One thing I was looking forward to the most during this pregnancy...was the baby shower. It wasn't about the gifts. It was about the fact that it made it more real and I got to celebrate that with my closest friends and family. 

There was only one little problem though. I had four best friends and they all wanted to throw me my baby shower. 

"Not a chance," Lanie whined through the phone. "You planned Harper's engagement party, Jamie. It's my turn!"

Jamie scoffed. "So what? This is different. And a different person!"

"What about me?" Karma chimed in. "I haven't planned anything yet."

I shook my head at my best friends. Since Harper and I were in Europe, we put Jamie, Karma, and Lanie on a conference call. Unfortunately, this definitely wasn't one of my best ideas. I loved them all so much, and I appreciated that they all wanted to help, but I hated the arguing. 

I leaned forward and said into the phone, "Wait! Everyone relax, please."

"Tell that to Jamie. She's the one who keeps—"

"Whatever, Lanie. At least I never had sex with someone in Harper's car!"

"What?" Harper shrieked. "Lanie!"

Lanie groaned into the phone. "Really, Jamie? What part of 'don't tell Harper' didn't you understand."

Harper arched a brow at me. 

"Don't look at me," I said honestly. "I had no idea."

Harper leaned back over the phone. "You and Ayden are no longer allowed to borrow my car, Lanie! And don't try to cozy up to Jackson to use it either."

"How are we going to pick up the supplies for Down the Rabbit Hole then?" 

Harper glanced at me again. "I guess you have to use Ryan's truck."

"Um, no," I interjected. "The only people having sex in Ryan's truck is me and Ryan." 

Karma cleared her throat on the other end of the line. "Ladies, I think we are getting a little off topic here." 

"Agreed," we all said at once. 

Once everyone stopped bickering, I came up with an idea. 

"What if each of you is in charge of something different for my baby shower?" I asked. "That way you are all involved and it isn't overwhelming for anyone."

"That's a pretty good idea," Karma stated. 

"I wouldn't mind that," Jamie agreed. "Lanie? What do you think?" 

When there was a brief pause on the other line I started chewing on my bottom lip nervously. I knew how important this was for Lanie. When Jamie planned Harper's engagement party, she was a little hurt by it. Out of all of us, Harper and Lanie were the closest. But that's what happens when you grow up together from a young age.

"It's not Jamie, D. It's just...all of you are my so important to me and I want to be able to do something for you guys too. And...it's Harper." 

I remembered that night she pulled me aside. Yeah, she had been drinking, but I knew she meant what she said. 

"I think Danielle is right," Lanie finally answered. "I think all of us pitching in is a great idea." 

"You do?" Jamie asked with a surprised tone. 

Lanie chuckled. "Yes, I do. I'm serious! Now, how do we decide who does what?" 

"I have an idea for that," Harper announced. "I know you love decorating, Lanie. How about you be in charge of decorations?"

"Yes!" she squealed. 

Thank god the phone was on speaker. It we had it up to our ears we would have went deaf. 

"Ouch!" Jamie groaned. "Lower the volume, Lanie." 

Apparently not everyone was on speaker phone. 

"Sorry, Jamie," Lanie laughed. "Wait, D, I can't get decorations until we know the sex of the baby. Do you know when you're finding out?"

"To be perfectly honest, Ryan and I haven't decided if we want to wait until the birth or not. But I can let you know as it gets closer."

"Sounds good," Lanie replied. 

"As for Jamie," I started. "How about you and your mom take care of dessert and food? Cherise makes the best desserts."

"Absolutely! Is there anything you want specifically food-wise?" 

I shared a glance with Harper. "I don't think so. Finger food should be good. Nothing fancy. Maybe a veggie plate too." 

"You got it," Jamie said cheerfully. 

I adjusted the way I was sitting in the chair before I spoke again. "Karma, would you mind taking care of games and invitations?" I frowned when there was no answer. "Karma? You still there?"

Something that sounded like a giggle came through the line. "Huh? Oh, yes. Games and invitations. You got it." There was a pause before she whispered, "Stop that, Nathan!"

Harper's surprised expression matched my own. They weren't...I mean, they couldn't be—

"Hang up the phone, gorgeous. I want you. Right. Fucking. Now." 

Harper had an amused smile on her face when we heard Nathan's voice. My mouth was agape with surprise. Jamie chuckled into the phone. 

Lanie on the other hand...

"Ew!" she groaned, clearly disgusted. 

"Nathan!" More giggling from Karma before she said, "I'm sorry, girls, but I gotta—"

Her call was disconnected. 

Harper covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, and it took all of my energy to do the same. Poor Lanie. She was completely grossed out. 

"I'm sure they're just...playing chess, Lanie," I said, hoping to reassure her.

"Playing chess my ass!" Lanie snapped. "Ugh. Can we move on now please? I need a change of subject before I throw up. Harper, what are you going to do?" 

Harper sobered before clearing her throat and talking into the phone. "Danielle wants to do it at Down the Rabbit Hole. I will be in charge of setting up. You know, chairs, tables, and stuff like that. And I'll also take care of clean up." 

"We can all help with clean up," Jamie interjected. 

"Yeah," Lanie agreed. "You shouldn't do that by yourself." 

At least they all agreed on that. Now we needed to discuss one more matter. 

"As for the booze and the money for the decorations and everything, the boys talked and they'll handle it. Ryan will provide the money for the games, decorations, food, and everything we will need. Nate, Ayden, and Jackson agreed to pickup the drinks and liquor."

"Should we have liquor at a baby shower?" Lanie asked curiously. "Seems odd."

"Yes, but think about it. Our men are going to be there too." 

"Jackson does love his whiskey," Harper commented. 

"That's true. Good call," Lanie replied. "Ayden's probably going to want a beer or two."

I clapped my hands together happily. "I think we are all set then! I can't wait for this!"

"Same here!"
"Ditto!"
"Me too!" 

I picked up the phone. "Before we hang up, please let Karma know the deal with the men's jobs. Cool, Lanie?" 

Lanie sucked her teeth. "Yeah, sure. After they're done playing chess I'll get right on that." 

After Harper and I said our goodbyes to Lanie and Jamie, we walked across the street from our hotel to a little café. We were both hungry and the boys were out and about together doing some brotherly bonding. That reminded me...

"Wait, where's Gwen?"

Harper had an odd expression on her face as we sat down at an outdoor table. 

"You really wanna know?" 

I nodded. 

"She's having a video call with Noah." 

I raised my brows. "A video call?" I couldn't believe that she knew how to do a video call. Not that Gwen was challenged when it came to technology, but a video call? Wow. 

As far as who she was video calling...I still wasn't used to the idea of her dating Noah. I supported her, of course. I just worried about her getting her heart broken. Most importantly, I wanted her to be happy. She was important to Ryan and she was important to me too.

Harper nodded. "Yeah. I went by her room when I got up to invite her to come here with us. She said she had 'plans'. When pressed, she fessed up."

"And she made you promise not to tell Jackson and Ryan?" 

"Hell no," Harper quipped to my surprise. "If it was up to her she would announce it to the whole hotel. She's in lust and tired of hiding it from them. I'm the one who decided to keep it from the boys." 

"Probably wise," I murmured. "So what happened yesterday?" 

"Yesterday?"

"Yeah. Ryan said that Jackson was in the doghouse."

When it came to Harper and Jackson, they were as different as they were passionate about each other. Over the past couple years that I've known them, I've seen them argue quite a bit. But according to Harper, their issues were usually settled with fiery makeup sex. 

Ryan and I didn't argue much. But I definitely knew how good makeup sex could be. 

"Do you really want to know?" Harper inquired. "If I tell you, you can't mention anything to Ryan."

Goosebumps rose on my skin. "You mean..."

"Oh yeah. This one goes in the Vault of Secrets." 

I scooted up in my chair and gave Harper my full attention. "Tell me!"

Harper looked around the open space of the café. Probably making sure Jackson and Ryan weren't around. I didn't blame her. Whatever it was, it had to be a doozy.

When she was ready, Harper leaned forward and whispered, "So Jackson and I were fooling around—"

"Naturally."

"—and we were getting ready for another round when his phone went off. He checked to see who texted him. It was Gwen."

I frowned. "And that's bad because?"

Harper arched a brow. "It was a picture. One that she didn't mean to send to Jackson. It was for Noah."

My jaw dropped and my eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my—You mean she sent a—"

"Yep. Jackson lost it. He started going on and on about beating the 'bloody hell' out of Norbert when he gets back home."

I chuckled when Harper did air quotes around bloody hell and the god awful nickname Jackson gave Noah.

"What did Gwen say when she realized she sent it to Jackson and not to Noah?"

I would have died if I had sent a nude picture to one of my family members instead of Ryan. Or worse, what if I accidentally sent one to Jackson, Nate, or Ayden? I shivered at the thought. I would never be able to show my face again. At least if I accidentally sent one to one of the girls, we would probably laugh it off and they would never let me live it down.

Harper smiled as she said, "When Gwen realized she sent it to Jackson, she sent a text after that read: 'Sorry, JJ. Wrong person'. Then a kiss face emoji."

I covered my mouth with my hand. "Oh no! Jackson blew up, didn't he?"

"Oh yeah. It was almost impossible to keep him in the hotel room and not go talk to her. Not to mention taking his phone away for the day so he didn't call her or Noah."

"How did you do it?" 

I knew how riled up Jackson would get about his aunt dating Noah. Ryan did too. It was hard to believe that Harper was capable of keeping him at bay.

"It was easy," Harper breathed. "I told him that if he left that room he was going to be out of our bed for a month. Then I told him that if he gave me his phone, we would spend the day in bed."

"And that worked?" I asked, bemused. 

Harper snickered and sipped her tea that the waiter had dropped off. 

"It worked when I told him I would reenact any fantasy he wanted." 

I couldn't stop myself from asking the next question. "What fantasy was it?" 

Harper's cheeks turned bright red. "Let's just say...it involved handcuffs and a whip. And a ball-gag." 

I leaned back in my chair as I tried to digest everything she just told me. Harper's mentioned in secret before that Jackson was the more dominant type. And judging my the blush in her cheeks, she didn't mind either. 

I thought about Ryan and if he had any kind of fantasies.

"Dani!"

I turned my head when I heard his voice. He stalked over to our table with an angry look on his face.

"Did you know about this picture incident?" 

I glanced to Harper. Whoops. So much for the Vault of Secrets. Looks like Jackson spilled the beans. 

Harper gave me a look that said: Take him upstairs and do what I did. 

I slowly got to my feet and closed the small distance between me and my husband. I ran my hands up his chest until I wrapped them around his neck. 

"I'm sorry, baby. I just found out myself." 

I felt his hands come around my waist and his body relaxed a little. But the anger was still clear on his face.

I stroked a finger along his jaw line before I breathed against his lips. "Why don't we go upstairs and talk about this?"

He nodded before taking me by the hand and leading me across the street to our hotel. Later that night I sent Harper a four word text:

Worked like a charm.  

***

Hello my lovely Wattpaders!

I had SO much fun writing this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I am finally getting back in the swing of things and posting regularly. I'm planning to post a chapter of Falling Into Place every other day. I'm doing the same with The Stella I Remember (If you haven't checked out that story yet I highly recommend it! New chapter tomorrow!)

Also, please make sure to vote and comment! 

xoxo 

🖤