The Baby Arrangement

“She’s probably got some kind of stomach bug,” his mother said to him when she returned to his side and retrieved her plate. “We’ll be lucky if we don’t all come down with it, too.”

“Are you blaming her for coming tonight?” That wasn’t like her.

“No, no,” she said as she swallowed her bite of food. “It’s not her fault. She said she was fine before she came, just tired. Smelling the food was what did it to her.” She took another bite of food. “You know, it reminds me of when I was pregnant with you.”

Nick stared at her, his heart suddenly beating at an alarming rate. “What do you mean?”

Mom shrugged. “I don’t know her situation, but with the fainting, nausea and actually losing her lunch, she could be pregnant. She has all the symptoms. I guess I should have asked her, but it’s a pretty personal question to ask a stranger.”

Nick couldn’t speak. His ears were ringing, and his own stomach had started doing somersaults.

Lucky for him, his mom was oblivious to his discomfort. She continued talking. “If she really doesn’t have a stomach bug, I hope it’s not food poisoning because we all might be the next victims. Then again, if she’s pregnant and doesn’t know it, then I hope it’s a nice surprise for her.”

* * *

“THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG with Bree,” Roxie told Amber and Hannah after they practically forced Bree into an Uber to get her home. Trying to get her to agree to one of them accompanying her had been impossible.

They stood on the sidewalk outside the restaurant watching the car drive away. The cold rain had stopped, but everything was wet, and there was a chill in the air.

Hannah nodded, her expression serious as she rubbed her hands on her upper arms. “I know. She hasn’t been right since we got back from vacation.” She cocked her head. “Do you think she might have picked up a tropical virus or something?”

Amber scowled. “I don’t know. I guess that’s possible.”

“We should probably get her to see a doctor,” Hannah added.

Roxie frowned. “Like she’d ever take our advice.”

“True,” Amber agreed.

“But we should still try.” Hannah’s empathetic side was showing. “This has been going on for too long. I’m worried about her.”

“Me, too,” Amber and Roxie said at the same time.

“What if it’s a parasite?” Hannah shivered.

“Ew!” Amber scrunched her face while Roxie shuddered at the idea.

“Let’s go back inside,” Roxie said, feeling the chill through the thin sleeves of her dress. “Bree will want a full rundown of the event later.”

“You’re right,” Amber said as she took a few steps and reached for the door handle.

As Amber was opening it, she saw Nick heading to the exit. Roxie had to admit that he was one fine male specimen. Not that Roxie was interested, but he was perfect for Bree. If only she would stop working so hard and give herself a chance for fun.

“Where’s Bree?” Nick exited the restaurant, and Amber closed the door when none of the women moved to go back inside.

“She went home,” Hannah told him. “She wasn’t feeling well.”

He nodded. “I know. I was there.” His demeanor was no longer calm and confident. “You let her drive herself?”

“No,” Roxie said, annoyed that he’d think they’d allow Bree to do that after she’d fainted. “She went by Uber. I’ll drive her car home.”

“I need to speak with her,” Nick said. He pulled out his phone. “What’s her address?”

“Whoa!” Amber stepped forward when she heard his request. “We don’t give out personal information.”

Nick nodded slowly. “I understand. But this is important. I need to ask her something.”

“Whatever you need to ask her will have to wait until she’s back in the office.” Roxie narrowed her eyes. “Unless you have her cell phone number?”

“No.”

Roxie shrugged, not surprised that Bree hadn’t given him her number. She was adamant about never allowing herself to be distracted by romantic relationships. “I guess you’re out of luck, then. Try her at work.” She pulled a business card from her purse. “Call the main number and ask for Bree.”

Nick didn’t seem happy with his limited choices, but Roxie couldn’t help him any more than she already had. She had a sudden idea, of which the benefits might be twofold. BeeTee was looking for a venue and it might help push Nick and Bree together. “You have a restaurant, correct?”

“Yes,” Nick said slowly with a definite hint of suspicion. “Why?”

“It has a full bar?”

He nodded.

“Great. We’re looking for a place to hold bartending classes. Would you be interested in us ‘borrowing’ your bar?” She paused. “We’d pay you, of course.”

Nick seemed to consider the idea. “It would have to be on Mondays when the restaurant is closed.”

“That’s perfect!” She was excited about moving forward with Bree’s idea from vacation. “Can I come by to check it out, maybe during the midafternoon lull on Saturday or Sunday? Then we can figure out the details and I’ll have a contract drawn up.”

“Sounds great.”

“Hey, what’s going on out here?” Pete exited the restaurant and joined the group, his flavor of the week clinging to his arm. “I wondered where you got to,” he said to Nick. Pete looked directly at Roxie and said, “Hey, Rox. How’s it goin’?” He had the nerve to punctuate his question with a wink.

“Peachy,” she said.

“Okay, then.” He looked at the woman on his arm who, on closer inspection, appeared to be even younger than Roxie had first thought. “Ready to go?”

The girl bobbed her head, and Pete tipped an imaginary hat to Roxie before he and his date headed in the direction of the nearest parking garage, where he’d probably left his car.

The three women looked at Nick when he said, “Please, are you sure you can’t get in touch with Bree for me tonight?”

“She needs to rest,” Hannah told him.

“But tomorrow’s Saturday. She won’t be in the office, will she?”

Roxie chuckled. “She will be unless she’s tied down or she’s too sick. She tends to work seven days a week if no one stops her. That’s why we insisted on a working vacation on the island.”

Nick rubbed his bearded cheek as if considering his options. “Okay. I guess I’ll try her at the office in the morning.” Nick said goodbye and went on his way.

He sounded resigned, but Roxie didn’t honestly think that would be the end of it.