Seeking Happily Ever After (Ever After #8) - Elena Aitken Page 0,47

and Nick was starting to feel very real.

“What is going on there?” Faith asked the question with a tilt of her head and wink in Katie’s direction.

Char spun around and glared at Katie. What had she said?

“Don’t get mad at Katie,” Faith said, picking up on what Charlotte was thinking. “All she said was that the two of you look really cute together.”

“That’s not all she said.” It was Natalie who chimed in with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

Hope laughed, causing Amelia to join in, too.

Charlotte took her time looking around the circle of women in turn. Finally, she swallowed hard. “You all know that we’re only pretending to be together for the caseworker, right?” She focused on Katie as she spoke, but her friend said nothing in return, only winked.

“Faith?” She turned to the blonde-haired beauty. “You know that, right? I mean, Nick and I are just…” There was no easy way to finish that sentence. Not one that made sense, anyway.

“You’re what?”

Char spun around to look at Katie, who’d asked the question.

“We’re doing this for Amelia.” Charlotte could feel herself growing frustrated. How was she supposed to explain to her friends what was going on between her and Nick in a way that they would understand? Especially when she herself didn’t understand it. “We need it to be believable,” she explained. “It’s important that Amelia can stay with Nick. We had a really good visit with the caseworker the other day. She surprised us at the cabins and…well, it all ended up really positive. I think she’ll put in a good recommendation, which is important because the courts don’t often rule in favor of a single father and…well, they do. But it’s harder and having a stable home situation makes it more—”

“And you two are stable?” It was Natalie who asked. “I mean, if the engagement is fake, is it really stable for the baby to be—”

“She belongs with her father.” Char cut her off and forced herself to swallow hard. She was almost positive that Natalie’s opinion of what was happening was at least partly swayed by her brother. After all, Jeremy had made no secret of how he didn’t approve of Charlotte and Nick’s arrangement. No doubt he’d let that opinion be heard at the fire hall, too.

“I don’t doubt that, Charlotte,” Natalie said. “And honestly, I didn’t mean to imply anything else. I’m sorry if it…well…I can’t imagine the stress Nick’s under, trying to make all this happen and—”

“Where does she get her eye color?” Faith interrupted the conversation, completely oblivious to what was happening. “They’re so blue. Nick’s eyes are dark, aren’t they?”

Charlotte let the conversation with Natalie slide away, which was probably for the best, and looked at Faith, who was staring at Amelia.

“And this hair.” Faith patted Amelia’s blonde, slightly red-tinged hair that had been coming in thicker and thicker lately. “Nick’s coloring is so dark. Her mother must be really fair, and with some very strong genetics.”

Faith laughed, but Char didn’t join in. Just because she knew the truth about Amelia’s parentage didn’t mean that everyone needed to know. She didn’t want to do anything that would risk the custody case.

It was true that Amelia didn’t resemble Nick at all. “I don’t know anything about her mother,” Char said. “But obviously Amelia takes after her.”

“Well, you know, I can’t see even a bit of me in Cole,” Hope said. “He’s a carbon copy of his father.” She laughed. “It’s so strange the way genetics work, isn’t it?”

The women all laughed.

“I hope our baby is the perfect mixture of Damon and—”

“What?” It was Faith who cut her off. Her mouth hung open. “Your baby? Are you…did you…”

“Are you pregnant?” Hope helped her sister out. “Katie? Really?”

Katie nodded and the group erupted in squeals. “We’re not really telling people yet,” Katie said when the excitement died down. “It’s super-new still and we agreed we wouldn’t tell people yet, but…my secret’s safe with you all, right?”

Of course it was, and they all swore their silence.

It wasn’t until Katie and Char were on their way home that Charlotte asked her friend, “Why is it that you didn’t want to say anything about being pregnant? It’s so exciting.”

“It is,” Katie agreed. “But a lot of women don’t say anything about being pregnant until after the first trimester.”

Char had heard that, but she’d never really understood why. She told Katie as much.

“Because what if it doesn’t work out?”

“That would be terrible,” Charlotte agreed. “No matter what, it