Page 84 of Nailed (Dad Bod Contracting 3)
And then, five minutes early, Nina, who has been posted at the entrance of the private room as a lookout, announces that they’re here.
“Are we shouting surprise?” Nova asks. “I just realized we didn’t really discuss what we’d do when they get here.”
Imogen suddenly looks nervous. “I—um—yes! Let’s shout surprise. It’ll be fun. He may have a heart attack, but it’ll be fine, right? Right.”
Audra laughs, nudging Imogen’s arm. “You look like you’re about to puke. Is that nerves or morning sickness?”
“Both,” Imogen says.
“They’re here! They’re coming!” Nina whisper-shouts.
“Okay, okay,” Imogen whispers, flapping her hands. “He’s going to be happy, right?” she asks no one in particular.
Audra hugs her. “He’s going to be thrilled! The man loves you so much it’s gross.”
Imogen takes a few deep breaths, and then waves us all over. “Okay, the men walk in, and we all shout surprise. Ready?”
All six of us cluster together in the middle of the room, with the girls wedged in the middle between Nova and Imogen. We hear their voices, laughing and trading insults, with Nate’s smaller, higher voice as a counterpoint; heavy boots clomp on the floor.
The door to the private room opens, and I hear Imogen whisper— “One…two…three!”
And then, in perfect unison, we all shout, “SURPRISE!”
All of the men are stunned, and file slowly into the room, taking in the decorations.
Franco is the first to recover. “Um…what? Who—who is the surprise for?”
James is eyeing the decorations. “What’s with all the baby stuff?”
Ryder eyes me, quickly putting two and two together and looking at me with a somewhat panicked expression. I can’t help laughing, then, and that’s the cue for everyone to laugh.
“We decided to play a little game,” Nova says, trying to cover the fact that we obviously didn’t think this out very well. “It’s called, surprise-surprise, where you have to guess what the surprise is and who it’s for!”
Jesse is the only one who hasn’t reacted—his eyes are on Imogen. “Jen?” he whispers, using a shortened form of Imogen’s name I’ve never heard even Audra use.
Imogen takes a step toward him, and everyone goes quiet, parting to make way for her to walk up to Jesse. “I guess we didn’t think this all the way through, did we, ladies?” she says, laughing quietly.
“What’s going on?” Jesse asks. Big, gruff, rugged, with shaggy, unkempt black hair and a thick black beard, both shot through with hints of silver, he’s the essence of rugged masculinity, but in this moment, Jesse is subdued, quiet, and unsure.
Imogen takes his hand and leads him over to the table where the cake is, stops him to stand in front of it. She gazes up at him. “Surprise?”
He looks at the cake, and reads it out loud, slowly. “Congratulations, Daddy…” A long, silent, tense moment, and then he looks back down at Imogen, who is visibly shaking. “What are you saying, Jen?”
“I’m pregnant.”
“Oh, thank fuck,” I hear Ryder mutter. I laugh under my breath, and shoot him a look, and he raises his hands. “Sorry, sorry.”
Not quite as tall as Jesse or James, nor as heavily muscled, Franco is thin and hard and blond, with sharp, handsome features. He nudges Ryder, muttering quietly: “You said what I was thinking, Ride. Thank fuck!”
“Stop it, you two. Have some reverence for the moment!” Audra hisses.
James is the biggest of the group, standing six-six and built like a grizzly bear ready for winter—heavy with thick, hard, bulging muscle, and short brown hair neatly combed to one side, and a thick brown beard. He hasn’t said much after his initial question, and I also notice he’s studiously not looking Nova’s way.
Jesse is still silent, absorbing Imogen’s pronouncement.
She bites her lip, and then reaches up to grab Jesse’s big shoulder. “Jesse? Say something.”
“You’re…pregnant?”
She nods. “Yes. Six weeks.”
Jesse is blinking and looking a little pale. “I…you…” He sways on his feet. “We…”
Imogen surges forward, grabbing at him. “Jesse?”
Ryder, Franco, and James all spring into action, just in time to catch Jesse as he faints.
He’s only out for a few seconds, and then comes to, shaking his head. “What—what happened?”
James claps him on the back as the three of them heave Jesse back onto his feet. “You fainted.”
Jesse holds his head with both hands. “The fuck I did.”
Ryder and Franco are both laughing so hard they’re holding on to each other. “Holy shit, he actually fainted!” Franco says.
“Watch your profanity, Uncle Franco!” Ella shouts.
“Sorry, Ella-bear,” Franco says. “But Uncle Jesse swore first.”
“I know, but he has an excuse,” Ella says. “He just found out he’s gonna be a daddy. I’ll let it slide this one time.”
Jesse’s head swivels to stare at Ella, and then at Imogen. “I’m gonna be a daddy.” He says this as if trying to absorb what the words mean. “I’m—I’m gonna be a daddy?”
Imogen is sniffling, trying not to cry. She nods, wiping at her eyes. “Yeah, honey. I’m pregnant. You’re gonna be a daddy.”
