And her parents. Seeing the happy tears in her mother’s eyes, Beth came totally undone and was sobbing by the time she got her arms around her. She’d missed her mom and she hadn’t realized just how much until she saw her.
“Look at that belly,” Shelly exclaimed and Beth laughed through the tears.
Eventually her mother let go of her and let her dad have a turn. Then came all the Kowalskis. She realized with a start all the guys were there—Kevin’s brothers and his dad and brother-in-law—and not just the women. Even his nephews.
After Stephanie hugged her, she had to lean forward so the girl could slip a tiara on her head. Then Kevin was next to her, slipping his arm around her very substantial waistline.
“Surprise!” He grinned and kissed her cheek.
She spotted Darcy, Randy and a couple of the cooks over by the punch bowl. “Who’s tending the bar?”
He shrugged. “We’re opening late today. Our friends want to celebrate our baby, so what the hell, right?”
“What the hell,” she agreed. She saw Bobby practically running across the room toward her and laughed. “Here he comes.”
The temporarily youngest Kowalski put his hands right on her belly. “Hey, cuz! Why do you have a baby shower? So the baby doesn’t stink!”
They all laughed and then she was guided to a chair decorated with pink and blue streamers and inflatable baby bottles. She felt incredibly special on her throne, wearing a tiara, and she didn’t have to fake her smiles as the camera flashes blinded her.
Then the parade of gifts began. Big gifts. Small gifts. Everything in between gifts. From socks to a top-of-the-line stroller and diapers to a carseat, the pile of things she wouldn’t have to buy for the baby grew almost as tall as Kevin. And one thing her child would never want for? Sports T-shirts and Onesies. Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, Patriots and the Revolution—there was some kind of garment for every team. There was more red, white, blue, green, black and gold than mint-green.
The celebration continued in true Kowalski fashion—food and laughter and more food. And, even though she wouldn’t have believed it, Arty and Shelly Hansen seemed to fit right in. Whatever stories Leo and her dad were exchanging had them laughing together, and her mother was more than happy to fuss through the pile of baby gifts with Kevin’s mom.
When the wait staff wheeled out a three-layer cake capped off by a cute pair of baby booties, Kevin leaned so close to Beth his lips were practically brushing her ear. “I specifically requested chocolate cake because I know how much you like it.”
Even though the temperature in the function room skyrocketed, a deliciously slow shiver tickled her spine.
“It’s been a while since you’ve had a slice.” He rested his hand on the small of her back. “You must be craving a lick of that sweet, sticky frosting.”
Oh, she was, with an aching intensity that almost took her breath away. So when the cake was set up and their family and friends were turning to see her reaction, she did the only thing she could to save herself the humiliation of throwing herself in his arms.
She elbowed him in the gut.
“Oomph.” He took a step back.
The cake was delicious, but with every burst of chocolate on her tongue, her gaze was drawn to Kevin, who was making a big production of licking the frosting off his fork. With each swirl and flick of his tongue, the throbbing knot of need deep inside her seemed to tighten, but reality in the form of their friends and family kept her from doing something stupid, like straddling his lap and licking the frosting off his lips. Well, that and the fact she wasn’t sure she could straddle his lap anymore.
But their mothers were watching. And the last thing she wanted was for them to start getting ideas about her relationship with Kevin. Platonic. That was the word she wanted cemented in their minds, not wedding or bride.
When the guys got together to start loading the gifts into Kevin’s Jeep and whatever other large vehicles were handy, the knot eased up so, as the mother-to-be, she helped herself to a second slice of cake.
Paulie plopped down in the chair next to her. “You’re going to be sorry when the sugar rush hits the baby and it starts kicking the shit out of your bladder.”
Beth licked the buttercream frosting off her fork. “I don’t care.”
Paulie snagged a plate with a half-eaten slice abandoned by one of the kids. “I don’t either.”
“You kept your promise. Don’t think I didn’t notice.”
Paulie shrugged. “I promised you I wouldn’t give you anything else for a baby shower gift. I didn’t, however, promise not to give the baby a gift.”
She couldn’t remember seeing a gift for the baby with Paulie’s name on the tag. Whatever it was, though, it was too much after all the money she’d spent on maternity clothes.