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I wanted to be mad, but he was taking accountability without me having to badger him. It was a step in the right direction.
“Just tell me,” I said. “Tell me and let me decide how I feel about it. That’s it.”
He nodded. I ate another pickle before closing the jar and putting it in the fridge.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I’m great.” I lied.
“I don’t know. You just seem—” He tilted his head. “Different.”
I kept my face neutral and shrugged. “Maybe I’m just rested since I spent most of the day sleeping.”
“Maybe.” He came around the island and kissed my forehead. I pressed my face into his chest and breathed him in.
“Papa?”
“Hm?”
The words were right there sitting on the tip of my tongue.
I’m pregnant. Surprise!
“I’m glad Jody called,” I said instead.
“Me too.” He rested his chin on my head. “I knew it bothered you, even though you never said anything.”
I listened to his heartbeat. Steady. Strong.
Soon. I’d tell him soon.
40 CARDEZ MONTAGUE
A WEEK BEFORE THE WEDDING
Regina Evans-Pierce had done well for herself. According to Belle, her fourth husband, Dr. Walter Pierce, DDS, had retired a few years ago. The two of them lived in a house too big for childless boomers and spent most of the winter in Florida.
“Well, well, well,” she said, appraising me as she opened the front door. “My daughter certainly caught her a good one.”
“Mama, please,” Belle grimaced.
She pulled her daughter into a hug and kissed both cheeks. “What? I can’t compliment your fiancé?” She hugged me next.
The house smelled like roasted lamb. Walter rounded the corner as we came inside, wearing a golf polo, khakis, and gold wire-framed glasses. He was average height and portly, balding at the temples.
“Cardez,” he said, shaking my hand firmly. “Good to finally put a face to the name.”
“Nice to meet you, Dr. Pierce.”
He clapped my back. “Walter’s fine, son. Haven’t been a doctor in a while.”
Regina led us into the sitting room. Walter went to the wet bar to pour us drinks while she set out a charcuterie spread on the marble coffee table. Belle’s mother took her role as wife and homemaker seriously. There were fresh flowers in vases all over the room, and beneath the smell of her cooking, it smelled like a luxury hotel. Everything in their house looked like it came straight out of the pages of Town & Country.
“So, Cardez,” Walter said, handing me a glass of bourbon. “Tell me about yourself.”
“Yes,” Regina piped up. “What exactly do you do? Belle failed to mention that.”
Belle shot her a dirty look over her glass of wine.
