Nip it in the Bud (Bunch-A-Blooms 3)

Shaking my head, I glance over at Carly, who’s holding back laughter. These girls are going to be a force to be reckoned with when they’re sixteen. What are we going to do with them, Drew?

“We need to hustle if we want to keep our appointment. Carly, if you need anything just give me a call?”

“I will. You girls have fun, okay?” They exchange hugs and kisses. “You too,” Carly says, gesturing toward me.

I smile as I embrace her. Despite a standoffish start, they’ve accepted me into their fold quickly once we started attending family events together. My dad was warming as well. He’d never admit it, but he enjoyed having the girls around for family events. There’d been no new life’s blood in the Ridder gene pool in some time, and with my sister five hours away it was usually just the three of us.

“Are Ms. Petunia and Ms. Olive going to be there?” Ilana inquires as we load up the car.

“They are. It’s been a while since they saw you, and I know they’re looking forward to it.”

“How far along is Ms. Petunia now?” Neomi asks.

“She’s seven months, but she doesn’t look a day over five months when you see her. Remember that for me.” I pull out of the driveway, thinking about my best friend. She’s getting self-conscious about the weight gain, but she’s beautiful. Her skin glows, her hair is shiny, and she’s surrounded by an earthy energy that brings peace and positive vibes. I get what people mean about pregnant people having a certain vibe.

“Guess what? Your dad sent me some new songs. Who wants to hear them?”

“Me,” they squeal.

I laugh as I turn on the playlist and Drew’s voice fills the car. When he’s on a recording, he’s an entirely different person. The bass in his voice, the snarl, and the attitude—it reminds me of other things he did with a rough touch. I shift in my seat. The tension between us continues to ramp. Lips, tongues, and fingers, can only alleviate so much, but he’s never left me unsatisfied. I clear my throat and blink to fight back the tears threatening to form as the intense longing for the other half of my soul hits.

I take comfort in his words as he works through the drama he went through with Monica and her mother-in-law and “Good-bye. I know him well enough to read between the lines. We listen to the tracks on repeat, keeping the man who means so much to all of us close as we make the drive to the spa.

“There’s our girls,” Olive exclaims as we enter the spa and they wave us over to where they’re seated.

“Hey, guys. I hope you weren’t waiting long,” I say as we hug.

“No, we just got here a few minutes before you,” Petunia replies. I hide my smirk as she practically turns to goo. “Hi girls,” she says, hugging them as much as her belly will allow. She was skeptical about everything that came with Drew, but she fell hard for the girls. It must be the motherly instincts kicking in.

After our greetings, we’re ushered to the massage chairs we reserved weeks earlier after picking our nail color. I’m seated between the twins who are given sparkling cider, along with Petunia, instead of the champagne Olive and I drink.

“When are you planning on going on maternity leave, Petunia?” Olive inquires.

“I don’t know. I want to work up until the last couple of weeks some days, but other days I can’t leave soon enough.”

“Don’t push yourself. I’m ready to take over at any moment,” I assure her.

“I know, but it’s hard to let go of the reins.”

“You’ve been working insane hours for years. It’s time you take a few steps back,” Olive says.

“I know. Mason said that long before the pregnancy,” Petunia replies.

“At least now you’ll have to slow down some,” I say.

She smirks. “Have you been talking to Mason?”

“Nope, but I knew I liked him for a reason,” I say with a wink.

“He’s a smart guy when he wants to be,” Olive agrees.

Petunia rolls her eyes. “So, tell us how school was this week, ladies,” Petunia says, shifting the topic.

I listen as the girls light up and pull us back into the world of middle school, crushes, and mean girls in the hallways.

“I have to tell you. You girls are adorable. You guys are lucky to have a mother who includes you in things like this,” one of the nail techs say. We all freeze. I hold my breath, praying we’re not about to backslide.

“We know,” Neomi states, stunning me.