Page 32 of The MC’s Surprise (Bikers and Babies #4)

Sierra

“ W hat do you mean when does he get here? He’s not coming. Women only,” Charlotte said with a look so full of disdain, it bordered on a sneer. Like I should have known already that men weren’t invited to baby showers. I didn't see why that would be the case. It was his baby too.

She huffed an irritated sound and spun on her heel, stalking back inside. Skylar and I shared a look before following her. When we stepped into the building, I found myself holding my breath. Just how bad could it be?

“What the…” Skylar muttered under her breath as we entered the gym.

Because yep, Charlotte had decided the community center gym was the best place to hold a baby shower.

And not even the whole gym. Only half of it was set up with tables and decorations while a group of teens played basketball on the other side of a padded divider that slid out of the wall.

The sound of screeching shoes and the pounding of the ball almost drowned out the tinkling nursery music playing on a tiny radio in the corner.

“Why is everything cow themed?” Skylar asked loud enough for Charlotte to overhear. There were a few other women there, none of whom I recognized. They looked like copies of Charlotte with their spindly heels and long blown out hair. Her friends maybe?

Charlotte glanced over her shoulder, giving me a once over and a sneer. “Well, since I didn’t know the gender or whatever, I had to pick something. I figured I’d pick something that resembled the mother.”

Her friends snickered, but I just gave her a bored look. I wasn’t going to let her snide comments get to me. I was closing in on my due date. I wouldn’t be this big forever.

“You don’t like it?” one of her friends asked, faux shock on her face. “We spent so much time and effort on making it look nice for you.”

That almost made me laugh. Aside from some wonky balloons taped to the walls and black and white streamers, there were a few cheap table covers that were all brown for some reason, and paper plates and cups that were cow themed as well.

I’d seen pictures of the events Charlotte had thrown at the casino.

The effort she put into this one screamed dollar store chic.

I’d never thrown an event this bad, not even when I was strapped for cash and fighting to keep my business alive.

Instead of pointing that out, I chose to move on. I told myself not to have any expectations for this party. I couldn’t let it get to me.

“When will my mom get here?”

“Oh… I knew I forgot to do something,” she replied with an exaggerated pout. “Don’t be mad. I was just so busy with work and planning this. I completely forgot.”

“But you’re, like, an adult, right? You don’t need your mommy at your party,” another blonde brat sneered, flipping her hair like the popular girls did in high school.

“What about her other friends?” Skylar demanded. “Vegas said he gave you a list of people to call.”

Charlotte lifted one shoulder with a smug grin. “Oops.”

I was going to leave because this was obviously a dumpster fire of a party, but I knew if I did, then she’d win. Besides, I wanted to see just how far she’d go to piss me off. And I wanted to see how she’d react when she didn't get her way.

“It’s fine,” I told Skylar. “What’s the plan for this thing?”

“What do you mean?” Charlotte snapped.

“Like games? Usually people play games at baby showers, right?” I shot a questioning look at Skylar, who nodded in agreement. “Right. And food? Or is this just a gathering to hang out?”

It looked like it annoyed her that I was pointing out the flaws in her event, even if she’d done a shit job on purpose. When I raised an eyebrow at her, she scowled back at me.

“Give me a second.”

She spun around, gathering together with her friends in a huddle. Skylar and I took a step back, doing our own little huddle.

“What the hell?” Skylar demanded.

“I know. I told you she didn’t like me. I’ll bet you anything they didn't plan a single game or anything like that because they expected me to get angry or cry and leave right away.”

“Why didn’t you?” she asked, eyeing me curiously. “I mean, I would’ve. This isn’t a baby shower. I don’t even want to stoop low enough to call it a party.”

I shrugged, eyeing the little group to make sure they didn’t do anything crazy. It was a little risky staying, since Charlotte was obviously vindictive, but I was curious just how far she’d go.

“I want to see what else she comes up with. I had zero expectations for this party, so it’s not like I’m disappointed or anything. I thought it’d be fun to drag this out a little and see what she comes up with.”

Skylar’s mouth twisted to hide her grin. “You’re evil. Count me in. Are we making comments on how disappointing it all is or just pretending everything is normal?”

“Second option,” I replied, straightening a little when the huddle broke. “I don’t want her going back to Vegas saying I was rude to her. She’s his friend after all.”

Skylar scoffed. “After this party? Are you sure?”

Which was probably why he wasn’t invited.

Charlotte wanted to embarrass me and treat me like trash.

She couldn’t get away with that if Vegas was here.

It almost made me want to call him and ask him to join us.

I’d save that plan for the end of the party, though.

Right now, I wanted to see what happened next.

“You’d have to measure three of me to be as big as her!”

I didn’t know Charlotte’s friend’s names, so I was just calling them Blonde Brat 1, 2, and 3 in my head.

The comment came from Blonde Brat #2, who had somehow found a ball of yarn in one of the community center closets and was attempting to recreate the game where you try to guess the pregnant person’s belly size by measuring out some string and seeing if it’d fit around my waist. I was keeping a tally of all the snide remarks these girls were making to try and make me feel bad about myself.

I ticked one more as she wrapped the string around her body three times before cutting it off and handing it to me.

“Here. See if this fits you.”

I did because I was playing along for now, and they burst into giggles when it almost didn’t reach. The Blonde Brats were all probably size zero or smaller, so using their own waistlines was never going to work.

“Aren’t you going to eat anything?” Blonde Brat #1 asked innocently.

Not a chance. Blonde Brat #3 had been sent to the store to pick up snacks for the party and came back with everything a pregnant woman couldn’t have. Soft cheeses, deli meats, and even a tray of sushi. It was pathetic how hard they were trying to upset me.

“I’m good. Not really hungry,” I answered blandly.

That wasn’t a lie. I’d been feeling a little nauseous all day.

I assumed it was just stress from having to be around this group for a long period, so I’d asked Skylar a couple minutes earlier to call Vegas and ask him to come join us.

I wanted this thing to be over. I would’ve made the call myself, but if I took out my phone, they all complained that I wasn’t participating.

It was easier for Skylar to make an excuse and step out.

“You sure? You look like you could eat a whole cow,” Blonde Brat #3 teased.

“She is a whole cow,” Charlotte muttered. She was having the least amount of fun. My lack of reactions was getting to her.

“Moo,” I said with as much boredom in my tone as I could muster. In truth, I was trying not to laugh. They were like middle schoolers trying to bully me. It was pathetic.

The muscles in her jaw clenched a little tighter.

I was curious on how long she could hold that expression before cracking a tooth.

She probably should have studied her opponent a little more before trying a stunt like this.

If she knew me even a little, she would’ve known it takes a lot more to get to me than jokes like this.

A hand on the back of my chair drew my focus, though I could’ve guessed who it was when Charlotte blanched and stared wide eyed at whoever was behind me. I tipped my head back, smiling at Vegas, who was looking around with a deep frown on his face.

“Hey, you. Glad you could make it. Want to join us?”

“Yeah, I think presents were next,” Skylar said as she sat on my other side.

That almost made me laugh. Charlotte looked like a deer caught in headlights.

If I were to guess, she either didn’t get any presents, or got purposely awful ones just to screw with me.

The question was, would she admit that to Vegas or pretend she forgot them like she forgot to invite my friends and family?

“Uh, sure…” Vegas said slowly, sinking into the chair next to me. While Charlotte started to scramble, looking around for help, Vegas leaned closer to me to ask, “Where’s your mom? Or the other old ladies? I thought they’d be here.”

“Charlotte forgot to invite them,” Skylar answered for me. “Honestly, I think she was a little ill prepared for this thing because she had to send someone out for food too.”

She gestured to the snack table, which had barely been touched. Vegas, sharp as ever, narrowed his eyes on the spread.

“Can you even eat any of that? I know for a fact you can’t have sushi. It’s on your list of hospital foods.”

I grinned at that, shrugging at Skylar, who had a playful smile on her face. “It was my mom’s idea. She told me to pick something that I can’t eat right now and she’ll bring it to me after I give birth.”

“Hey, I did that too!” she beamed. “I think Butch made me the fanciest sandwich on the planet, and brought a cheese tray with him too. It was amazing.”

Vegas was less amused by the conversation, still frowning at the room. Or more importantly, at Charlotte. For the first time since I came back to town, he wasn’t look at her like she could walk on water. Vegas had trusted her with this party. And he wasn’t happy with the way it’d turned out.