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The first thirteen weeks were the target. That was what the doctor at the clinic said when the pregnancy was confirmed. Get through those and they could start telling everyone their news. But right now, they still had eight more to go ‘til they reached the relatively safe zone, and it felt like a lifetime away.

“Lunch,” Caz said, handing Grace a perfectly packed cool bag with nothing but healthy, hearty food stuffs for her and the baby. “I’ve added some extra olives.”

Grace’s eyes lit up. The past two days she had developed a craving. The book said they shouldn’t arrive before five weeks for most people, but apparently some got them from day one.Olives don’t seem too bad, Caz had thought, until she found Grace dipping them into English Mustard.

“And yes, I added the mustard,” she said when Grace looked imploringly at her. “Just make sure you eat them out of sight of anyone else. That little concoction will properly give the game away.”

Coming around the table, Grace leaned up on tip-toes, not taking any chances by wearing heels and tripping. She was back to being shorter than Caz.

She kissed Caz’s cheek just as Caz was about to spin around and remind her to drink more water.

Their mouths met. The kiss was soft and gentle. Nothing more.

Grace pulled away and smiled. “Thank you for being so considerate.” She straightened her suit jacket and added, “Won’t be fitting in these much longer.” The grin she shared lit up her face. “I’ll see you tonight,”

“Yep, phone me if you need anything,” Caz called after her retreating form.

When the coast was clear, Caz reached tentatively and touched her lip. One simple kiss and it felt like fire had left a scorch mark. “Shit.”

She grabbed her keys and wallet and followed Grace out of the house.

Dani shuffled around the car Caz was working on and leaned on the edge of the open bonnet. Gazing in, she tried to see what Caz was fiddling with, but none of it made much sense to her.

“Got no tyres to fit?” Caz said, not looking up as she twisted the tool half a turn and tightened the screw.

“Nope, otherwise, I wouldn’t be standing here gawping at what you’re doing, would I?” Dani said sarcastically, but with a playful enough grin. “Wanna go to the pub later?”

“Can’t,” Caz said. She wiped her hands on a rag and then placed the tool back in its slot.

Dani puffed her cheeks out.

“What?” Caz asked with her own sigh.

“Nothing.” Dani shrugged. “It’s just…been a while, you know, since we all went out and just got blathered.”

“So, get Portia and Daliah to go. They never turn down an opportunity to get drunk and hunt for girls.”

“It’s not the same. Three doesn’t work the same as four, and anyway, it’s you I wanted to hang out with.”

Caz looked at the sorrowful face in front of her and felt a pang of guilt. The lies kept building, and she hated doing that to her friend, but what else could she do?

“Footy season starts soon. We can get to a game, right?” Caz offered.

“That’s weeks away,” Dani whined.

“It’s two weeks.” Caz laughed. “Everton women at home.”

“Yeah, but—” Dani was cut off.

“I just…I can’t right now. It’s not the best time for me to be galivanting off.” Caz smiled and felt it widen on her cheeks as she remembered the reason why it wasn’t a good time. They were having a baby. Against all the odds, and despite her reticence, they were going to have a baby.

Dani’s eyes narrowed. “What are you up to?”

“Nothing,” Caz said quickly—too quickly.

For a moment, Dani considered things, and then her face scrunched up and she made an ‘eww’ sound. “Oh, God, keep your sex life to yourself.”

“I didn’t mention sex.” Caz laughed.If only,she thought. “Grace and I are just…we’ve got a lot planned at the moment and I don’t want to let her down.”