Ella reluctantly followed them as they walked across the lobby to greet Declan and his family. Claire stepped forward first and graciously offered a hand to each sibling. Beth followed her lead and then all eyes turned to Ella expectantly. Beth could see the slight flush on her friend’s cheeks as she squared her shoulders and introduced herself to Ava and Brant. When she came to a stop at Declan, he gave her a soft smile and, if it was possible, she flushed even more.
Again, Beth wondered how Declan felt about Ella. She was sure that Ella had a crush on him. Maybe he was just being nice to her, but something in his eyes made Beth pause. She suspected there was something more than polite friendliness when he looked at Ella. Beth wanted to tell her to start running and never stop because Declan was more than Ella could handle. She needed a nice, dependable guy who would worship the ground she walked on. Declan would shake the very foundation under her, and Beth seriously doubted if Ella would ever recover. Nick might be a bad boy in the ladies’ man sense, but Declan was just a bad boy, period.
They all loaded onto the elevator and Claire exited several floors later with the Stone family. Oh God. Ella just checked out Declan’s ass as he left the elevator. I need to have a serious talk with her soon, even if I’m not the best one to give advice. After all, I did get accidentally pregnant with Nick’s babies. Maybe I should send Suzy to have a chat with her. It might scare the hell out of Ella, but she wasn’t likely to soon forget it.
Beth parted ways with Ella at the reception desk and continued on to her office. She needed a few moments to come to grips with her doctor’s appointment before she had to face Suzy. But just as she finished the thought, the door burst open and her sister strode in. She carefully bit back the groan before it escaped her lips. Suzy perched on the corner of her desk and leaned in closer to Beth.
“So when did you get in?” Suzy asked.
“A few minutes ago. I was just coming to your office,” Beth lied.
“So, um, what happened at the baby doctor? Is it in the right place and all?”
Beth smiled at Suzy’s obvious discomfort talking about the pregnancy. You would think after Claire’s pregnancy that she would be used to it, but she still looked nauseous whenever babies were mentioned. “Yeah, they are just as they should be.”
Smiling, Suzy said, “Oh, well, good, glad to hear it.” Suddenly her head jerked up and she asked, “They? Shit, please tell me you didn’t say that word.”
Beth buried her face in her hands and mumbled, “You heard me right. I’m having twins; can you believe it?”
“Holy shit, how did this happen!”
Beth couldn’t help but smile at her sister’s question. “The usual way, I guess.”
Suzy stood up from the corner of the desk and slumped backward in the chair behind her. “My God, what are you doing to do? I mean—two babies? Hell, just one freaks me out. I’m not going to babysit, but I will at least pay for a babysitter on a regular basis for you, how about that?”
Beth chuckled. “Thanks, sis. It hasn’t really sunk in yet so I don’t know what we will do. I just need some time to think.”
Suzy jumped up and said, “Hey, I know just what you need: a distraction!”
This can’t be good. “What kind of distraction?”
“I need you to help me plan this wedding thingy. Apparently, Gray isn’t going to settle for living together forever. He wants to make it official. I told him it would be something simple. I am not walking down the aisle in a church in a gown bigger than I am.”
Beth clapped her hands in excitement. This was exactly what she needed to take her mind off her own problems. Of course, Suzy would probably give the term bridezilla new meaning, but it sounded like fun. Suddenly, another thought had Beth frowning. Unless we can pull this wedding together in a month, I’m going to look like a whale. Poor Beth, always a bridesmaid, never a bride.
While Beth was pondering that depressing thought, Suzy dropped another bombshell. “The parents are coming for dinner Friday night. I told them you would be there.”
“What! Have you lost your mind? I can’t see them now; they’ll know.”
“No, they won’t. I’m doing you a favor. We’ll get the dog-and-pony show out of the way before you start showing and if they decide to skip the wedding, we probably won’t see them again until after the babies are born. If it’s any consolation to you, Gray is sweating bullets. I tried to tell him that our parents aren’t the type to come in and try to defend their little girl’s virtue. As long as he has a good IQ, they will be thrilled.”
Beth snickered. “How will we know? Their facial expressions never change. If I didn’t know better, I would swear they got Botox. So, should I bring Nick with me?”
With an evil smile, Suzy said, “Oh, yeah, he’s not getting out of this. Gray probably needs the moral support, too. He thought we should meet them at a restaurant so we could all go our separate ways afterward, but I insisted they come to the house.”