Page 3 of Melissa's Mates (Blissful Bets)

Fingers weaved through her red hair while she pulled it annoyingly out of her face. Evelyn and Sarah, the two people she counted on most in the world, turned to look at each other and then back to her. Picking up her glass of soda, Melissa took a big drink and tried to catch her breath. The longer they remained silent, the more their statement sunk in.

Sarah leaned across the restaurant table, her long blonde hair spilling forward, and stared deeply into Melissa’s eyes, hurt. “Mel, Evelyn and I are both pregnant. That’s why we can’t go out anymore. If you would have just let the argument drop, we wouldn’t have had to tell you this way.”

“How pregnant are we talking here?”

Evelyn’s eyes cut to Sarah. “I’m around eighteen weeks. Sarah’s a little over twelve.”

Opening her mouth, a response tried to come out, but nothing left her lips. Standing, dazed, she reached for her purse. Melissa had no idea what she was doing. Pregnant? Evelyn, okay, she could accept that. Sarah? No way. She’d just barely grasped the idea that Devon and her friend were back together, not to mention Gavin, Sarah’s other boyfriend. How could she be pregnant just a little over three months later? Weren’t any of them thinking straight at all? And so far along? That would mean she got pregnant almost immediately. Her world began to swim as she processed everything.

Melissa bit her lip so she wouldn’t say anything that might unwillingly come out. Well, to Sarah, anyway. The fear that her beautiful friend would end up losing another baby or have the man she’d so easily forgiven hurt her all over caused tears to come to her eyes.

“I think I should go. I’m sorry. Please, don’t think I’m not happy for you both. A baby is wonderful, a gift. I just need to think some things over.”

Melissa turned and left the crowded Cajun restaurant and headed for her truck. Pregnant. Jesus. She prayed everything worked out for her friends. She really did. The protectiveness she felt toward them bordered on insanity. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for either one of those girls. Although she had five very close friends, Evelyn and Sarah she’d known since she moved to Port Aransas, Texas. They’d helped her get over the worst time in her life, and for that she’d be forever grateful.

Music blasted through the interior, but she quickly cut off the sound. She already couldn’t think, and although tempted to drown herself out completely, she couldn’t get past the nagging feeling that those two girls were hiding something more than just pregnancy. Even though technically nothing changed since they’d found their men, normal people just didn’t get into relationships consisting of three people. It was hard enough with two. Three had to be impossible.

Pulling out of the parking lot, Melissa pushed away what had just happened and made her way to her small, one-bedroom house. The majority of homes on the island were on stilts, and hers wasn’t an exception. But from the main floor on the second story, the view was to die for. Countless times, after a long night at the bars, Melissa would watch the sun rise. She couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever have someone to share the beautiful experience with. But she knew, deep down, now wasn’t the time.

After countless years of being in one bad relationship after another, she decided instead of wasting her time on the wrong man, she’d wait for the right one. Everyone always said when you see the person you’re meant to be with, time stops. Although she didn’t believe that, she had no doubt the feeling of aptness would be immediate.

Pulling into her driveway, Melissa jumped down from her truck. The conversation with Ev and Sarah kept coming back. She tried to think of something else to occupy her thoughts. A voice saved her from having to.

“Gosh darn it, Mel! I nearly had to run the red light to catch up with you.”

The sound of Julie’s voice had her smiling as she turned around. “I thought you couldn’t make it to town today? Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“Work, right.” Julie dragged out the last of her sentence, rolling her eyes. “Hell no. I finished court early today. Why aren’t you going back to the office?”

Melissa walked over to the sporty, two-door Mercedes. “Not in the mood. Plus, the office will forward over my calls if anyone needs anything. The market is slow, you know that. Not too many people want to buy houses in the recession.”

“Very true. Now, how ‘bout you jump in and come with me. I’ve had one hell of a morning. I need a drink.”

“This early? Are you kidding me?”

Melissa noticed the blonde highlights that had streaked her friends’ brunette hair were gone. As one of Julie’s perfectly sculptured eyebrows rose, Mel knew she was serious.

“Do I look like I’m kidding you? I got fucked this morning at court. I think I’m going to lose my case, and truthfully, I don’t want to think about it. Thompson, fucking genius. I should have had my guard up better with him. He’s the best in the area, and you know I wouldn’t admit it if it wasn’t true.”

“If you colored your hair already, then you must need a drink pretty fucking bad. “

“Oh, you noticed that.” Julie patted her now dark brown hair. “Yeah, I was tired of the blonde. Thought I’d go back to a more natural look. So, are you getting in or are you just going to stand outside my door all day?”

Melissa climbed in, pulling her black, knee-length skirt down. “Where are we going?”

“Fuck, I’d settle for a forty from a convenience store right now. I need alcohol.”

Studying her friend cautiously, she tried to ignore the desperation in her voice. Surely she wasn’t getting out of hand. Maybe it was the stress of basically getting her ass served on a silver platter at work, but still, she felt the need to watch Julie carefully. The last few weeks at the bars, Julie had gone beyond having a good time. Once, she literally passed out in the restroom and had to be carried out of the bar by Stephen.

They took off toward town. Rap settled through the car, and Melissa inwardly groaned. How could she have forgotten about Julie’s love for bass? The whole car was set up to be heard a mile away. Although she didn’t have a dislike toward some rap, the vibrations of the music gave her a headache at the volume her friend preferred.

Pulling up to the restaurant Melissa had just left, she prayed Sarah and Ev weren’t still inside. There wasn’t really a need to worry about Natalie. She worked in Corpus, too, so getting here was impossible sometimes.

“You’re drinking with me, right?”

“You know I can’t do that. Who will drive us home?”

“Fuck, you’re right. Hell, we could walk. You only live three blocks away.”

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