Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 97386 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97386 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
I turned in my seat to look at Amelia.
She wore a wide grin. “Girl, please, you’re pregnant.”
Paxton let out a scream. “Ahhh! Oh my gosh, Corina, are you?”
Letting out a chuckle, I replied, “I am.”
The truck came to a halt and we all jumped out. Amelia and Paxton pulled me to them, and we stood there in a circle hugging each other. I was crying; they were crying, and then Amelia’s perfume hit me like a brick wall.
“I’m going to throw up!”
Amelia pushed me away so fast I thought I was going to stumble onto my ass. “Don’t! If you throw up, I’ll throw up!” Amelia shouted.
All eyes were on her now.
Paxton’s mouth dropped. “Amelia, are you pregnant, too?”
With a look of horror, Amelia gasped. “What? Hell no! My God, Paxton, bite your tongue! I just can’t see anyone throw up. If I do, I’ll throw up. I’m a sympathy puker, through and through.”
My stomach was rolling with vengeance. I was going to get sick.
I spun around and started to gag. Then I heard Amelia gag, which made me gag even more.
“Oh God,” Amelia moaned.
“Just get back in the truck, Amelia,” Paxton urged.
There was no way I could hold it in. I lost my cookies.
“Don’t! Amelia, no!” Paxton shouted.
Amelia threw up. And I threw up some more. It was like a contest to see who could make the other one throw up by throwing up!
“You threw up on me!” Paxton shouted. I turned around to see that Paxton’s shirt was covered.
I clapped my hands over my mouth and started to laugh as Paxton stood there with a disgusted look on her face.
“Gross!” she shouted, pulling her arms through her shirt and carefully taking it off.
Amelia was leaning against the truck, trying to take deep breaths. “I need water.”
Paxton walked to the back of the truck and reached into the cooler. Thankfully, Steed had brought drinks over for Thanksgiving and hadn’t unloaded them yet. She handed Amelia a water and said, “Oh, for the love of all things good and holy, you’re not even the pregnant one, Amelia!”
She grabbed the water and began swooshing it in her mouth. Paxton handed me a bottle, as well. I took small sips, not wanting to make my stomach angry again.
Amelia looked at each of us. “We’re a team. You puke, I puke. Hoorah!”
“Is the morning sickness bad?” Paxton asked me.
“It’s getting worse. And it’s all day long. Every little thing makes me sick.”
“I’m never getting pregnant,” Amelia groaned as she climbed back into the truck.
Paxton laughed. “Let’s get you to the house. You need a peppermint to calm your tummy.” She looked down at her black bra. “And I need a new shirt.”
By the time we got to the house, I’d told Amelia all about Mitchell saying he wanted a baby and what our plans were going to be. She couldn’t have been happier.
“You know it’s going to be hard to keep this from everyone. I figured it out pretty quickly, and I’m sure Aunt Vi is catching on. What about your mom? She’s going to know the moment she sees you.”
I laughed. “No way. I don’t think my mom will know.”
My phone beeped with a text from Mitchell.
Mitchell: Your mom is here. She took an earlier flight to surprise you. Where are you?”
My head snapped up. “My mom is here! She’s early!”
Me: With Paxton and Amelia at Paxton’s place.
Paxton’s phone went off with a text message. She stared at it for a few seconds before laughing.
“What is it?” Amelia asked.
“It’s from your mom, Amelia. She told me to give Corina some crackers and almonds if I have them. She also said to cut up lemons and have Corina smell them. Your mother is here, and if you don’t get your morning sickness under control, she’ll know the second she sees you.”
My stomach dropped.
Melanie knew. Of course she did—she’s carried quite a few children in her life.
“Mom is the coolest mother on Earth. I swear, I want to be her when I grow up,” Amelia said with a laugh.
“Wait. Lemons?” I asked, snarling.
Paxton nodded. “Yep, if a smell is making you feel sick, something fresh like lemons or rosemary will help. Melanie was always shoving rosemary in my face when I was pregnant with Gage.”
“Won’t Lori know if she sees her daughter walking around with a lemon under her nose?” Amelia asked with a chuckle.
Paxton nodded. “Corina, if you want to keep this a secret, you’re gonna have to hide it better.”
I sighed. “I don’t know what to do. Should we tell everyone? Don’t they say you should wait? You know…just in case.”
“Nonsense,” Paxton said. “You can tell anyone anytime. You can’t control fate by keeping something in, no matter how hard you want to believe you can.”
This was why Paxton and I were best friends. She kept everything real, and I knew she was right.