Page 7 of The Jackpot Screwer
Breathing out a sigh of relief, we lapsed into silence which was rudely broken by the door swinging open and landing hard against the wall. I half expected to see Jacob again, so I was surprised when in walked my sister and Bronte.
“Ah shit,” Bronte cried as soon as she saw us. “As if my day couldn’t get any shitter.”
Ellie pulled up short and threw an anxious glance at Hunter.
“I thought you were going to the Mall,” he said getting up and kissing her cheek.
“We were but Bronte decided she wanted some of Penny’s pot pie instead.” Ellie turned back to Bronte. “You want to go?”
My eyes drank Bronte in as she considered her options. Her hair was tied up in some weird bun things on each side of her head and her eye make-up was purple and blue to match her hair. She looked so damn beautiful it made my stomach hurt.
I couldn’t stop staring at her, taking in every inch of her. It was then I noticed the sky-high shoes she was wearing.
“What the hell are those?”
Bronte looked to where I was pointing. “Shoes. Shoes that you’ve seen me wear many times.”
She was right, I’d seen her wear the bright pink shoes on many occasions, often in my bed, but never when she was pregnant.
“Are you crazy?” I cried. “You could fall off those heels.”
The way her eyebrows shot up I knew she thought I was the one who was crazy, not her.
“You want me to hit you with one of them?” Bronte asked, her hands going to her hips.
“No, I want you to sit down before you fall down.” I leaned in closer to her. “Don’t high shoes give you those big fat blue veins when you’re you know?” I nodded toward Bronte’s stomach.
“Oh, for God’s sake, Carter.” My sister sighed. “She’s pregnant, not forty-five.”
My head shot up as Bronte gasped.
“You said we couldn’t tell anyone,” I hissed.
“She’s my best friend.” Bronte’s cheeks went pink as she glared at Ellie.
“Oh, my goodness,” Hunter whispered, sounding like some sort of robot on crack. “Are you pregnant?”
I looked up at the ceiling and groaned.
“You told Hunter?” Bronte asked, bringing my gaze back to her.
“No, I had no idea.” Hunter gasped a little too loudly and Penny’s head shot up from cleaning the other end of bar. She stared at us staring at her and when no one spoke, she shrugged and went back to work.
Ellie burst out laughing and leaned into his side. “Oh baby, you are so shit at acting.”
“I’m a great actor,” he protested. “Be honest, you had no damn clue, did you?”
All three of our gazes snapped to him, each one of us totally shocked he’d even have an inkling of a thought that he was a good actor.
“Dude, you stink. No wonder Jeremy Anderson took your part as Joseph in the nativity.”
Hunter hit my stomach with the back of his hand. “We were six you dick.”
“Okay so you were six and shit.” I turned back to Bronte. “I’m sorry I told Hunter, but you told Ellie and she has the biggest mouth.”
“I do not,” Ellie argued. “I can keep a secret.”
“No, you can’t,” Bronte leaned closer to Ellie and whispered, “You just told Carter that I was pregnant.”
