Page 25 of The Jackpot Screwer
Ellie laughed and shook her head. “He’s such an idiot.”
“And he’s my baby daddy,” I protested. “You see why I’m scared, right?”
An arm came around me and I was bundled into another hug with my best friend. Thank goodness I had her, she understood me better than anyone.
“Okay,” I said after Ellie began to squeeze a little hard. “Explain to me why there are three bedrooms and a den on that plan, when there’s only two of you going to be living there?”
* * *
Spending time with Ellie, listening to her plans for a future with Hunter made me feel much better. By the time we’d had two cups of tea and a huge piece of Melinda’s cherry pie, I was feeling totally relaxed.
“He has to be thinking of asking you to marry him,” I gasped as Ellie showed me some swatches of fabric for drapes in Hunter’s new house. “He wouldn’t have asked you to move in if he wasn’t. If I know anything about Hunter, it’s that he doesn’t do things on a whim.”
Ellie shrugged and gave me a small smile. “I don’t know. I hope so, but who knows?”
We’d gone back to looking at decorating ideas on Pinterest when the door burst open and Carter and Melinda walked in. They were carrying bags of groceries and chatting but as soon as she saw me, Melinda almost dropped hers.
“Bronte, sweetheart. How are you?” She put the bags down and came over to pull me into a hug, almost as tight as her daughter’s.
“I’m good thanks,” I replied as she let me go.
“Hey, Lollipop.” Carter’s beautiful whisky-colored eyes shone as he looked at me over the top of the bags he had in his arms. “I was going to call you.”
“Is Roderick okay?” I asked, anxiously.
“Yeah, he’s good. That’s what I was calling for.” He also placed his bags down and took a step closer to me. “You can pick him up later. Lance just wants to watch him poop and pee one more time, then he’s good to go.”
Heaving a sigh of relief, I ran to Carter and flung my arms around him.
“Thank you, so much.”
“Hey,” he said rubbing my back in soothing strokes. “No problem. It’s my job but gotta admit I took extra care of him, seeing as he’s yours.”
Suddenly feeling a little conscious that we were still locked in each other’s arms, I pulled away. Ellie and Melinda were watching us, but quickly looked away.
“So,” Melinda said briskly. “You want to stay for dinner, honey? Carter is and one more makes no difference to me.”
“Mom,” Carter warned before I could answer. “What did I ask you not to do?”
Melinda rolled her eyes. “Interfere. And for your information, Mr. Smarty Pants, I wasn’t going to.” She turned to me and took my hand. “This is a huge thing you’re going through, honey, and I just want you to know we’re here for you and our grandbaby no matter what happens.”
She glanced at Carter and then back to me and I knew it must have been hard for her. There were so many things she probably wanted to say.
“Thank you,” I replied. “And we do all need to talk, I guess, but in a few days when I’ve got my head sorted? Oh, and I’d love to stay for dinner please.”
Melinda smiled, kissed my cheek and then set about putting her groceries away with Ellie’s help, gossiping about Jacob Crowne’s split from his wife Lydia as they did.
“You okay?” Carter asked, coming over to stand next to me.
“Yeah, I’m good. I slept well last night, although I’ll probably be asleep by the time your mom serves dessert.”
“When you’re tired, you just let me know and I’ll get you home.” He shifted his feet and ran a hand through his hair, looking nervous as all get out. “You still want me to come to your doctor’s appointment with you?”
“God yes.” I nodded. “I’m kind of nervous, so it would be good to have you there.”
Carter let out a huge exhale and smiled. “Excellent. So, after dinner if you’re not too sleepy I can take you to get Roderick before I drop you home.”
“It’s fine, I have my car.”
