After All - Romancing Manhattan

Gabby: ?

Me: Don’t pout. LOL Have a good night with your dad, and I’ll see you soon. Be nice to him. I think he needs it.

Gabby: K. Love you.

Me: Love you more, kiddo.

My doorbell rings.

“Goodness, I’m popular today.”

I’m surprised to see Sienna and London when I open the door. Their arms are full of bags.

“We brought food. And sparkling cider for you because you can’t have wine. Sorry,” London says as they walk past me to the kitchen. “But there’s chocolate and cheesecake and french fries.”

My eyes burn with fresh tears.

“Shit. You don’t like cheesecake?” Sienna asks.

“I love cheesecake.” I swipe at a tear and sit on a stool at the island. “This is just really unexpected.”

“We wanted to come check on you,” London says as she unloads bags, stows things in the fridge, and pours fries into bowls. “It’s been a day for you.”

“Understatement.” I shove fries in my mouth, even though I’m already completely bursting at the seams. “There’s pizza. I ordered some earlier.”

“Nice,” Sienna says. “Let’s go sit in the living room. We’ll pig out and talk about boys.”

“A perfect evening.” London winks and I lead the girls to the couch. Sienna sits across from us in my big overstuffed chair.

“I totally cross-examined Carter this afternoon after you left,” she says as she pulls a slice of pepperoni pizza out of the box and bites the tip. “It was glorious. You should have been there.”

“Tell me everything.”

“He looked so miserable,” she says and walks to the kitchen for paper towels. “But I was still brutal because he deserved it.”

“I don’t know much,” London says. “I don’t work there, and I get everything secondhand from Finn, but even he doesn’t say much. So start from the beginning and tell me everything.”

So I do. I run through the last twenty-four hours, and Sienna fills in with her story of treating Carter like a criminal on the stand, which makes me laugh and feel emotional because I have these amazing women for friends.

I’m just a big cesspool of emotions today.

“What a jerk,” London says, staring down at her fries. “I feel like I should march myself over to his place and smack him around a bit.”

“He’s been pummeled pretty good,” I say with a shrug. “And then he told me we’re getting married.”

Silence. Sienna and London share a look of surprise, then turn their attention back to me.

“He told you?” London asks.

“Yep. Shoved a ring on my finger and said we’ll be busy planning a wedding.”

“This is why men die earlier than women,” Sienna says matter-of-factly. “There’s no ring on your finger now.”

“Hell no, there isn’t.”

“I seriously love you,” London says.

“I told him I wouldn’t marry him out of convenience, that this isn’t our parents’ generation, and I can be an unwed mother.”

“How did he take that?” Sienna asks.

“Not well. He was frustrated, and then I reminded him that he’s never said he loves me.”

“Wait.” Sienna swallows her pizza. “He’s never said it?”

“Nope.” I shrug a shoulder. “But neither have I, to be fair. We established that we love each other. But no, I still didn’t accept his nonproposal.”

“Good,” London says. “What’s he thinking? He needs to do it right.”

“He needs to actually ask me,” I reply. “Not tell me.”

“Cavemen,” Sienna mutters. “They’re all cavemen.”

I lean back on the couch and moan. “You guys, I’m so full. I’ve eaten more food this evening than I eat in a week.”

“We still have dessert,” London says. “But we’ll let this settle first.”

“How are you feeling?” Sienna asks. “Do you feel pregnant?”

“Not really.” I shrug and pat my normal-size belly. “I’m tired, but that’s just because I had the day from hell. But it’s really early. The doctor is thinking I’m less than six weeks along, which means I probably got pregnant the first time we had sex.”

“Wow.” Sienna’s brows fly to her hairline. “Not only did the vasectomy not take, but Carter has Captain America sperm.”

“Lucky him.” I laugh and stand to gather empty bowls and the pizza box. “I still can’t believe he asked me who the father is.”

“I’d have castrated him, just for that alone,” London says. “Then he wouldn’t have to worry about getting anyone pregnant ever again.”

“I was shocked. I told him to fuck himself.”

“Good girl,” Sienna says with a grin. “You do realize, even though he hasn’t asked you correctly, and you haven’t accepted yet, you’re our sister now, right? Like, you’re ours forever.”

“Forever and ever, amen,” London agrees. “Whether you like it or not.”

“I like it.” We raise our glasses, and I clink my sparkling cider to their wine. “I like it a whole lot. I’ve never had sisters before.”

“Are you an only child?”

“Yep.”

“Well, I’ve had nothing but hard times with my brother, so being an only child isn’t such a bad thing,” London says.

“I love my sister, and she’s doing better now with her new business and stuff, but yeah.” Sienna nods her pretty head. “Having siblings is hard.”