Page 58 of Nailed (Dad Bod Contracting 3)
“I know.”
“You’ve been with him, what…a year?”
“Barely.”
I blink. “Wait…Imogen, you’re pregnant?”
She nods. “Six weeks.”
Nova eyes the water Imogen has been sipping on, and the untouched drink in front of her. “Does Jesse know?”
Imogen shakes her head, and then drops her eyes. “I’m forty-one years old. I’d given up on having kids. We’re not even engaged, and we’ve never even talked about kids!” She looks at me, tears boiling in her eyes, as yet unshed. “I’m sorry, Laurel. I’m totally hijacking your panic attack.”
She’s sitting beside me, with Audra and Nova across from us, and I wrap an arm around her. “No, no, no. This is way more important.”
She leans into the hug. “I just don’t know what to do.”
“Um, tell him?” Audra says. “The man loves you like crazy. He’ll be happy, once he gets over his shock.”
“Did you guys not use condoms or something?” Nova asks.
Imogen’s grin is shy, and small. “Yeah, we sort of stopped, since I thought I couldn’t get pregnant. I mean, Nick and I literally tried for years—literally everything, including IVF.”
Nova snickers. “You and your ex fuck for years—no baby. Jesse fucks you a couple times—BAM…baby.” She laughs, and it’s contagious. “He must have super swimmers.”
“I mean, it has been more than a couple times,” Imogen says, trying not to laugh. “Jesse and I have had more sex in the last sixty days than I think Nick and I ever had in our entire marriage.”
“Still, some guys just have super-potent sperm, and that man is a picture of vitality and virility.” Nova shrugs. “But then, all four of those guys are.”
We all turn to look at Nova, then.
“If anyone is a picture of virility, it’s James,” Audra says, wiggling her eyebrows comically. “Have you tested his virility yet?”
Nova shuts down, right on cue. “Nice try. The counsel has not been called into session to discuss my life.”
Audra huffs. “You are seriously no fun.” She pokes Nova in the arm. “One of these days, Nova, you’re going to talk to us.”
Nova narrows her eyes at Audra. “Don’t poke me,” she says. “And I talk to you guys all the time. I’m talking to you now.”
“I mean about you,” Audra clarifies. “You’re, like, Fort Knox. You give nothing away.”
Nova shrugs. “I’m private. And there’s nothing to know, anyway. James and I are acquaintances at best. He’s handsome, he’s interesting, and I’m physically attracted to him, but that’s all there is and all there ever will be. The end, amen, and let it be.”
Audra snorts derisively. “Aaaand I call bullshit on that, but we’ll let it go for now.” She points at me. “So, Laurel—you’re finally realizing you’re head over heels stupid in love with Ryder, to the degree that you allowed him to abscond with your one and only son. Smart move—the guy is awesome, funny, hard-working, cool, and sexy as hell. You have a well-fucked flush going on, by the way, so I’ll expect details in a moment.” Next, she points at Imogen. “You, my lovely dumpling—you’re pregnant, and I couldn’t be happier for you. I know you’re scared, but you don’t need to be. Jesse will probably faint dead away when you tell him, but when you wake him up, he’ll be excited. Give him time to process it, and then watch as he turns into the most ridiculously overprotective grizzly bear of a papa you could possibly imagine.”
Imogen pales, hand over her mouth. “Oh…my…god. He’s going to literally carry me everywhere,” she breathes. “He’ll wrap me in bubble wrap! He’ll make me quit working—he’ll probably try to hand feed me.”
We’re all laughing now, because Jesse is already insanely protective of Imogen—insane being the key word, here. He walks her across parking lots as if waiting for thugs to jump out at any minute. If she so much as stumbles, he tries to pick her up and carry her the rest of the way. It’s adorable, and Imogen eats it up. I think she humors his protectiveness because it makes her feel so loved, and because it’s so novel for her. But the thought of Jesse in overprotective new father mode? Oh my.
“Don’t laugh!” Imogen insists. “He’ll never let me leave the house!”
“He knows you’re not actually that delicate,” Nova says. “He just loves you, and it’s new for him.”
“He’s going to be impossible,” Imogen moans.
We can’t help snickering, but then the eyes all turn to me, and I shift uncomfortably. “What?” I ask.
“You—Ryder—spill.” Audra points at me, stealing Imogen’s untouched margarita.
I shrug. “It just kind of happened. I gave him a chance to explain, and that turned into a date—”
“And then he fucked you six ways to Sunday?” Audra suggests.
“More like he fucked me six ways on Sunday,” I say, giggling.
“Holy shit, no wonder you’re glowing,” Audra breathes. “Was it as amazing as I’d like to think it would be?”
