“Can I eat the pancakes now? The baby is starving.”
I laughed. “If he wants pancakes, eat pancakes.”
She stuck her fork in the center. “Who said it’s a he?”
My eyes widened. “You think it’s a girl?”
She shrugged. I saw the gimmer in her eye. “Scared of pink?”
Oh hell. A daughter?
I shook my head. “No. Not at all.”
She giggled. “Not according to your face.”
“I can handle a girl.” I balked. I knew nothing about girls. I knew football. The Marine Corps. Tools and trucks. My brow started sweating.
Kaitlyn winked. “Don’t worry. We’ve got this.” She squeezed my hand.
And it was true. We did.
29
Kaitlyn
Monday morning rolled around, and Cole and I both went to work like usual. Nothing felt normal though. I had a big diamond on my hand.
He hadn’t heard from Aiden and I still had guests at the Dunes I needed to visit. It was also stock delivery day, and Sam, the driver, liked to unload early so he could hang out and chat about his grandkids for a while.
I hadn’t asked Cole yet what to do with the pending reservations on the books or the ad I had paid for through the end of the year. I wasn’t completely ready to trust that Aiden would drop the suit. When Cole had a signed contract in his hand, I’d believe it. I realized the wedding magic might have gotten to everybody Saturday night. It had swept me off my feet.
Mary Ellen had made it to Chapel Hill without plans from Aiden. I assured her again he just had too much on his mind to map out a long-distance relationship. I knew from experience trying to book plane tickets and visits weren’t easy when you lived in two different states. He was clearly a perpetual flirt. I just hoped for Mary Ellen’s sake that he wasn’t a heartbreaker too.
“Hey, pretty girl.” Cole ducked his head in the door.
“Hey. What’s going on?” I didn’t plan on seeing him this early.
“I got a call from Aiden. He said he wanted to talk to both of us in a few minutes.” He strolled into the office.
“Me?”
He nodded. “Yep. Said it involved you too, but wouldn’t get into it on the phone.”
“What do you think it is?” My stomach was already twisting in pretzel-sized knots. I would punch him if he backed out of the deal he and Cole had struck at the wedding.
Cole huffed. “Trying not to jump to conclusions. Never a good idea.”
I laughed. “You? That’s funny.”
He shot me a look. “I’m just saying I don’t trust the guy.”
“I get that. I don’t blame you.” We waited until Aiden arrived.
“Good morning.” He closed the office door and took the only empty seat.
“Hi, Aiden.” I smiled. He was my best friend’s boyfriend, or something like a boyfriend.
Cole nodded in his direction.