Chapter 74

Author’s Note: Pushing the plot along with a couple more pieces that need to be in place before the frantic dash to the finish of Book Four. I really hope you enjoy it – there are some true bombshells coming up. If you love these characters, you won’t want to miss it.

In a lifetime filled with emotions, I never dreamed one could hit so powerfully as the two words Kat dropped. She was pregnant. In a few short months, I’d become a father. If we could get past the mental and physical hurdles we felt stood in the way. There was always the specter of uncertainty and fear that came with this news, but we kept it at bay, and we celebrated. It was easier with Jess and Rita. They were over the moon with happiness and excitement. The four of us truly believed the baby would be the responsibility of all of us, that we were a single family.

Kat had almost immediately broken into tears – of relief, joy, and fear. Jess and Rita joined her out of sympathy. My eyes may not have stayed entirely dry, either. It had been a long, fraught road to reach this point. We had a long, treacherous path ahead. Or so I presumed.

But, in the moment, the joy was too much for worry to overcome. Coming home early from LA had been, I concluded, the best decision of my life. After staying up too late to cuddle, talk endlessly about baby things, and for three of us to enjoy Champagne, we started to chart a new course. We had to countdown to Baby Cameron.

That entailed an enormous number of topics. There were obvious decisions to make about the nursery, baby gear, picking a name, and myriad more. They rained down on us in a torrent. Then there were the business considerations – for Jess and for me. I almost immediately broached the subject of whether Kat wanted to continue working, which we pushed to the side for the time being.

I also grappled with how to tell Juliet. I felt like she should know. Rita convinced me to simply tell her. So I did. Her response surprised me, though I don’t know why. She was over the moon with happiness for us. And then Jess did something that surprised me even more. She added Juliet to a group text chain with the four of us, and Juliet seamlessly slipped into the chatter we kept up all day, every day when we weren’t together.

Such a momentous occasion seemed to put our lives into overdrive, but Kat was a steady voice of reason. She reminded us that we had plenty of time. Her pregnancy would be a marathon, not a sprint. We could make reasoned decisions. We could handle everything that would come up, and we could rely on one another. So we started by addressing the first thing any rational person would do. Kat made an appointment with her OB/GYN to confirm the home test.

It was the following Monday afternoon, and Kat had taken another test every day, somehow fearful that she might be registering false positives. She wasn’t. And then the doctor made it official: she was certainly five weeks pregnant, and we could expect a baby in eight months. The target due date was July 29. I’ll never forget how Kat squeezed my hand when we heard that the first time. Then she wiped tears from the corner of her eyes.

The doctor’s confirmation gave us the blessing to start moving forward on all fronts. We knew the twelve-week mark was an important milestone, and we had plenty to keep us distracted until then. Jess started to shuffle the management pieces for Infinity. She was intent on Alix moving to LA, but Kat being pregnant made an LA apartment for us seem impossible.

Petey’s movie projects were going to need a lot of attention, so I started discussions with Jason about forming our own company. I needed him full-time. If we could both be available to jump on the inevitable fires that would pop up as we put the deals together, it would be a lot easier to handle.

There was one other, centrally significant thing pinging around my brain. I wanted to marry Kat before the baby came. Getting married to Kat, in my mind, meant all of us getting married. I didn’t believe we could do it any other way. But when? Is that what the girls would want? How would we have time to plan a wedding and do everything else?

So that’s where we were, five days into this new odyssey. It felt like a new fastball being thrown at our heads every minute. But it was fun stuff. It was good stuff. It was stuff we wanted. I couldn’t complain.

And then Rita and Kat came home from work that Tuesday with another potential complication.

“What?” I said after Rita had initially let loose with a torrent of information.

“Slow down, sweetie,” Kat said. “Take a deep breath.”

“I think we might be busted,” Rita said. “Like, big time busted. Like publicly outed.”

My skin went cold. “What do you mean?” I asked.

“I got a text message from Jen the traffic girl today,” Rita said. “It was very cryptic. It just said, ‘We need to talk about this agency’.”

“She’s such a bitch,” Kat said acerbically.

“What should we do?” I asked.

“I’m going to talk to her,” Rita said. “We’re meeting for drinks in a little bit.”

“Do you want us to come with you?” I asked.

Rita shook her head. “No,” she said. “I know her the best. I’ll handle it.”

“She wouldn’t dox us,” Kat said. “She’s been through that before.”

“Maybe,” Rita said. “I would hope not.”

While Rita spent a few minutes changing, Kat and I melted onto the couch. She was getting tired after work, and we had taken to spending a little time each day dozing and cuddling.

“This is my favorite time of day,” she whispered.

“I can’t believe we did it,” I said.

“I knew we would,” she said.

“Are you worried?” I asked.

“I’ll worry if the time comes,” she said. “There are more important things to think about than Jen acting all crazy. Everyone knows she’s got a bit of a screw loose.”

Rita walked back into the room with the click-clack of heels. She killed it in white shorts and a flowing blue blouse.

“Okay,” she said. “I’m off to do this. I’ll be back right away.”

“Don’t keep us in suspense!” I said.

Rita rolled her eyes and said, “When have I ever done that?”

It seemed as if Rita had never left. I opened my eyes, and she was right there again with a sweet smile on her face. Kat and I had fallen asleep on each other’s shoulders and started awake when we heard Rita’s voice.

“This is the picture of cuteness,” she said happily.

“Rita!” Kat exclaimed. She wiped the side of her mouth. “How did it go?”

“You are not going to believe this,” Rita said, putting emphasis on each word and sitting down next to us.

“What is it?” I said sleepily.

“Jess will be here any second,” Rita said. “We have to wait for her to get here.”

“Oh my god, I’m dying!” Kat said.

Jess didn’t keep us waiting long. Maybe two minutes later, she rushed through the door. Rita sprang off the couch to meet her. They grabbed each other by the wrists and did a squealing dance.

“Oh my god!” Jess exclaimed. “Did you tell them?”

“No,” Rita said. “I said we had to wait for you!”

“Tell them!” Jess said. “Tell them!”

“Okay, okay!” Rita said and sat down again.

Kat and I were fully awake now. Adrenaline coursed through me. My sleepy brain had not caught up with the flurry of activity that had blown into the room.

“So, apparently, Jen is having a hard time making ends meet being back at work,” Rita began. “She really had taken time off after her fiasco with her ex because she found a sugar daddy who just took care of her. And she’s missing that lifestyle.”

“And?” Kat said, sitting on the edge of her seat, elbows on her knees, and hands cupping her face.

“She went back to that sugar daddy to try to rekindle things – I guess he had cut it off with her,” Rita continued. “And he said she should ask the girl who beats her in the ratings how to get the lifestyle she wants.”

“Oh my god,” Kat said.

“No! Keep going!” Jess said, sitting now, an eager look on her face.

“Jen’s former sugar daddy is definitely an Infinity client!” Rita exclaimed. “He told her she should call Jess and see if she can become an escort to make the money to support the lifestyle she wants!”

“Oh my god!” Kat said again, her voice rising. “You’re joking!”

“I am dead fucking serious,” Rita said.

“I’m positive I know who it is,” Jess said. “Do you remember that lawyer who always loved you? And would keep asking for you, even after you stopped taking sessions?”

“How could I forget?” Kat said. “He was sweet. And so generous. If he had a bigger dick, I might have been tempted to go back.” She laughed brightly.

“It’s totally him,” Jess said. “When he couldn’t have you? He took number two in the ratings.”

We all laughed. The tension filling the room released like a sputtering balloon. Kat gripped my knee. She was relieved.