

As I brewed the tea in the kitchen, I wondered if I might have found my new career path after all.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Damian

"Do women always go insane right before the wedding?" Ollie asked, though he didn't give me a chance to respond. "I mean, it's just a wedding, not a presidential inauguration. How could Mara think she doesn't have friends? Of course she does. I tried to calm her down, but no, she had to cry and sniffle and get all puffy-eyed and miserable. She wouldn't even let me hug her, and every time I tried to say something, she'd burst out crying again. She's gone totally nuts."

Ollie had stormed into the office a few minutes ago in a state of half panic, half misery, and flumped onto the chair beside the desk. I sat here in the big chair listening to him vent.

Now, my best friend threw his head back and moaned.

He wasn't angry with Mara. No, he had a much worse problem than that. He was so completely in love with her that he did the worst possible thing any man could do when a woman was upset for what, to us guys, seemed like absolutely nothing. He'd told her it was nothing.

Yeah, Ollie was freaking out too, but in a different way from how Mara had done it.

I was positive Ollie had told her it was nothing in a calm, patient, loving tone. But in my experience, that was also a bad thing to do when a woman started crying. When I'd told Ollie my opinion a minute ago, he had huffed and thrown his hands up, then said, "Then whatisthe right thing to do?"

"No idea, man," I told him. "Women are a mystery."

Ollie genuinely wanted to make his fiancée feel better, but being a guy, he didn't have a frigging clue how to do that.

Since he'd just finished his second diatribe and seemed to be taking a breather, I tried again to settle him down with a bad joke. "Maybe it's PMS. Girls go bananas when it's that time of the month. They can be like that chick inThe Exorcist, so watch out if Mara's head starts to spin."

Ollie looked at me, suddenly calm and serious. "It's not PMS. Mara is pregnant."

"Are you serious?"

He nodded slowly.

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