tease him was strong. “I heard it gets smaller as you age.”
“What? That’s a load of crap!”
“Is it?” she asked, pouring the eggs into the pan.
“Seriously, is that true?” he worried.
“I love you, sweets,” she chuckled.
“Don’t mess with me like that!” he said with a sigh of relief.
She laughed some more and put the pan in the oven. While she had him alone, she wanted to ask him something that had been nagging at her since yesterday. “So … why does Allie have pregnancy tests around?”
“We’ve been trying …”
This news made her very happy! She couldn’t wait for her best friends to have kids. “Yay!”
“It’s not going so well.”
Boo.
“How long?”
“Six months.”
Whoa … they started before getting married.
“That’s not long.”
“Well, I’m forty-one and she’s thirty-five and we just keep getting older.”
“Look at me. I’m going to be thirty-seven and I’m knocked up,” she joked, but she couldn’t believe it was happening. “Going to the doctor?”
“Yes. She’s been. I’ve been. Done all kinds of tests.”
“Any closer to finding out?”
“Everything has come back fine so far. After all that though, we decided to take a break. She was done. It was stressing her out. We’ll probably try again soon.”
“You guys will get pregnant. I know it. Hurry up though. I want a pregnancy buddy.”
“You’ve got one,” Allie chimed in, a wide smile on her face as she walked further into the kitchen.
“What?” Mia exclaimed.
“You and I have been on pretty much the same cycle for years. And it dawned on me this morning that the last time I had my period was in …”
“April!” Mia squealed, so excited for Allie and Luke.
“Took the test and it was positive.” Allie said, standing in front of her husband.
Luke sat stunned at the counter. One minute he was telling her about their struggles, the next, he’s going to be a daddy again.
“You’re really pregnant?” he asked, a little fear in his voice. She knew him. He was afraid it might not be true.
Allie nodded enthusiastically. Mia teared up as Luke left his stool and went to his wife and embraced her. She would not be having this moment with her own husband. She’d waited so long for it—wanted it more than anything, yet it wasn’t going to happen. At least she was able to see the moment for her best friends.
“I love you,” Luke whispered against her cheek.
“I love you too,” Allie tearfully replied.
Mia gave them a few moments to celebrate together before saying quite loudly, “I’m going to be an aunt again!”
Both laughed at her exuberance and accepted her hugs of congratulations. They’d be bringing a new set of kids into the world this new year. Hopefully they’d be great friends, just like their parents.
“I’m going to check on the boys,” Mia said, wanting to give Luke and Allie some space. “I’ll be back in a few to finish making breakfast.”
When she entered the bedroom, Mia saw two sets of wide eyes poking out from the blanket before disappearing under it.
“Oh … I wonder where my two little boys could be. I was coming to get them for breakfast. Guess that means more for me …” she said, trying not to laugh at the muffled giggles of her sons.
“Here we are, Mommy,” Pierce said, tossing the blanket off him and his little brother and they both bolted from the bed and headed downstairs.
They ate and changed then Mia loaded them into the car. She turned to face her best friend and frowned.
She hated goodbyes.
“When will you be back?”
“Your wife knows,” she retorted because she really wasn’t sure—it could be sooner than her next doctor’s appointment or not. It all depended.
“Mia,” he warned. She knew she tested him at times. Now was one of those. So she changed the topic.
“Come visit … I get impulsive when bored. Save me from myself. Bring me Kaitlyn!”
“Oh my God! We have to tell her about the baby! She’ll be so excited.”
“Tell her, then visit. Plenty of room. Allie knows my schedule. Bree will keep her informed.”
“We’ll be there. Promise.”
She tossed her bag in the passenger seat. The boys were quiet with their toy iPads. Hopefully that would be the case for the drive up to Chicago.
“You okay to drive?” Luke worried.
“Yeah, I’ll put on music and the boys will fall asleep about an hour in and will hopefully stay that way until I pull into the garage. A nice peaceful ride.”
“Text me when you arrive,” he said. She knew he was worried about her for many reasons and didn’t