“Yes, he said we’re going to cover the cost of the move for them.”
“That’s so sweet,” Bailey stated. “They’re going to love Fairshore.”
Amelia caught a hint of sadness from Bailey. “How’s everything going for you?”
Bailey hesitated. “It’s going great,” Bailey told Amelia. “Benny’s mom is helping plan our wedding and we moved the date to February.”
“I noticed. I got the invitation in the mail today.” Amelia glanced at the invitation on the table next to the calendar.
“Yes, Benny’s mom sent those out,” Bailey explained. “Even though it is still seven months or so away.”
Amelia stretched the phone cord around the doorframe and looked at the calendar. She flipped to February as she counted the months. “You have exactly five months and a week or so until your wedding.”
“Did you have to count the days?” Bailey asked with a chuckle. “I’m already a mess of nerves. I’m glad Benny’s mom is taking care of everything.”
“That’s a very good thing,” Amelia confirmed. “But what’s with the date change?”
“We decided we wanted a February wedding instead,” Bailey said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, we’re sure,” Bailey insisted. “What kind of question is that?”
Bailey laughed. Amelia asked, “So you didn’t change the date because of my due date?”
“Well, that kind of factored into our decision,” Bailey admitted. “But just a little bit. I definitely want you to attend my wedding. You don’t really have a choice whether or not to be in it, though.”
Amelia chuckled. “You didn’t have to change the date for me.”
“It’s no big deal,” Bailey assured Amelia. “Now, having a baby at a wedding, that’s a big deal. That would not have been a good thing.”
“It would be quite embarrassing,” Amelia stated. “I’m happy you’re still getting married.”
“Nothing is going to change that,” Bailey stated.
“How’s your mom doing?” Amelia asked. She was not sure if it was the right time to ask, but she wanted to talk to Bailey like they used to. Ever since Bailey moved to Bexley, their friendship had been slightly affected by the distance. Amelia missed their conversations. She missed being able to see Bailey every day, too.
“She’s doing good,” Bailey said.
Amelia could tell Bailey did not want to talk much about her mother. She wondered if Bailey’s instincts about her mother drinking again had been proven to be true.
“I better get off of here,” Bailey announced. She seemed rattled and in a hurry to end the phone conversation.
“Oh, okay,” Amelia said. “I’ll talk to you later then?”
“I’ll call you later or tomorrow,” Bailey stated.
Amelia hung up the phone when she heard a click and dial tone. A knot formed in her stomach when she thought of how her friendship with Bailey had been before Bailey had moved to Bexley. She felt her friendship was slipping away, piece by piece.
She walked to the table and reached for a pen. She clicked it and wrote Bailey’s Wedding on the twenty sixth day of February on the calendar. She clicked the pen and tossed it on the pile of papers on the table.
She reached for the television remote and turned the television on. She sat at the opposite end of the couch as Zach.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes, for the most part, anyway,” she said.
“Did you find out why they moved the wedding day?”
“Bailey says they want a February wedding instead.”
Zach nodded. “Makes sense, I guess.”
Amelia shrugged her shoulders. “I still think it’s mainly because of my due date. She said that factored in a little when they decided to move the date.”
Zach chuckled. “Can’t blame them at all. Can you imagine a birth happening at your wedding?”
Amelia cringed. Her mother had asked her if they were going to marry in the month the baby was due. Amelia’s answer was and would remain a solid no. She would not attempt to try on dresses while pregnant, let alone stand in one while pregnant at the altar.
A thought struck Amelia. “That’s why.”
Zach raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“She knows how much I dread the thought of wearing a dress while being pregnant,” Amelia stated. At the moment her words left her lips, she saw devastation cover Zach’s face.
“There goes that idea,” Zach stated with a frown.
Amelia’s stomach twisted. She was worried what Zach had in mind. When she had stated she did not want to be pregnant and in a dress, Zach had taken it hard. She wondered what he had planned and why it appeared to disappoint him.
“What idea?” Amelia asked as she played dumb.
Zach shook his head. He reached for the car keys as he stood up. “I’m going to the store to check on things. I want to make sure everything is going good at the deli too. I’ll be back.”
“Zach, wait,” Amelia said as she grabbed his shirt. “I didn’t mean to disappoint you.”
Zach turned around. The look on his face confirmed her thought. He was disappointed or upset. Whatever mixed emotion he had felt within the last few minutes was written all over his face. Amelia reached for him and clung onto him tightly.
“Please, don’t go,” Amelia begged. She sounded desperate. She did not want him to leave. “Can we talk about whatever you’re thinking?”
Zach shrugged. “What’s the point? You have already made up your mind.”
“My mind isn’t made up,” Amelia stated. “I don’t even know what the heck your idea is.”
Zach nodded. He walked back to the couch and sat on the edge of the cushion. “Are you sure you don’t want to get married while being pregnant?”
“I never said…”
Zach interrupted her, “Amelia, be honest. You basically said you don’t want to wear a dress while you’re pregnant.”
Amelia looked into his eyes. She saw mixed emotions in them as she stared. She broke her focus away from him and stood up. She paced the length of the coffee table. “I don’t know what I want, Zach.”
He spread his arm out. “You have to have an idea. You can’t say that you don’t, because I know you do,” he said. “You wrote a five year plan for Pete’s sake. So don’t tell me you don’t know or you haven’t thought about it, because I know better.”
Amelia froze in one spot. She was amazed he knew her so well. Her bottom lip trembled. She bit it to keep it still. She refused to cry. She hated to cry all the time. She had counted the days until she had this baby. The hormones had done a number on her. She could never control her emotions anymore. Most of the time, she cried when she had no idea why.
She approached the couch with a few waddles and slowly sat down. She turned to face Zach and asked, “What do you have in mind?”
Zach crossed his arms in front of his chest and said, “I’m not going to tell you until you tell me what you want.” He looked at her and said, “And don’t want.”
“Well, first of all, I think it isn’t fair you’re making me tell you all of this,” Amelia stated. “It’d be better if you just told me what you have in mind. Then I could say yes or no.”
Zach shook his head. Of course he would be stubborn and make her explain everything.
“I don’t want to be pregnant and wear a dress,” Amelia stated.
Zach nodded. “I heard that part,” Zach said. “I want to know why you don’t want to be.”
Amelia sighed and leaned into the back of the couch. If there was a day where she could pout all day, today would be the day. She exhaled with an exaggerated sigh and said, “I don’t want to wear a dress because I’ll look like a beached whale.”
Zach turned beet red while he tried to hold in his laughter. Amelia struggled to lean forward out of the oversized cushions. She glared at Zach. “Sorry, I’m not laughing…”
“You’re laughing,” she pointed out t
o him. “You’re laughing at the thought of me in a dress.”
Zach’s face went serious and he said, “No, I wasn’t laughing because of that.”
“Then what were you laughing about?” Amelia asked as she pouted. Her arms barely crossed in front of her.
“I’m laughing at how cute you are,” Zach said. He reached out a hand to her in an attempt to pull her closer to him, but Amelia pulled away. “Oh, come on, Amelia, I wasn’t laughing to make fun of you.”
She angled herself in the corner of the couch and narrowed her eyes at him. Anger and embarrassment flooded through her. “I don’t think it’s funny.”
“I never said it was,” Zach said. “I wasn’t laughing at how you feel.”
Amelia felt tears as they stung her eyes. She kept her focus on Zach and allowed the tears to stream down her face. She had no idea how she felt at that moment. Her hormones were in complete control.
“Amelia, hey,” Zach said as he scooted closer to her. “Don’t cry.”
He reached over to the coffee table and grabbed a tissue. He gently wiped her tears from her face. “If my opinion counts, I don’t think you’d look like a beached whale in a wedding dress.”
Amelia smiled. He had charm and he knew when and how to use it. “You don’t think so?”
Zach smiled. “I think you would look amazing and beautiful,” he stated. “And I might also add extremely MILF material.”
Amelia rolled her eyes. “Really? You’re going to use MILF?”
Zach nodded and laughed. Ever since they had watched that one movie where they had used that to describe an attractive mother, Zach had it ingrained in his vocabulary. Amelia shook her head. “Whatever you say.”
Zach’s eyes widened. “Really?” he asked. “Then how about we get married on September thirtieth?”
Amelia’s eyes widened with anxiety. “No, Zach, we can’t.”
“You just said whatever I say,” Zach said with a wink.
“No,” Amelia stated firmly. “Absolutely not going to happen.”
“Come on, Amelia,” Zach insisted. “Why not?”
“I already told you why.”
“What’s it going to take to make you change your mind?”
Amelia shook her head. “I won’t change my mind. No matter what you do.”
Zach scooted closer to her and whispered into her ear with a smile, “Challenge accepted.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“The baby shower invites have been sent out,” Amelia’s mother confirmed. “We’ll have the shower in a week.”
Amelia could not believe it was September already. They still needed to decide on a name. The thought of how complicated naming a baby could be made Amelia cringe. She was sure she would enjoy it when the time came to look through the book with Zach to decide on the perfect name to suit their little girl.
“Amelia, are you there?” her mother asked.
“Yes, I’m here,” Amelia said. “I’m just thinking.”
“What are you thinking about?”
“Everything that needs to be done yet,” Amelia stated.
“What’s left for you to do?” her mother asked. “You and Zach have the nursery set up and a few things bought for the baby. We have your baby shower next week. What else is there for you to do?”
“Pick out a name,” Amelia said. She waited for her mother to laugh and make fun of her answer, but her mother understood.
“That’s one of the hardest parts of having a baby,” her mother stated. “Finding a name that properly fits your child is the most challenging things in parenthood.”
“I’m glad you understand,” Amelia told her mother. At that moment, relief from the fact her mother understood how she felt overwhelmed her.
“Of course I understand,” her mother stated. “Do you know how long it took your father and me to finally agree on your name?”
Amelia chuckled. “I can only imagine.”
“It certainly took longer than the nine months I carried you.”
Amelia laughed. Both of her parents were strong willed and stubborn. They wouldn’t just settle for anything, unless it was heavily justified and both of them had agreed on it.
“I’m not joking. Your father had all sorts of names picked out,” her mother explained. “He never understood why I said no to him when he mentioned names. I always told him the names he had picked were for a boy. He would tell me they were names we could use for either boy or girl.”
“That had to have been an interesting time,” Amelia said.
“Oh, it was,” her mother said. “Me and your father finally agreed on Amelia Jean the day you were born. He still insisted on calling you A.J. though.”
Amelia smiled at the thought of her father being bullheaded and how much he had refused to call her Amelia while she grew up. He had called her A.J. way before she could walk and he would continue to call her A.J. There was nothing her mother could do about it. “No worries, Mom, I actually like having him call me A.J. It’s like having my own nickname from him.”
“I know you like it,” her mother stated. “But I never did, until…”
Amelia heard her mother sniffle and blow her nose. “Mom, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. These damn emotions are getting the best of me,” her mother said. “As I was saying, I never liked him to use A.J. until his accident.”
Her mother blew her nose again. Amelia could hear the short sobs and quick sniffles. “Mom, it’s okay,” Amelia said.
“Well, it was then that I realized how much I would miss him saying it if he wasn’t around,” her mother admitted. “His accident has helped us put life in perspective, Amelia Jean.”
“I know it has,” Amelia stated. The thought of her father’s injuries crowded her mind. “We have to be thankful for what we have, no matter what we don’t have,” her mother stated.
Amelia agreed and changed the subject. “When are you two going to come visit and take a look at the houses that are available in Fairshore?”
Her mother blew her nose one last time and said, “Here soon, hopefully.”
“Where are we having the baby shower?”
“The invitations say your house,” her mother told her. “I hope that’s okay?”
Amelia glanced around her house. Her house was big, but not too big. “I hope I have enough room for everyone that shows up.”
“I’m sure you will, dear,” her mother insisted. “I figured it would be better at your house so we wouldn’t have to haul everything around. It’d all be right there in your house for you and Zach.”
Amelia smiled. “Is Bailey still helping with the baby shower?”
“Yes, she is,” her mother said. “She’s a great person, isn’t she?”
“She is one of a kind,” Amelia stated. “I’m looking forward to both of you being here for the baby shower.”
“Me too, dear,” her mother stated. “Maybe Zach and your father can go fishing that day?”
“Maybe, I’ll talk to Zach and see what he wants to do,” Amelia said.
“Okay, dear, I better get off the phone.”
“Okay, I’ll see you next week. I love you. Tell Dad I love him and I’ll see you guys next week,” Amelia said.
“Okay, dear, love you.”
Amelia hung up the phone after she heard the click from her mother’s end of the line.
“Who was that?” Zach asked when he walked into the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around Amelia and kissed the side of her neck. She moaned lightly when his lips trailed down to her shoulder.
“It was my mom,” she said between gasps. “She was calling me to tell me about the baby shower. It’s next week and she’s having it here.”
Zach kissed her on the lips and stepped back. “Is that a bad thing?”
Amelia shook her head. “I don’t think so. I just have so much cleaning to do around here before anyone comes over.”
Zach pulled her close to him and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll get t
his place spotless.”
Amelia smiled. “Thank you.”
“You should call Bailey and have her come stay for a few days. You two could go and venture out,” Zach mentioned. “Have a girls’ day out or whatever you women call them.”
Amelia raised an eyebrow. “You think so?”
Zach nodded and smiled. “Why not? It might do you some good to get out and get some fresh air.”
Amelia smiled. “Okay, I’ll call her right now and see what she thinks,” Amelia said as she turned to grab the phone. She turned back toward Zach and asked, “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind?”
He kissed her forehead and said, “Trust me, I won’t mind a bit. It’d give me plenty of time to clean the house.”
Amelia smiled and dialed Bailey’s number. She thought this would be the perfect way for her and Bailey to reconnect and catch up. The distance between them had sort of affected their friendship. Amelia was determined to keep their friendship existent.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Bailey’s coming tomorrow,” Amelia told Zach. “And today, we have a doctor appointment to go to.”
Zach rolled over in bed and faced her. He closed his eyes and grumbled. “What time is it?”
Amelia looked at the alarm clock. “Eight thirty six.”
“What time is the appointment?” Zach asked as he grabbed the corner of the blanket and pulled it over his head.
“At nine thirty.”
Zach mumbled something under his breath.
“What’d you say?”
“Nothing, babe.”
Amelia rolled over and climbed on top of him. He exhaled loudly as she pulled the blanket away from him. “Tell me what you said.”
Zach grabbed the blanket and yanked it from Amelia. He covered his head and pretended to snore. Amelia grinded against him which aroused a part of him.
“I’m tired,” Zach complained.
Amelia leaned down as far as she could and tried to kiss him. She laughed when she failed to reach his lips.
Zach shifted positions with her. She moved her hips and grinded against him until he removed his boxers. She smiled when he gave her a look that told her he would rather be sleeping. She knew he would change his mind in a minute.
Fair Chances (Fairshore Series Book 3) Page 14
