Page 8 of Knock Me Up

“Neither had I until a few weeks ago.”

“Why haven’t you mentioned him up until now?”

“Uh... because, um…” More gnawing on my lip, trying to avoid admitting the truth. “Because I didn’t know I was going to get married to him till today, Olivia.”

“I meant you should have mentioned that you were dating him. You usually tell me about these sorts of things.”

“No. You don’t get it. I wasn’t dating him before. He was a customer of mine. He was getting married to someone else. Then his fiancée left him at the altar. He proposed, so I’m stepping in.”

“Seriously? You’re following in my footsteps and getting married to some guy you barely even know?”

“Hey, it’s working out wonderfully for you.”

She chuckles. “I can’t deny that.”

“He’s so handsome. So charming. I can feel the chemistry between us. It’s pretty damn strong, and I had a huge crush on him before he proposed. He kept coming into my shop to buy more flowers on top of the ones he ordered for his wedding.”

“And now all those flowers will be for you.”

“Uh huh. It also means in order to not waste a perfectly good wedding setup, we’re doing it tonight. As my best friend in the whole wide world, you’re obviously invited.”

“I wouldn’t miss your wedding for the world, and it being a few hours from now is no excuse. I’ll drag Cameron with me.”

“Knew you wouldn’t miss it. I’ll be sure they have non-alcoholic options on hand. And maybe some Pepto in case your symptoms get any worse.”

“How sweet. You’re considerate of me even on your wedding day. You’re a sweetheart Piper.”

“You know it. I’ve got a lot more people to call and invite. I’ll text you the address.”

“Give me some of the names. I know you want the girls from college. It’s a lot of work in a short time and you need all the help you can get, girl.”

“Oh, I do. But I don’t want to overwork a pregnant woman.”

She blows a raspberry over the phone. “The sarcasm is strong within you. I’m sure my poor, misshapen frame, ravaged by the first days of pregnancy, can handle a bunch of phone calls.”

“Wow. So strong. So bold. You’re an inspiration, Olivia.”

We hang up, our teasing done, and I keep at the work until a fancy sedan pulls up in front of me. My ride's here. I half expected a limousine, but I guess that would be a bit tacky in this day and age.

I’m off to pick out my wedding dress, something I will remember for the rest of my life.

Because out-of-the-blue proposals? That’s what lifetime commitments are made of.

4

LUKE

“You know this sort of thing is how you end up paying alimony six times over, along with child support for three kids you’ll never see, right?” Chuck says.

My friends from the firm have gathered at the church. They can clean up for a wedding pretty quickly, as sometimes attending a client’s wedding is a good way to build bonds. Part of me is annoyed that sometimes things like this are just for business, like my original wedding was going to be, but that’s just the way of the world.

This wedding between Piper and me will be a friends-and-family affair only, though. I don’t need any fair-weather friends or people looking to get close to me purely for business purposes to be here today. All I want is love and laughter.

Even if Chuck is being a bit of a doomer about how quickly I’m getting hitched to this girl. “I don’t think Piper is like that, man.”

“You barely know her.”

“Yeah, but she’s a good, hard-working woman. An artist. And sometimes it’s intangible. How you feel about a woman. And how she feels about you.”

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