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“But that’s not the side you’re feeding her on.”

“Nope,” Rose said, popping the p. “Another fun fact you can file away for later. Your boob will leak when you nurse on the opposite side. Or when it’s full. Or when you hear a baby cry on the television.”

“Damn,” Jeannie whispered. “That’s crazy.”

“Have you not been around pregnant women or babies?”

Jeannie shook her head. “The only kids I hung around were Al and Ben, and they were older. And never pregnant.” She snickered.

“Well check this out,” Rose said and pulled Isabella off her breast. As she did, her nipple shot milk out in multiple directions like the sprayer on a kitchen sink. Rose cackled and put the fussy baby back to nursing.

“What the fuck just happened?” Jeannie asked, looking at an equally shocked Marina.

“They don’t show that on TV,” Marina said, awe in her voice.

“Isn’t it cool? I’m nature’s fire hose! And, Jeannie, you can hang out with us anytime and ask anything. That way you can be more prepared when it’s your turn.”

Jeannie’s head jerked. “My turn? You better knock on wood. Motherhood is not something I am cut out for.”

“What do you mean?” Marina asked, picking up a stack of little bloomers to fold. “I’ve seen how you are with Al and the rest of the crew. You’re a natural caretaker. If you don’t want kids because you don’t want kids, I support you one hundred percent. But if you don’t want kids because you don’t think you’d be a great mom, well, I think you’re wrong.”

There was an awkward silence while Jeannie struggled to respond. Her mother was a neglectful piece of trash. Whileshe couldn’t be any worse, she wasn’t sure she knew what better was.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. First, I’d need a man, and while things with Shane are looking promising, we aren’t anywhere near that stage.”

Rose and Marina shared a look.

“Uh, excuse me, what was that look for?” Jeannie dropped the little dress she was folding to shoot daggers at her friends.

Rose grinned. “What about Al?”

“Al?” Jeannie gulped.Be cool, be cool.“What about him?”

“Don’t play coy with us,” Marina chided. “I saw you two sneak off at the wedding.”

“We didn’t sneak off. Al rented a room so we wouldn’t have to drive home. We were being responsible.”

“Responsible.” Rose nodded as she moved Isabella to her other breast. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

Jeannie rolled her eyes. “The man is literally dating ten women right now. He’s in manwhore heaven.”

“So, something did happen!” Marina jumped up, dumping the folded clothes on the floor.

“Nothing happened.” Jeannie shifted in her seat and studied the tiny shirt in front of her. “Oh hey, do either of you know an affordable electrician? I heard a loud noise theother day, and ever since, I’ve only been able to use half my outlets.”

As the girls prattled on about home repair, Jeannie breathed a sigh of relief. It’s not that she didn’t trust them or that what happened with Al had to be a secret. But if her brain acted like nothing happened, maybe soon her heart would believe it.

Chapter 20

“Listen up, crew. Our local expert has a fun date planned for us today.” Lindsey looked up briefly from her laptop as she addressed the crew. “Let’s review the schedule. The women should arrive any minute.”

Jeannie took a deep breath and stepped in front of the group. There were about twelve of them, a few on cameras, a few on mics, then a couple with Lindsey reviewing footage. Even more unnerving was the empty director’s chair next to Lindsey that had “Jeannie” written across the back.

She nibbled her bottom lip. Until now, she’d offered ideas and suggestions, but she never led anything. Impostor syndrome was in full effect. She scanned the crew, expecting to see annoyance, but everyone looked eager to get started. Al caught her eye and gave her a tiny thumbs up, then strode through the mass of people to stand next to her.

“Right, then,” Jeannie began, her confidence boosted by Al’s presence. “We’re starting with a beach clean-up with Keep Grimm Gorgeous. Al is really big on giving back to the community, so this will give him a chance to see what the girls think about volunteering their time for others.”

“Good thinking, Jeannie-girl,” he said, causing her heart to flutter. He never used that nickname around others. “I want a woman who is generous with her time and not afraid to get a little dirty.”