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“Sloane? You have a friend named Sloane?” Taylor asked.

“Yes, you remember her! You met her at my housewarming party,” Erica said. “We’ve had this conversation before.”

Well, Sloane clearly hadn’t made any impression on Taylor.

“I’m glad she gave you that book, and I will definitely never turn food into a power struggle with our forthcoming little mango, and I certainly won’t allow anyone else to do it, either,” Taylor said. “You’re going to have to coach me; you know I don’t know much about babies. Can I say, ‘You are such a good little mango, eating all of your broccoli like that’? Wait!” Her eyes widened. “What if you think of your kid as a mango and then you serve them mangoes? What if you think of your kid as a broccoli and then you serve them broccoli? OH GOD, what if you think of your kid as a potato? That will ruin potatoes forever!”

Erica was laughing so hard she almost choked on her broccoli.

“Oh no, I’ve created a monster,” she said. “You’re going to call this baby ‘mango’ for the rest of their life, aren’t you?”

Taylor considered that.

“Well, at least until our little mango in there has a real name…and okay, yes, maybe for a while after that.”

Erica shook her head.

“Thank goodness we didn’t have this conversation a few weeks from now,” she said. “Soon the baby will be the size of a rutabaga.”

They both let out peals of laughter.

“Rutabaga!” Taylor said as soon as she could speak. She put her hand on Erica’s belly. “How’s my little rutabaga in there?” Ericabent double with laughter. Seeing her laugh so hard set Taylor off again, and soon she was wiping tears from her eyes.

Taylor looked sternly at Erica when she was mostly recovered.

“Are you trying to distract me? I notice you aren’t eating your broccoli.”

Erica pouted and picked up her fork.

“That’s better,” Taylor said. She looked at the stack of parenting books sitting on the coffee table and grinned. Erica grinned back at her as she stabbed broccoli with her fork.

“I know, I know, it’s really early to think about this now, but you know me—I’ve been reading every parenting book I can. I like to be prepared.”

Taylor had assumed this. Shedidknow Erica.

“Oh, speaking of, I ran into what’s-her-name at the bookstore the other day.”

“Camille? She always had such a thing for you. Did she ask you out when you saw her at the bookstore?”

“Well, as a matter of fact…”

Erica laughed.

“Was ‘the other day’ before or after our bet? Have I already won?”

Did Erica think she couldn’t look at a woman without sleeping with her? She wasn’t that bad.

At least, not all the time.

“It was after our bet, and no, you haven’t won. I told her that it wasn’t the right time—which was true—but that I’d be happy to grab a drink or coffee with her anytime.”

It had been weird, to have that conversation while she was out with Avery. Not that she was on a date with Avery, but still.

“See, this bet is good for you,” Erica said. “It’s making you stop and think about dating people. Not to be an old married lady, but—”

That never prefaced anything good.

“I feel like you just have to give a real relationship a chance,” Erica continued.