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Ziggy

I have to pee again.

I always have to pee again.

We’re barely inside Give Two Sips, where we’re meeting Goldie and Fletcher and Goldie’s friends and half the team for a holiday dinner, and I’m not going for the banquet room.

I’m going for the bathroom.

This is what it’s like being seven months pregnant.

I burst through the restroom door, and Odette and Sheila look up from the sinks, surveying me in the mirrors. Odette’s touching up her lipstick and Sheila’s washing her hands.

“It’ll get better, hon,” Sheila says.

“After the baby’s born,” Odette adds. “And I’m gonna get you the name of my physical therapist. That’ll help even more. ”

“You’re the best,” I call as I dash into the stall.

“Is physical therapy why you don’t have to pee as much as the rest of us?” Sheila asks.

“I keep telling you, and you all don’t want to listen. That’s on you.”

I love these ladies.

And Goldie.

And Miranda.

And Tater Tot.

And Holt.

Oh my god, I love Holt so much.

He’s waiting for all three of us near the dark cherrywood bar when we leave the bathroom together a few minutes later.

But he’s not alone.

He’s— no .

My heart sinks and then races.

He’s smiling and chatting with Abby Nora and her husband, Josh.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” Odette asks.

Abby Nora’s gaze flies to me, and she flinches.

“He’s talking to my former BFF and I don’t think he knows it,” I whisper to Odette and Sheila.

He doesn’t.

Does he?

I’ve refused to go back to the Heartwood Valley Owners Club for anything, because fuck them.

I like going where I belong and where I’m appreciated, not where I’m the center of gossip.

And Miranda tells me that Mom and Dad haven’t gone as much lately either.

So does Abby Nora know ?

Does she know she’s talking to my boyfriend?

Is this one more stupid game?

Odette clucks her tongue.

Sheila snorts. “We’ll see about that.”

And that’s when Holt glances over his shoulder, spots me, and winks.

Winks .

The man doesn’t wink at me.

Sneak behind me and cradle my belly and kiss my neck while I’m cooking when I won’t let him help? Yes.

Turn my alarm off before it can ring on Saturday mornings so I get extra sleep when he knows I’m tired? Yes.

Rub my feet and spoil me and pamper me and make me laugh and fall in love a little more every day? Yes.

But he has never, ever winked at me.

He beckons me over. “Zig, this is Josh Harrison. You know him? He’s a big Pounders fan. And his wife, Abby Nora. Really unusual name. Is this the same Abby Nora who used to be your best friend?”

Odette chokes.

Sheila does too.

And me?

I don’t know what I do.

I just know I’m suddenly frozen on the spot.

He is not calling her out, is he?

“You know,” he continues, his eyes sparkling more with every word, “the one whose wedding you got half the wine for with special bottles that you collected all over Europe while you were thinking about her? The one whose bachelorette party you hosted with all of the bridesmaids getting free cruises? The one who called you a cunt during her baby shower? Is this her? ”

Abby Nora’s going a shade of purple I’ve never seen.

“Hey, you listen up—” Josh starts, but Holt turns to him, pulls himself up to his full height, broadens his shoulders, and while I can’t see his face, I know what face he’s making based on his posture alone.

It’s the I will fucking tear you limb from limb if you want to take this onto a rugby pitch face.

“Yes,” I squeak.

“Thought so,” Holt says without looking back at me. “Josh, dude, you might want to pick a different team. The Pounders don’t like you or your wife. Not when you’re absolute cunts to my girlfriend.”

“Oh my word, I think I’m a little turned on,” Odette whispers.

Sheila’s fanning herself. “I hope you and Holt both live a long, long time and never have need of our little club.”

I’m still gaping as Holt turns away from Abby Nora and Josh.

He slips an arm around my waist, kisses me square and solid until I’m a little wet in the panties, and then pulls back with a self-satisfied grin. “Well. That felt good. Where’s the party room?”

Abby Nora’s dashing toward the bathroom.

Josh is angling away from the bar and in the direction of the door.

“We’re upstairs, you sexy beast,” Sheila says.

“ Sheila ,” Goldie says from the stairs beyond the bar. She’s in a holiday dress, and oh my god , is she going to die laughing when I recover from what just happened and tell her everything. “ Why do I have to keep telling them you’re the nice one and not the horny one?”

“No, no,” I manage, finally finding my voice. “He earned that. Everyone in the building should be calling him a sexy beast right now.”

The man’s smile just keeps growing. “That felt fucking amazing. You good?”

“What was that?” I whisper as my feet finally engage and we head toward the stairs. “Not that I’m not grateful, but it was very…bold. And confrontational.”

“My brother told me to do it.”

I blink at him.

Truly, when I think he can’t smile any broader, he keeps doing it. But his cheeks go a little pink. “In my head. I still…I still sometimes hear him like he’s here.”

I pause and throw my arms around him. “I love you so much more than I will ever be able to tell or show you. And I have a feeling he would be exceptionally proud of you right now.”

“I definitely am,” Odette says.

“We all know I’m turned on,” Sheila adds.

Holt hugs me back hard. “He would’ve adored you.”

Is it weird to say I can feel how much that’s true? I’m not one to believe in ghosts, but I believe in Holt. “I would’ve adored him too.”

He kisses my forehead. “Let’s go have a party.”

“And live happily ever after.”