***Reagan***
Thingshadbeengoing well. Probably too good, if I really stopped and thought about it. I loved working for the Stovalls; baking for Pearl was getting me tons of practice in things that I didn’t do a lot as a private chef; I spent every night with the guys. My friendships with the women around me were growing and becoming even more special than anything I’d ever experienced before. While I’d had close friends in LA, I’d always been so busy that I hadn’t poured anything into them. Megan, Kara, and Lisa were showing me how fulfilling friendship could be as an adult.
I felt complete for the first time in my life and, though it was scary, I had never been happier. I was where I was supposed to be. Even if the location didn’t make a lot of sense compared to other people’s.
The future wasn’t something I spent much time thinking about, but when I did, the rose-colored glasses did threaten to slip a bit. I just didn’t know what could come of my relationship. Relationships? I didn’t even know the correct way to label what I had.
Not thinking about anything past the present was probably why Russ’ annual lake trip had snuck up on me. He talked about it every year, but I’d never been around for it before. I even had the silly idea that I would be excused and I’d get to stay home alone for the weekend. Of course, I really thought I’d just get to stay with my guys all weekend, undisturbed. I hadn’t paid attention enough to understand that everyone was going to the lake. Everyone. By the time Charlie told me he’d see me at the lake house in passing, it was too late for me to do a damn thing about getting out of the trip.
I’d driven the hour to the house with Russ and Lisa, sandwiched between Piper and Posie’s car seats. We’d listened to kid songs for what felt like much longer than an hour and then spent the night in the house, just the five of us. It wasn’t until the next morning that I had to face my first interaction with the guys in front of Russ.
Over breakfast, while Lisa and I applied a ridiculous amount of sunscreen to the girls in between bites of pop-tarts, the guys showed up. Of course, they didn’t come fully clothed, willing to help me out. They showed up in swim trunks and nothing else, having arrived early and gone straight to the water.
I was tasked with staying calm while they stood around the kitchen, bare-chested and already sun-kissed. It was torture to not run my tongue over their abs and taste the perspiration gathering.
I sighed as I thought about what a freak I’d turned into and drew Russ’ attention. He stared at me with raised eyebrows until I sat up straighter and scrunched up my nose at him. “What?”
“Something wrong? You’ve been sighing so much you warmed my pop-tart.”
I scoffed and made a face at him. “Ha. Ha. Funny. I’m fine. Just ready to get into the water.”
“Is Ben still bothering you?”
I planted my elbows on the table and thought about murdering my brother. Why he brought up awkward topics in front of everyone, I’d never understand. “No. He’s leaving town soon.”
“Has he still been trying to talk to you?” August’s annoyed tone sent a shiver down my body. August annoyed usually meant I was going to find myself bent over any flat surface with him working that frustration out buried inside me.
I licked my lips and dusted my hands off on my shorts before standing and taking a step towards the door. It wasn’t that I’d been keeping Ben’s communication a secret from the guys on purpose. It was just…awkward. I felt bad for Ben and I knew I was a sucker for it, probably, but I couldn’t help it.
“That looks like a yes.” Charlie frowned at me as he twisted the cap off a bottle of water a little too roughly. “What the hell doesn’t he get?”
I glanced over at Theo and found that he looked just as annoyed. Blowing out a big breath, I held up my hands. “He’s been reaching out every so often. Just as a friend.”
The four men laughed in unison like it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard. Lisa, who’d been annoyed at Russ for some unknown reason since she woke up, looked over at me and put her hands on her hips. “Let’s go down to the water. Looks like these four can handle this without us.”
Russ groaned. “Lisa, honey, what’s—”
“Do not ask me what’s wrong right now, Russ. I am as mad as a cat with its ass on fire. I suggest everyone in the vicinity with a penis stay away from me.” She took my hand and pointed at the girls, who were both giggling about mad cats. “To the water.”
Of course, the guys followed. They clearly had a death wish because Lisa was scary when she was mad. I’d only seen her that angry a few other times in all the time I’d known her, and that had been when she was pregnant with the girls. I studied her, wondering if she could be pregnant again, but she’d never kept the pregnancies quiet before.
Before I could think about it much more, the girls were dragging me into the water with them. I barely had time to throw off my coverup before I was soaked by their splashing. While Lisa settled in a lounger, I stayed with the girls in the water until Russ and the guys joined us. Then, it was too much wet skin and temptation, so I rushed out of the water, desperate to bake in the sun to cool off from the looks the guys were giving me. That’s how heated they were; the sun was a break.
I settled next to Lisa and watched her for a few minutes before a thought started forming in my head. My stomach fluttered and I rested my hand over it, just to find Lisa staring at my hand. I sat up in a hurry, facing her, and grabbed her hand. “Lisa?”
She shoved her sunhat up and met my eyes. “Reagan?”
“You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”
She laughed, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. “Yep.”
I squeezed her hand, a nervous feeling settling over me. Pearl’s weird premonition, or whatever it’d been, slammed into my mind like a semi-truck. She’d said Lisa wasn’t going to be alone in whatever her secret was. “Why… Why are you keeping it a secret?”
Before she could answer, Theo’s raised voice calling his ex-wife’s name in confusion had us both turning. Sure enough, Jenny was strolling towards us in the world’s smallest bikini, Iris bouncing along beside her. Ignoring me and Lisa, she walked to the edge of the water and beamed at the guys while cocking her hip out, drawing attention to her tiny waist and slim hips.
“Hey, fellas. Iris and I thought we’d join you for a bit. We were over at Jim’s house and saw the fun. Do you have room for two more in there?” Her sweet voice immediately grated on my nerves, and when I looked back at Lisa, I could tell she wasn’t taking too kindly to Jenny’s presence, either.
I didn’t fully understand the weight of her being there with us until she walked over a second later and dropped her bag at my feet and smiled. It was chilling and I sat back, forgetting that I was still clutching Lisa’s hand.
“What’s wrong, Reagan?” She leaned closer. “You look like a well-kept secret you’ve been hiding is on the verge of being exposed. Wow.”