Virgin Seeks Bad Boy (Bliss River #3) - Lili Valente Page 0,48
assumption that we’ll be getting hitched, but he’s still smiling.
And when he glances my way, he gives me a conspiratorial wink that sends a shiver of excitement prickling across my skin.
“I’m not an official member of the family yet,” Mason says. “So I’m not going to say anything on the record. Off the record, however, I’ll say that I respect both of you for coming back inside when you could have made a run for it earlier. I think that says a lot about the strength of your relationship.”
“Mason and I were spying,” Lark confesses with a guilty grin. “But we left the window when the kissing started. Promise.”
I blush harder. “Okay, is this over, then? Can the most embarrassing family meeting ever now come to an end, please?”
Dad grunts. “Well, since my opinion doesn’t mean a damn thing anymore, I guess so. But I still don’t think it’s a good idea. Melody’s just a baby.”
“Melody is a young woman and smart enough to make her own decisions,” Nash says, speaking up for the first time since dinner was served. I meet his gaze, surprised to find his glare has finally vanished. “I’d like to apologize for forgetting that. And to apologize to Nick, too. I should have minded my own business. Sorry, little brother.”
“No worries,” Nick says. “You were looking out for Mel, and anyone who looks out for Mel is good by me.” He shifts his smile Dad’s way. “I’ll do my best to take good care of your baby, Mr. March.”
Dad grunts again, but his scowl isn’t quite as fierce. “You can call me Bob, all the rest of these daughter robbers do.”
My jaw drops, but I don’t say a word, afraid I’ll undo whatever magic spell has caused my father to go from grouchy to decent in such a short amount of time.
Instead, I say, “Should I go get the pies Aria made? I saw them in the fridge, and you know lemon icebox is my favorite.”
“Yes!” Lark jumps up with a clap of her hands. “And we have a key lime, too. I’ve been dying for a giant slice since we got here. I’ve been craving key lime pie like you wouldn’t believe. I’m going to eat half a pie and three scoops of whipped cream, and nothing anyone says is going to stop me. I am immune to reason when it comes to those pies.”
Mason stands, resting a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll get it,” he says. “You sit. You already cleaned up supper.”
Lark glances over her shoulder at him, and a loaded look passes between them, a look that instantly sets off warning alarms in my brain, a look I would have sorted out the meaning of in a minute or two. But Aria beats me to it.
“Oh my god,” she gasps, “you’re pregnant!”
What follows is a flutter of such fretting and congratulating and worrying about whether Lark will fit into her wedding dress that Nick and I are instantly small beans by comparison.
Thank goodness.
Chapter 19
Melody
A half hour later—once Mom stops mourning the fact that Lark’s going to need a new dress, Dad finishes yelling at Mason for knocking up his daughter out of wedlock, and Aria has apologized profusely to Lark for blurting out her suspicion instead of pulling Lark aside for a private one-on-one—things have calmed down enough for me to feel okay about making my escape with Nick.
“We’re going to head out,” I say, kissing Mom on the cheek. “Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine. Lark will be beautiful, no matter what she wears, and no one will think anything of it if the baby comes seven months after the wedding instead of nine.”
Mom sniffs, and her forehead wrinkles, but she doesn’t start crying again. “I don’t know about that, but I guess it doesn’t matter. We’re going to have another sweet grandbaby. That’s the important thing.”
I smile. “That’s completely correct. I’m proud of you, Mom.”
“I’m proud of you too, honey. And I’m glad you’ve found someone who makes you happy,” she says, before adding in a whisper, “But please don’t get pregnant anytime soon. I’m not sure my heart can handle two daughters pregnant out of wedlock.”
I blush and pat her on the shoulder. “No worries, Mom.”
But as Nick and I walk to his car, I can’t help but worry. I’m on the pill, but I don’t always take it at exactly the same time every day. And the pill isn’t one hundred percent effective.