Blush for Me (Page 46)

“There’s a lot happening in this room,” I announce, and smile when all eyes turn to me. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Kat grins and joins me. “This is baby Henry. He’s Cici’s youngest.”

“Hi, I’m Cici,” a petite woman says, and waves from her perch by Riley. “I couldn’t find a sitter for him, so I brought him. He’s the easiest of all of my dozens of kids.”

“Dozens?” I ask in horror.

“She has four,” Kat says, and kisses Henry’s cheek. “And I have a crush on this little guy.”

I lean in to whisper in her ear. “You don’t like kids, remember?”

“Well, this one is different. Look at these cheeks!”

Henry smiles and claps his little hands together.

“Dinner is ready,” Mia announces.

“Are you hungry?” Kat asks with a grin. Her brown eyes are shining, and her cheeks are a little pink from the heat of the kitchen, and the way she looks with this baby has something twisting inside me. I want to scoop her up and carry her home so I can make love to her all night. I want to tell her that she’s mine, and that she’s going to be mine forever.

For the first time in my life, I can see myself with a family.

She cocks her head to the side. “Mac?”

“Starving,” I reply, and tuck her hair behind her ear. “I’m starving.”

“I don’t care what you say, I’m not going to put a diaper on a baby, blindfolded or not,” Jake says as we join the others at the dining table. Addie is laughing and Cami looks exasperated.

“You have to,” Cami says. “It’s part of the shower. All of the guys have to diaper a baby.”

“I’m out,” Landon announces. “I’ll be happy to change diapers if and when we’re blessed with a baby, but I won’t do it for sport.”

“I think I’ll sit that one out too,” I say, and take Kat’s hand in mine, kissing her knuckles.

“This is why guys aren’t invited to baby showers,” Riley says to Cami. “They’re no fun.”

“Okay, but you have to play the ‘guess what kind of candy bar this is’ game.”

“That’s easy,” Jake says.

“They’ve been melted into diapers so they look like poop,” Mia adds. “It’s disgusting.”

“Do we have to play games? I thought you played games earlier,” Jake says. “I’m the dad, I should have a say.”

“Fine,” Cami says with a sigh. “You have a say.”

“Great, no games.”

He fist-pumps Landon and me, then smiles down at his wife. “I like being the dad.”

“Just like a man,” Riley says with a smirk, “to be all controlling and weird.” She takes another swig from her wine bottle.

“Should we be worried about Riley?” I ask Kat quietly. She smiles and kisses my cheek.

“You’re sweet. She’s okay.”

“I’m okay,” Riley says, obviously hearing me. “But men can suck it.”

“All men, or is there one in particular that we’re pissed at?” Landon asks. “And do I need to kick some ass?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Riley replies, but Mia jumps in to help.

“She went on a date and the guy failed to mention that he’s married.”

“What?” I ask.

“She’s not lying,” Riley says. “I met this dude online, and we decided to go out for a drink. He told me on the phone that he’s recently divorced, which is a red flag all on its own, but I figured I’d go and flex my out-of-shape dating muscles.”

“Good idea,” Addie says, and pats Riley on the shoulder.

“And so we get there, and we just ordered our drinks, and he says, ‘So, I have a confession. I’m not actually divorced yet.’

“So, I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt, thinking that he’s separated and going through the divorce, you know?”

We all nod.

“But no. No, he hasn’t even told her he wants a divorce. They have kids. Kids. And then he says, ‘I hope this isn’t a deal breaker.’”

“What a prick,” Cami mutters, shaking her head.

“So, I said, ‘Yeah, that’s a deal breaker,’ and I stood to leave.”

“Good for you,” I reply.

“Oh, that’s not all.”

“Not even close,” Kat says. “Do you want more wine, honey?”

“No, I can’t feel my feet anymore,” Riley replies. “So I stand to leave, and he says, ‘You haven’t paid for your drink.’”

“What?” Landon demands.

“True story,” Riley replies. “So I said, ‘You go ahead and pay for it. I’m out of here.’”

“She’s not done,” Mia says when Landon would speak again.

“So then he says, ‘My wife checks my accounts. I can’t pay for this.’”

“He was going to make you pay for both of you?” Cici demands. “I must have missed that part.”

“Tell me you didn’t pay for him,” I say.

“Nope. I went to the bar and paid for mine and left without another word.”

“She’s still not done,” Kat says helpfully.

“So I get home,” she continues, “and he texts me.” She picks up her phone and thumbs through it until she finds his message. “And I quote: ‘I shouldn’t have told you about my wife. It clearly upset you. Can we try it again, and we can pretend that never happened?’”