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Isabel stares at me in an open-mouthed gape. “What did you say?”

“What could I say?” I take a big swing, missing the baseball flying at my face and smashing into the netting behind me.

When Paige moved to Vancouver without me, I made sure we’d still be able to bond by planning weekly Sunday outings for us. Let me tell you, planning cross-country activities was no easy feat.

Good thing I’m amazing at planning.

Since I moved here, we’ve kept up the tradition, dragging Isabel and Dana along with us every once in a while. Paige and Dana are currently laughing at my athletic deficits while Isabel simply will not let the topic of Julien drop.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe something like, ‘Live with me permanently and please fuck me right here, right now,’” she practically yells, undeterred by the noise of the surrounding batting cages.

Another swing and a miss as I choke on my surprise.

“We’re going to fail the Bechdel test,” I mutter under my breath as I leave the cage, handing the bat to Dana .

“Oh my god, you’re so dramatic.” Isabel sighs like her life depends on it. Paige and I share a look. Isabel catches it, shoving us.

Dana swings, and there’s a loud crack as the ball goes flying. Girl can hit a ball. Must be because she’s so used to busting Liam’s balls.

Adam’s oldest brother is a piece of work, and I have no idea how Dana puts up with him. But I guess I shouldn’t judge. Tons of people think Julien is a jackass. Not that Julien is my husband.

We hoot and holler as Dana hits ball after ball, never missing.

“Damn, girl!” Paige high-fives her as they trade places.

I feel vindicated when Paige’s first swing misses.

“How’s the running going?” Dana asks. I like Dana. She’s quiet and observant where Isabel and Paige are loud and boisterous. It’s nice to have her calming presence around.

“It’s good. I think I’ll be ready for the stag and doe.”

“That’s great!” Isabel chimes in.

“And the planning?” Dana has offered to help so many times, but I feel guilty she can’t come with us even though she wants to. With the baby unwilling to take a bottle at home, she can’t be away that long.

“It’s going well. I booked the tickets to the shows last night.” My grin is wicked as Dana rolls her eyes. Isabel has the opposite reaction, clapping her hands and giggling.

Paige looks around when she has a free second and narrows her eyes. “What are you plotting back there?”

“Nothing,” all three of us say at once, inducing another round of laughter .

Paige rolls her eyes and then smashes a ball so hard it makes a thud on the other side of the cage, rattling the walls. She’s smug as she hands the bat to Isabel.

Ever competitive, my sister.

Sometimes I wish I’d inherited that gene as well, but I come to my senses quickly. With how Type A I am about everything else, being obsessed with winning is the last thing I need in my life.

“Does the Bechdel test allow talking about Levi?” Paige asks with a sweaty grin.

Isabel swings and misses. To be fair, she’s barely trying, half-assing her way through her turn. “I’ll allow it,” she says.

Snorting, I tell Paige about the doctor’s appointment coming up. I haven’t quite shared my fears in detail with her, but she likely suspects. Given how much she’s shown up for me over the past few months, she knows I’m worried about him.

When she senses I no longer want to talk about Levi’s speech issues, she changes topics.

“So, this stag and doe weekend ...” she starts, but I put a hand up to stop her.

“Not a chance. My lips are firmly sealed.”

“That’s not what I heard!” Isabel calls from inside the batting cage. She’s not even pretending to try—leaning against the wall as balls fly out of the launcher.

Dana tried to insist someone else take her turn but Isabel refused, claiming she wanted to keep things fair.

Such a troublemaker, that one. I narrow my eyes. “What are you talking about? ”

“Just that Julien was rushed to the hospital looking dishevelled and not at all satisfied.” Isabel spins the bat around, accidentally nicking one of the free-flying balls. “Oh, I hit one!” she exclaims in surprise.

Paige ignores her, rounding on me. My protests go unheard. We’re never going to pass that damn test.

“What?!” Paige practically yells. The people from the adjacent cage turn our way.

“How the fuck did you find out?” I address my question to Isabel.

“I have a spy,” she says with a shrug.

“A spy?” Dana asks. She’s been around Isabel longer than Paige or me, so she’s used to her antics. There’s nothing Isabel loves more than dragging out a juicy story. I have to resist the urge to rub my eyes in frustration.

Or throw a bat at my sister’s future sister-in-law.

“I know lots of doctors at the hospital, they’re such gossips.”

Isabel leaves the cage and hands me the bat—not a safe move considering my violent imaginings.

“Wouldn’t that be a violation against HIPAA or something?” I ask, suppressing my intrusive thoughts to chuck the bat at her.

Isabel rolls her eyes. “HIPAA doesn’t apply in Canada. We have provincial Privacy Protection Acts, and no, consultations about potential cases don’t break those.”

“Doctors gossiping is considered a consultation now?” Paige asks with a smile .

“I mean, I billed them for it, so yes, it falls under solicitor-client privilege.” Isabel’s smile widens, making her look like the Cheshire cat. Dana laughs and high-fives her sister-in-law.

It’s not that I’m keeping it a secret from them, I just don’t know how to explain it. How do I explain we went from barely speaking to almost having sex within the span of an hour? I don’t even understand it.

Thankfully, the batting cage is an excellent distraction—I don’t have to look at them when I tell them.

“Julien and I were watching the Whales game—”

“Making out,” Isabel supplies helpfully.

I glare. “Thanks. So, we’re watching the game and it was dark and he was stressed and we ended up getting close—"

“But with clothes on.”

“And then we were lying down—”

“On top of each other.”

“And things were getting a bit heated—”

“Dry humping.”

“But before anything more could happen, Julien pulled back—”

“Humped too hard.”

“And he exacerbated his hip,” I finish without reacting to any of Isabel’s interjections, which I’m quite proud of.

“Who says dry humping anymore?” Paige asks.

“Excuse me for being excited! Leah is the only one not banging one of my brothers so it’s fun to talk about someone’s sex life without internally gagging.”

“You never gag internally,” Dana says. This is what I love about Dana. She comes in with the best underhanded remarks sometimes.

“Also, wait, did you say before anything more could happen ? What happened?”

Isabel claps. “Ooooh, I don’t know this part.”

“That’s because it wasn’t pertinent to tell Dr. Douche that I orgasmed. He only asked about Julien.”

Paige says, “Caleb was his doctor again?”

At the same time, Isabel says, “Oh my god, how was your orgasm?”

I sigh, not really wanting to answer either of those questions.

“Yes, because Caleb was the doctor who fixed his hip the first time, he treated Julien again.” When I turn to Isabel, she’s laughing hysterically at Paige’s irritation. “It was an orgasm,” I say with a shrug.

Dana snorts.

“What?” I ask, surprised it’s her and not the two bloodhounds.

“I may be married, but I’m not blind. There’s no way sex with Julien would be anything less than fantastic.” She gives me a knowing smirk I don’t like one bit.

My cheeks flare with heat. And with the memory of Julien’s hands on me at the forefront of my mind, I fully miss the next ball.

Paige isn’t as interested in my pitiful excuse for a lie. She’s still focused on Isabel. “Caleb is your spy?”

Isabel shrugs. “I was at the hospital, and we bumped into each other. He asked how Julien was. Imagine my surprise when I found out why he’d been there. I love it when my cases involve sex scandals. ”

“This is not a sex scandal.” No one is remotely listening to me now.

“I mean, ‘Beautiful Bombshell Mom Takes Out Top NHL Goalie with Her Sexual Prowess’ is kind of a good headline.”

“Oh my god, he was hurt before the ...”

“Humping? Injury-inducing orgasm?” Isabel is a force to be reckoned with.

Can you die from sighing too much?

“And this is not one of your cases.”

“All the information I get at the hospital could be a case. Maybe Julien will sue you for damages. That’s what Caleb asked me, anyway, and then I billed him for it.”

This time I don’t stop myself from rubbing a hand down my face. The women snicker, trading theories about what happened that night. There isn’t much more to tell, except it was the most incredible orgasm of my entire life and I think my spirit actually left my body at one point.

Details.

We enjoy the rest of our girls’ night, Dana and Paige fighting it out over who the winner is. Dana hit more balls, but Paige hit hers harder and farther. Isabel never seemed to run out of ball-related jokes and innuendos.

My stomach is in knots when I come home, same as every time I leave and come back. I keep waiting to walk into an empty apartment, all of Julien’s things gone, leaving me and Levi here by ourselves .

I take one steadying breath and let myself in. I don’t breathe again until I see his shoes laid neatly beside mine, and even though we haven’t talked about it, I know he’s staying.

For now.