“We can skip that. You’re more important.” Lucas reached out to gently stroke my belly. “I think I just felt movement. Is the baby kicking me?”
“You’re imagining things. That’s just my stomach growling.”
That evening as we were leaving, Lucas insisted I wear a shawl and wouldn’t let me wear heels.
“We don’t even know if it exists yet. Why are you being so paranoid?”
“But what if it does?” Lucas pulled out a white dress from the closet. “Be good and wear long sleeves so you don’t catch a cold.”
He’s lost it!
So that night, while all the women on the yacht were in revealing cocktail dresses and stilettos, I was the only one in flats, a long–sleeved maxi dress, and a shawl on top.
Big Head looked at me in surprise. “Sis–in–law changed her style? Still gorgeous though!”
“She can’t be in the wind. Let’s go inside,” Lucas said, putting his arm around me and leading me in.
To our surprise, we ran into Max Shaw and Bella White.
Bella stared at us intently, but Lucas didn’t even glance her way. Instead, it was Max who stopped us. “Ava, when are you free to grab dinner
sometime?”
“She’s not free,” Lucas said coldly. “Mr. Shaw, is this how you address other men’s wives so casually?”
Max shrugged. “Ava and I go way back. She won’t mind.”
“I’m Ava’s childhood sweetheart and current husband. I mind!”
I could feel Lucas’s arm tightening around my shoulders. Max’s expression darkened as he looked at him. “Mr. Quinn, controlling Ava like this – she won’t like it.”
“She’s my wife. It’s none of your business!”
I stood there stunned, not knowing how to react. One was Bella’s boyfriend, the other saw her as his ideal lover. If they were going to fight over someone, shouldn’t it be her? How did the fire end up on me?
“Max.” Bella reached out to tug on Max’s sleeve.
“Don’t touch me!” To everyone’s shock, Max roughly shook her off. Bella bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Whoa, what’s going on here?” Big Head quickly rushed over to smooth things over. “Come on, sit down! Lucas said sis–in–law can’t be in the wind, remember?”
Lucas turned away with a smile. “That’s right, your sister–in–law might be pregnant. We need to be careful.”
Why are you announcing unconfirmed news?!
Everyone’s eyes turned to my belly. I could only smile awkwardly. “Maybe, maybe…”
