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“I’m pretty sure I just OD’d on taco dip.”
Jay grabbed my plate and swiped his chip through my leftover dip. “Pretty sure you ate three pounds of it,” he laughed.
“I was nervous,” I whispered. “Leelee was watching me too closely.”
Jay dropped his plate on the ground and grabbed his beer. “She knows something is up.”
“What?” I gasped. “How the heck does she know something is up?”
“Because she’s my sister?”
Jay and I were sitting at one of the tables Brooks had set out on the patio by the pool. Leelee and Kurt had sat with us while we ate but had just gotten up to get drinks. Things seemed to be going well, but I was extremely nervous. She had asked where Jay’s car was, and he explained we had driven my car. He thankfully didn’t say he had bought the car for me. I’m pretty sure Leelee would have asked him what the hell he was doing.
He was right saying that she very much had the attitude of not caring what anyone thought and would say what was on her mind. Kurt, her husband, was one of the most laid-back guys I had ever met. He talked to Jay most of the time about the race team and how he thought the season was going.
Before meeting Jay, I barely knew drag racing was a thing, let alone a huge sport.
“Are we going to tell her?” I whispered.
“Planned on it,” Jay drawled.
He didn’t seem stressed out or anxious at all. “Jay,” I hissed.
He looked over at me. “Del, calm down. She’s my sister, not some evil person. She’s gonna have some questions, but she’s gonna be happy for us.” He grabbed my hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “Trust me.”
Leelee and Kurt walked back over to the table. She set a beer in front of both Jay and me. “I got you each a beer,” she said simply.
“I’m pregnant,” I blurted out. I slapped my hand over my mouth, and Jay’s jaw dropped.
“Well, shit, babe. You were fucking right.” Kurt slapped Jay on the back and laughed. “She totally pinned you for knocking her up.”
“I figured she knew something was up,” Jay laughed.
“He did,” I squawked.
“Though we didn’t plan on telling you like that.” Jay pulled me close and rested his hand on my stomach.
“I panicked.” I did. Totally and completely. I couldn’t drink that beer, and I didn’t know what else to say besides blurting out I was having a baby.
Leelee still hadn’t said anything yet. She stood on the other side of the table watching Jay and me.
Kurt stood up and was shaking hands with Jay while I sat there trying to not fidget under Leelee's inspection.
“You’re different,” she said softly. She pulled the chair out next to me and sat down.
“Um, okay.”
She grabbed the beer she had set in front of me and popped it open. “Guess you won’t be needing this.”
“Yeah, no,” I laughed nervously.
Leelee sat back in her chair and smiled. “You’re different from any of the girls Jay has ever been interested in before. I mean, you’re pretty and look like them, but you’re different.”
I got it. I was different. But was that a good thing?
“Stop scaring her,” Kurt called to Leelee.
She flipped him off. “I’m not scaring her. She’s having my niece or nephew, okay?”
“So that means you should be smiling and not looking like you’re sitting down to an investigation,” Kurt laughed.
Meg, Remy’s mom, shouted from across the pool, and we all turned to look at her. There was a bright pink flamingo float in the water, and she was standing on the side of the pool with her arms raised over her head.
“Here we go,” Kurt chuckled. “I was waiting for Meg to let loose.”
Cyn was already in the pool floating on a large float in the shape of a donut. She was holding the flamingo and encouraging Meg to jump in the pool. Lo and Rigid were both sitting at a table by the pool shaking their heads. They even knew they couldn’t control their wives all of the time.
“Mom, would you just get in the pool like a normal person?” Remy called. He was standing by the grill with a spatula in his hand while Harlyn held a plate next to him. The difference between the two of them was Harlyn was also yelling for Meg to jump into the pool.
“This chick is my role model,” Leelee laughed.
I glanced at Leelee and smiled. “She does seem pretty amazing.”
“You don’t even know the half of it. I’ve heard stories that will have you rolling with laughter.” Leelee took a sip of her beer. “Cyn is pretty cool too. I think the two of them egg each other on.”
“Get in the pool!” Remy shouted.
“I don’t think Remy appreciates the greatness that is his mom,” I whispered.
“You would be completely right,” Leelee chuckled.
Meg, who was wearing the most gorgeous black one piece swimsuit I had ever seen, finally jumped into the pool, where she managed to land on the flamingo, but the waves in the pool flipped her off and sent Cyn flying off her donut.
“Ah, my donut house,” Cyn called.
Meg surfaced and was spitting and spewing water all while she laughed her ass off.
Lo and Rigid didn’t move from their chairs and just watched their wives with amusement in their eyes. Both of Cyn’s kids were off at summer camp so Cyn and Rigid were enjoying their time being alone.
“That woman right there is goals,” Leelee laughed.
Jay sat back down on the other side of me and grabbed my hand. “You okay?” he asked softly.
I glanced over at Leelee, who was looking at Jay’s hand in mine. “Um, I think I’m okay.”
“I like her,” Leelee announced.
Jay laughed and shook his head. “Gotta say, Lee, it didn’t really matter if you did or didn’t.”
A smile spread across Leelee's lips. “And that right there was the right answer, Jay.”
*
