Page 67

Taylor nodded understandingly. At least, she hoped her nod looked understanding. Better safe than sorry was rarely a motto she lived by—more often it was the opposite—but hey, life was a rich tapestry, people lived in different ways, and even though Erica never used to live by that motto, it didn’t matter. People changed, right?

Taylor laughed at herself. Wow, she was in amuchbetter mood than she’d been for weeks. She was never going to take a vow of celibacy again.

“I get it,” Taylor said. “You’re what, six months now?”

“Almost twenty-five weeks,” Erica said.

Why did people measure things in weeks like that? No one ever said,This kid is one hundred and two weeks old, so why did they say it about pregnant women and babies? Whatever, it didn’t matter; after years of bartending, she was good at doing math in her head.

“Sloane said to enjoy this part, so I’m trying to, and Sam is trying to plan a babymoon for us…”

“That sounds fun,” Taylor said.

“Yeah…” Erica’s voice trailed away as the server stopped at their table.

“You two ready to order?”

Taylor nodded.

“Two eggs over easy with chorizo, the potatoes crispy, please, and sourdough toast.”

She looked at Erica, who glanced down at the menu, nodded, then closed it.

“A short stack of blueberry pancakes, please. Oh, and more decaf.”

Taylor raised an eyebrow after the server walked away.

“Just a short stack of pancakes? Aren’t you eating for two?”

Erica laughed.

“Trust me, I wanted a full stack of pancakes, but my gestational diabetes test is in a few weeks, and I’m stressed about it so I’ve been avoiding sugar as much as possible. That’s why I had to dip out of Callie’s party early. I knew once that cake came out that I’d want to dive headfirst into it, I didn’t trust myself to stay. But since I amazingly get to have an early breakfast with my best friend, I figured I should treat myself a little.”

Taylor was kind of touched by that.

“You should definitely treat yourself,” Taylor said. “I’m going to make sure you put syrup on those pancakes, too.”

Erica cast her eyes upward.

“We’ll see about that. Now, care to explain what you are doing up this early? I mean, have you ever even gotten here before me? I need answers.”

Taylor from last week would be annoyed that it took this long for Erica to get to this question, but Taylor from this morning was too relaxed and smug to care. It would honestly make the telling of this story even more fun.

“Please don’t expect this to happen again. I’m not going to make a habit of this; while it was great to not have to stand in line to get a table here, I’d still rather be in bed right now.” She grinned. “But yes, you need answers. Here’s your answer: you win.”

“I win what?” Erica asked, nodding her thanks to the server who refilled her coffee mug.

Taylor did roll her eyes this time.

“You know what you win.”

Erica looked confused for a second, then let out a shout of laughter that made the whole restaurant turn and look at them. She kept laughing for so long she had to stop and take a sip of water in the middle before starting up again. Taylor sat there and waited for her to finish.

“I win!” she said when she finally settled down. “You have to throw me a baby shower!” She bit her lip. “Though, Sloane has already volunteered to throw it, so you two might have to be cohosts, if that’s okay?”

Taylor made a face.

“I guess so. But isn’t she a little boring for you? She’s so, I don’t know, rich and bland. Perfect suburban wife and mom.”