Jase smiled against my lips. Giggling, I stepped back to see my very pregnant best friend standing there with a snarled lip.
“Hello to you too, Grace.”
Noah waved off Grace. “Don’t mind her; she woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”
I quickly walked up and took Hope out of Noah’s arms. “Hi, sweet baby girl. You’re getting so big! I can’t believe in a few months she’ll be one!”
Grace ran her hand over Hope’s back. “I know. Makes me so sad she is growing up so fast.”
Jase and Noah shook hands and started talking about baseball. Rolling my eyes, I turned back to Grace.
“How are you feeling?”
With a wink, she let out a short chuckle. “I’m okay. Just uncomfortable and I still have a month and a half to go. Wait until you see Alex!”
Alex was due with her second child the beginning of July.
“My gosh, why is it so hot?” Grace remarked while trying to fan herself.
With a shrug, I replied, “Cause it’s Texas in June.”
“And you had to plan a wedding outside. Did you not take into account your three best friends were knocked up?”
Attempting to keep my smile hidden, I spun Hope around while she laughed. “How terribly inconsiderate of me.”
“I know, right?” Grace bit back.
“Do you want to go outside and talk about the landscaping?”
Her eyes lit up. If there was one thing Grace loved more than her husband and daughter, it was plants and trees and dirt.
“Yes!”
By the time we walked outside, Alex and Will pulled up.
I watched as Will ran around the front of his truck to the passenger side. “She is in a mood . . . fair warning!”
With a soft moan, I leaned closer to Hope’s ear and said, “Great, we have to deal with two of them.”
“What did you say?” Grace asked with a scowl.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”
Alex came waddling over. Not walking. She was actually waddling. I tried . . . I really did. But when Jase walked up next to me and asked, “Why in the hell is she walking like a duck?” I lost it.
Grace turned and hit Jase across the head. “Asshole. She’s a few weeks away from pushing out a kid. How would you walk?”
“Um . . . probably not like—”
Noah stood in front of Jase. “Dude! Don’t do it. Trust me on this one. Just close your mouth and don’t utter another word unless asked.”
“But . . .”
Holding up his hand, Noah exclaimed. “Do you value your life? Do you want to walk down the aisle with two good legs?”
Jase snapped his eyes over to Grace who was glowering at him. “Two good legs would be nice.”
“Good answer, dickhead,” Grace said as she made her way over to Alex. I couldn’t help but giggle when Noah smiled.
“Dude, if she calls you names it means she likes you.”
Jase’s eyebrows furrowed. “She called me dickhead.”
“It’s okay. She’s called me that at least six times today.”
I handed Hope back to Noah and kissed Jase. “Pregnancy hormones, baby. She didn’t mean it.”
Noah cleared his throat and made a face.
Turning, I made my way over to Alex and hugged her. “How are you feeling?”
“Like a beached whale. But let’s get this landscaping planned.”
I dropped down and pulled Bayli in for a hug.
“Auntie Tay Tay!” she called out. Kissing her on the cheek I picked her up and held her.
Peeking at Alex I couldn’t help but notice how miserable she looked. “Alex, sweetie, we can do this after we move in.”
“Nope. I don’t want to wait because what if Grace and I both go into labor at once? Then it will be even longer. I’d rather get it figured out now.”
“Early labor? I’m all for it. If this baby kicks me one more time in the bladder, I’m pretty sure I’m going to just start peeing.”
I scrunched up my nose and looked down at her before lifting my eyes to her as I let Bayli back down.
“Let’s do this!” Alex called out as she waddled toward the house while holding Bayli’s hand.
As I watched two of my best friends walking away from me I couldn’t get the feeling of envy out of my system. I knew I wanted to wait for a baby but something had just washed over me and I found myself longing for one. I glanced back over to Jase. He was watching me intently. With a smile, I quickly caught up to Alex and Grace.
I could feel Jase’s stare and I prayed like hell he hadn’t seen my moment of weakness.
Jase
I couldn’t pull my eyes off of Taylor. I saw it in her eyes as she watched Alex and Grace walking off.
She wanted a baby.
“Jase, are you even listening to me?”
Turning back to Will, I laughed. “Yeah. Um . . . you said your dad would have the wedding present for Taylor ready in time. She’s going to love the desk for her office.”
Will glanced over to Noah and then back to me. “It’s gotten to you, hasn’t it?”
With a confused expression, I asked, “What’s gotten to me?”
“The pregnancy bug.”