Should’ve Known It’s You (Not You Again #7)

Chapter 64

CHAPTER 64

KENNEDY

S late and Jess were in town for the weekend, and I was hosting a baby shower for Winrey at Austin’s house. It’d been a busy couple of days getting everything ready, but as I looked around the packed living room, I had to admit that I was proud of having pulled it off.

Winrey had opted for a sunshine yellow color scheme, and I’d made sure that there were pops of it everywhere, from the tablecloths, to fresh flowers, to the pom-poms hanging from the ceiling. Slate and Austin had helped me set up a photobooth on the covered patio, using the garden and pool as a backdrop, and Jess and I put together a playlist of the songs we could find that mentioned babies, parenthood, or having a great childhood.

There were a surprising amount of them, and it had been fun listening to different songs with her and deciding whether to add them or not. Meanwhile, we’d made giant pots of soup and set those out with freshly baked bread for food.

Women from all walks of Winrey’s life were in attendance, including an increasingly more pregnant Jess, who was sending ideas for her own baby shower to Sophie as the day went on. With the soft strands of the music in the background and the scent of celery, chicken, and bread wafting through the house, the atmosphere was joyful and cozy, all the yellow helping to break the dull of winter outside.

“This turned out pretty damn great,” Jess said as she came to stand next to me, sliding her arm around my shoulders to give me a sideways hug. “You’ve always had a knack for this kind of thing.”

“Throwing a party?”

She chuckled and rolled her eyes at me. “For making people feel at home. I remember even back in our wild child days, you’d never let anyone be excluded. Everyone was always welcome everywhere.”

I shrugged. “I can’t help it. I like it when people are happy, and comfortable, and having fun.” As I said it, I glanced at her belly. “Speaking of which, you don’t look particularly comfortable right now. Is there anything I can do to help? Can I bring you a chair?”

“Nah, I’m good.” She patted her swollen stomach. “Peanut and I were just visiting with the boys. Slate made me sit the whole time we were up there with them, so I need to be on my feet for a while.”

“Let me know if that changes and I’ll help you find someplace comfortable.”

Jess shot me a look, waving her hand around the room. “There are plenty of chairs. If I need to sit, I’ll grab one. Stop worrying. You’re already catering to one pregnant woman’s every need. You seriously don’t need another one.”

I frowned, but I was also desperately trying to hide a smile. “I don’t think I understand the words that just came out of your mouth.”

She laughed. “Go figure. Anyway, I just came over here to tell you that the guys are fine. You don’t need to go check on them. Good idea relegating them to the pajama lounge, by the way. They’re just lying around watching some kind of car racing on TV and drinking beer, but I said I’d bring them some crackers and cheese a little later.”

“Awesome. Thank you.” I gave her another quick hug. “I’m so glad you’re here. You didn’t happen to ask Benji if he wanted to come downstairs when she opens the gifts?”

“Oh, I asked.” She grinned at me. “He said to tell you that he’s perfectly fine just seeing what they got later. Apparently, he, Austin, and Slate are all too scared to come down here for too long at any one time.”

“Boys are weird.”

“Right on, sister.” She winked, backing away with a hand on her belly to go grab another mocktail.

I followed, picking up another drink for myself before I went to rejoin Winrey and a small group of women sitting on the sofas in front of the crackling fire. I smiled at my sister as I sat down next to her. “Are you still okay?”

“I’m perfect.” She leaned in closer. “I might need your help getting up to go pee in a few minutes.”

I squeezed her forearm as I nodded, happy to help her in any way I could. Frankly, I was in my glory today as the big sister hosting the little sister’s shower. I was loving every minute of it, thoroughly enjoying getting to cater to her every whim and making sure that this was everything she’d ever dreamed of.

As I settled in beside her, I thought about this last request. Helping her get up. Giving her a discreet onceover, I noticed how swollen her ankles and feet were. She’d even taken off her shoes in an attempt to be more comfortable, but honestly, it didn’t seem to be working very well.

She definitely wasn’t as mobile as she had been even just a couple of weeks ago, and she was getting fatigued much faster too. Excitement coursed through me as I realized it was because the big day was so near now. I couldn’t wait to meet this baby, already so in love with it that I could burst.

Smiling, I leaned back against the sofa and tuned into the conversation Winrey was having with her friends. “All I know right now is that I can’t wait to be able to shave my own legs again. Oh, and to be able to walk up a flight of stairs without being out of breath.”

One of the other women, Renata, giggled. “The last month of pregnancy will be the longest three years of your life, but don’t worry. You’ll forget all about it as soon as you hold that little one in your arms for the first time.”

“I’ve heard that,” Winrey replied, giving her head a doubtful little shake. “I’m not so convinced, though. I’ve only just entered the final month and it already feels like the last few days have taken a year. How is all that just forgotten?”

Renata shrugged, her eyes narrowing in thought. “Something to do with your hormones. It’s nature’s way of making sure that humans keep procreating.”

“Seriously,” another woman, Jacinta, agreed, her eyes wide as she nodded repeatedly. “If women were totally honest with other women about everything that happens during pregnancy, we would’ve ceased to exist a long time ago. We’re not totally honest, though, and then, we forget about a lot of things ourselves as soon as the baby pops out. It just doesn’t seem so bad anymore, and that, my friends, is the real reason why there’s still human life on earth.”

I doubled over laughing. “Thanks for the biology lesson. You guys really aren’t making me look forward to my turn right around now.”

“Oh, no, Kenny.” Renata winked at me. “You should totally look forward to it. It’s the miracle of life, after all. Plus, people keep bringing you snacks.”

I arched an eyebrow at her but didn’t argue. Jacinta had turned the conversation toward the fathers, lamenting how amazing it had to be to be a man. “Think about it. They just get to stand there next to you while you’re in the most excruciating pain of your life. Then they get handed this bundle of cuteness, but as soon as it poops, they hand it right back. I’ve already decided that in my next life, I’m coming back as a dad.”

“Benji and I have agreed that he’s on diaper duty whenever he’s at home,” Winrey said. “We’ll see how long it lasts, but he’s actually pretty excited about being the designated changer and bather. He thinks it’s a great time to bond.”

“Fair enough,” Renata agreed. “He’s going to be a wonderful father, Winrey. Even if the diaper thing will get old really freaking fast. I love my babies but they filled their diapers like I was feeding them chili.”

Winrey laughed, but then Jacinta suddenly turned to me. She was one of the first friends Winrey had made after we’d moved to New York and I’d known her just as long. I loved her complete lack of a filter and the way she just called things the way she saw them, but I was a bit taken aback by it today.

“Now that we’re on the topic of men,” she said. “Who is that guy I saw you all loved up with earlier? He’s really freaking hot, girl. How serious are you guys?”

“You’re married!” Renata squealed at her, but Jacinta just smirked and waved her off.

“Just because I can’t order anything doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t look at the menu.” She winked at her friend before turning her gaze back to mine. “If he was on the menu, he would be listed under tasty treats .”

“He’s not on the menu,” I said immediately, knowing she was just joking but only too happy to tell them about us anyway. “We’re in love, ladies. I think he’s the man I’m going to marry.”

Jess, who had appeared out of nowhere and was surprisingly stealthy for the size of her baby bump, suddenly squealed from behind me. “It’s about time! I’m so happy. Winrey and I will team up for your bridal shower. You can look after the babies while we plan. And drink wine. And set everything up.”

I laughed. “Sure. Why don’t the babies just move in with me during that time?”

Jess nodded enthusiastically. “That sounds great. You’re going to have to move in with my mom, then, though. You and Mom can have the big house on Merrick Meadows, and the rest of us will find somewhere else quiet to stay.”

Renata giggled. “You two are lucky to have such an eager babysitter-in-waiting. Trust me, you should use her now before she needs a babysitter of her own.”

“Hopefully, that won’t take too long,” Winrey said, but her words were punctuated by a yawn.

I glanced at my watch. “It’s about time for us to do the gifts,” I said, standing up and offering her my hand. “Why don’t you move to where the ladies’ are at and I’ll get everything ready for you out here?”

She nodded, taking my hand and letting me pull her up before she disappeared. Jess helped me clear a space for her on one of the armchairs, working with me to bring all the gifts closer. We all “oohed” and “aahed” while Winrey opened the cutest things known to mankind. Baby stuff was the best.

Once that was done, our guests slowly started trickling out. Just as the sun started sinking into the horizon outside, it was finally only us left. Winrey, Benji, Slate, Jess, Austin, and I sank into the sofas around the fireplace to unwind, the women exhausted after the day and the men happy and relaxed.

“How’s everything going with the hotel?” Slate asked, sitting under Jess’s feet on the sofa and massaging them gently as she lay back with her eyes closed. “Austin said things have been moving along?”

“Definitely,” I said. “We’re completely on track for now. Most of the work will only commence in January, but we’ve been doing our best to get the bones ready for the demolition and construction teams that will be coming in the new year.”

Personally, I was still struggling to wrap my head around the fact that Slate had stepped in and offered to invest as soon as Austin had laid out the business plan to him. As it turned out, Slate had struck it pretty big himself, and between him and Logan, his brother-in-law, there wasn’t a pie in the city they didn’t seem to have their fingers in somehow.

Jess had been ultra excited about it too, deciding that she wanted to invest as well just as soon as they were done with all the upgrades at Merrick Meadows. Joking about her “oil-baroness money,” she was eager to start making investments of her own and she’d already talked to me about getting in on the ground floor of phase two of the hotel. I hadn’t even known there would be a phase two , but I’d promised her that if there was, she would be the first to know.

After all the pitches I’d made and the doors I’d banged down, it was strange to think that the money I needed was now all coming from people I was so happy to be in business with.

Austin was lying against me on the sofa, his butt between my thighs as I brushed my fingers through his hair. “She’s being modest. We’ve been working our asses off even if the contractors will only be coming in sometime in January. It’s been great, though. Just a few days ago, we lifted this ratty old carpet and we found the most incredible hardwood floors underneath.”

I hid my smile behind his hair. These last few weeks, he’d been talking about it like it was his own passion project and I loved listening to him get so animated about it. “We’re going to be restoring it so that it’s all the same bones of the old mansion, but we’re breathing new life into it. Only, we don’t want the place to stick out like a sore thumb in that old neighborhood. The neighbors also wouldn’t appreciate that, so we’re being careful about restoration rather than complete renovation.”

“How have the neighbors been so far?” Benji asked curiously. “Are they still as supportive as they were after the dinner?”

I nodded. “We’ve been so warmly welcomed to the area. The locals can’t seem to stop telling us how wonderful the Thanksgiving dinner was. So much so that we’re even considering turning it into an annual thing.”

“Don’t tell Ms. Cartwright,” Austin joked.

I laughed and shook my head. “No, I’ll even welcome her and her basket of cats.”

If I was being completely honest, the hotel was already shaping up to have the exact feeling I’d been chasing all this time. As I was about to elaborate though, I noticed my sister looking visibly uncomfortable, sort of shifting her position every other minute and not quite seeming able to settle.

“Are you okay, Winrey?” I asked as I noticed that her eyebrows were pinched.

She gave me a weak smile. “It’s just some cramps. I think it might be prodromal labor. Apparently, it’s completely normal. I’ve already spoken to my OBGYN about it and everything is fine.”

Jess groaned as she widened her eyes at Winrey. “Prodromal labor? What is that? I thought we only had to go into labor once. Now you’re telling us there’s a whole other type of labor we have to go through? What in the fresh hell is this, and why is this the first I’m hearing about it?”