I Hear...Love (A Different Road #2) (23 page)

After a few hours of researching yoga studio supplies, Kate decided that even though she didn’t need to, she wanted to draw up a business plan for River. She purchased a few things, but without actually seeing the space first, she couldn’t really see what else needed to be done. What she really wanted, was for me to take her downtown so she could see it. It took a lot of convincing, but I was able to convince her to wait until tomorrow.

Now exhausted, she’s conked out on my shoulder.

Maddy and Nina came back about an hour ago, but Maddy was so excited about her shoot that she headed straight home so she could edit them.

Joss is home from the shop and the house is filling with delicious smells, as she and Nina make dinner in the kitchen. Sadie is curled into a ball on the floor, laying on Kate’s feet as they both sleep.

The front door opens and both, Josh and River, walk inside. Joss’s face lights up. She wipes her hands down the front of her apron, then she greets River with a kiss.

“How’s Kate?” he asks.

“She’s doing great. She’s been sleeping for a little while now,” she replies.

“How long until dinner?” he asks.

“About an hour,” she answers.

“I have a few more things I need to do. Come get me when it’s ready?” he asks.

“Sure,” she replies.

He gives her another kiss, then Josh and River disappear down the hall toward his home office.

Kate takes in a deep breath as she lifts her head off my shoulder. Her beautiful eyes come to mine and her whole face lights up with a smile.

“Hey,” I whisper.

“Hey,” she replies. “Did I hear something about dinner?” she asks.

“Yeah, it’ll be ready in about an hour.”

“Where’s Maddy?” she asks, looking around.

“She went home for a bit. She said she’d be back in time for dinner, though,” I reply.

“Where’s my phone?” she asks.

I lean the both of us forward, then grab it off the coffee table and hand it to her.

“Who are you calling?” I ask.

“Stephen,” she replies, finds his contact information, then hits call.

She looks at me while it rings, then makes a face.

“Voicemail,” she whispers.

“Hey, Stephen, it’s Kate. Dinner will be ready in about an hour, I’ll see you then,” she says, then disconnects.

Sadie lifts her head, then looks up to Kate. She gets up, then gives me the look.

“Alright, I’ll move,” I tell her. “I’ll see if they need any help in the kitchen,” I finish.

The second I’m off the couch, Sadie takes my place next to Kate. She lays half way in Kate’s lap, then rolls over for a belly rub. Kate is more than willing to oblige.

“Need any help?” I ask, walking into the kitchen.

It’s like a seamless assembly line, as Joss and Nina work together side-by-side.

“Um, sure. You can pipe the frosting on the cupcakes,” Nina says, handing me a small, clear plastic bag filled with brown frosting.

“I can say what now?” I ask, confused, looking at the bag.

Nina and Joss look at each other, then they both laugh.

“Here, I’ll show you,” Joss says, taking the bag from me.

She twirls the bag over a chocolate cupcake in a few small circles, making a picture perfect cupcake.

“Like that,” she says, handing it back to me again.

“You don’t expect me to make them look like that, do you?” I say, pointing to the one she did.

“Just do your best,” she replies, patting me on the shoulder.

“Uh, about this morning, you’re good now, right?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’m good,” she says, eyeing Nina on the other side of the kitchen.

Nina glares across the kitchen and angrily squints her eyes at us.

“What was this morning?” she asks, walking toward Joss.

“Nothing,” Joss replies.

“There’s no nothing. There’s definitely a something. He wouldn’t have asked you that if there was a nothing,” she says, putting her hands on her hips.

I take a step back and look at the two of them. The room suddenly got scary.

“It was nothing, really. She was crying, I asked if I could help, it was nothing,” I tell Nina.

Really, I didn’t quite understand it all, but it seemed Joss worked it out on her own. Nina’s eyes come to me, then she glares at Joss.

“You were crying?” she asks, raising her voice. “That’s not nothing, that’s definitely something. Why were you crying?”

“Shh, keep your voice down,” Joss says, swatting her with a kitchen towel.

“Really, it was nothing,” I say, trying to help.

Nina picks up the sheet pan of cupcakes in front of me, walks them across to the far side of the kitchen and smacks them down on the counter, then points at them.

“You. Pipe,” she says with wide eyes, then walks back over to Joss.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were crying this morning?” Nina asks Joss in a quieter voice. “What were you crying about?” she asks again.

Joss looks at me, and I quickly turn around with the piping bag and do my best swirl on a cupcake. I swirl my wrist just like Joss did, but most of it drips off the side of the cupcake and looks like Sadie drooled on them.

“Nothing,” Joss says again.

“Why don’t you want to tell me?” Nina presses back.

I turn around and look at the two of them, and wonder how I can sneak past them and get out of the kitchen.

“I don’t know, maybe the same reason you don’t want to tell me that you’re pregnant,” Joss whisper-yells back.

Nina inhales a deep, surprised breath, then turns around and catches me looking at her. I quickly turn back around and mutilate a few more cupcakes.

“How did you know that! I just found out myself. I haven’t even told Josh yet,” Nina whispers.

“I know that because I’m your best friend, that’s how I know that,” Joss replies.

“Well, I didn’t know that you were crying this morning. So, what does that make me?” Nina says.

“A terrible best friend,” Joss teases.

Oh, I’ve got to see this! I dare to turn around again and look at the two of them. Nina puts her hand over her mouth and looks like she’s going to cry.

Is this what they call a cat fight? Is there going to be hair pulling? Shoe throwing? Biting?

A single tear trails down Joss’s face, then she breaks a smile.

“You’re going to be a mom,” she whispers with a smile.

“I’m going to be a mom,” Nina confirms.

The two embrace, then Joss bends slightly over and places her fingertips on Nina’s flat stomach. Huh? Not what I expected.

They both break out in a fit of giggles, then jump up and down in each others arms, as tears streak down both of their faces. Between Maddy and Kate, and Joss and Nina, I’ve seen enough tears and girly moments today. I plop some frosting on the last cupcake, then lift the bag up in the air and squish the last of the frosting into my mouth. No use wasting it. Both, Joss and Nina, throw their towels at me, making me squirt frosting down the side of my face.

“How are you going to tell Josh?” Joss asks, as they both continue to work side-by-side like nothing just happened.

“I don’t know yet,” she replies.

Now is the time to make my escape.

“I’m done,” I say, placing the empty bag on the counter.

Joss and Nina walk over and look at my masterpieces.

They give each other horrified looks, then in unison say, “Out,” while pointing their fingers.

Relieved, I head out of the kitchen.

Before I’m all the way out of the room, Nina calls my name, “Cooper.”

“Yeah,” I reply, turning around.

“Please don’t tell anyone,” she says.

“Tell anyone what? I don’t know anything,” I say with a smile.

I grab two bottles of water out of the refrigerator, then head back to Kate.

“What’s going on in there?” I ask Cooper, as he sits back down on the couch.

“Nothing,” he replies, then places his hand on my knee. “Dinner is almost ready.”

There’s a soft knock on the front door, then it opens. Maddy rushes inside, carrying her laptop under her arm. She waves at me with a smile, then hurries into the kitchen. She immediately comes back out, hauling Nina toward the couch by her hand. Joss quickly follows behind, curious as to what’s going on.

“You have
got
to see these,” Maddy says, sitting down next to me.

She pulls Nina down to sit next to her, then she opens her laptop. She opens a program, then starts clicking through photographs from her shoot today.

“Maddy, these are fantastic!” I tell her, looking at them.

She’s an excellent photographer. She has a way of knowing the perfect angles to take each photograph. Nina is a stunning woman to begin with, but these are amazing.

“Thank you,” Maddy replies, proud of herself.

Cooper cracks open his water bottle and takes a drink while I say, “I said it this morning, but seriously, Nina you’re positively glowing in these photos.”

Cooper lets out a loud choke, as water spills out of his mouth and down his shirt.

“Are you alright?” I ask, patting him on the back.

“Nothing,” Cooper replies. “I mean, yes, fine.”

“Can you print a few of these out for me?” Nina asks with a mischievous smile.

“Yeah, sure,” Maddy answers.

There’s another knock on the front door, so Joss gets up to answer it. She opens the door and to everyone’s surprise, it’s Stephen.

“Come on in,” Joss says with a smile.

River and Josh walk into the family room and Nina quickly closes Maddy’s laptop. Stephen walks in the house, then Joss closes the front door. River stops dead in his tracks as he does a little half cock of his head.

“Stephen,” River says.

Cooper pats me on the leg, then leans in and whispers in my ear, “How did he know it was Stephen? No one said anything.”

“Because he’s a bloodhound ninja. He only has to meet someone once, then he can always tell who it is again without them saying a word. He says everyone has a tell. It’s either by smell or sound, it’s fascinating to see,” I answer.

“So, what’s Stephen’s tell, and do I have a tell?” he asks.

“Stephen drags his right heel when he walks. You wear the same cologne every day,” River replies.

“He also has impeccable hearing,” I whisper.

“Dinner is ready,” Nina says, standing from the couch.

Joss, Nina, and Maddy bring out dishes and set the table, then bring out dinner. Cooper stands, then extends his hand to help me off the couch. I can’t tell you how good it feels to get off this couch and to actually sit at the dinner table.

River sits at the head of the table. Cooper pulls out my chair and I sit down. Maddy sits to my left next to River, and Cooper sits on my right. Stephen walks over to the table, and I don’t know why, but I stand up and offer him my chair so he can sit next to Maddy, and I sit on the other side of Cooper. Everyone else fills in the empty chairs, and River’s dining room table is completely full. As I look around, I reach for Cooper’s hand under the table. He squeezes my hand and offers a warm smile. I can, barely, still remember sitting around the dinner table when I was little. Especially for my dad’s birthday. This feeling I’m feeling right now, is the exact same joy I felt then.