Chapter 20
“Oh, guys… he is perfect,” Madison cooed in the camera. “I’m so sorry I’m not there!”
If missing the baby shower made her feel awful, it was nothing compared to how she reacted when she got Ben’s text saying that Everleigh’s water had broken right after most of her guests had left, two weeks earlier than expected.
He had also asked if by chance she knew where Chris and Evie stored their tea, for some reason that hadn’t made a lot of sense. Then again, it was Ben, and one of her best friends was about to become a mom so she didn’t really linger on it.
Apparently, the birth hadn’t been a smooth ride, judging by the growingly serious updates Ben and Harper were sending her, and she had kept her phone on the entire night, until she had gotten a quick call from Ben telling her everyone was safe and sound.
“Don’t take it the wrong way, but you look awful,” Everleigh said, tearing her eyes away from her son. “Like… worse than me, and I just gave birth.”
“I know. I feel as bad as I look.” Madison coughed, the sound deep and hollow in her lungs. “You’re glowing, though. I always thought it was one of those old wives’ tales, but look at you, all rosy cheeks and bright eyes.”
“Vi got me that super BB cream and helped me with my hair,” Everleigh said in a fake whisper. “We’d like a few nice hospital pictures.”
“Buttercup, you looked just as perfect before Violet helped you,” Chris chimed in, gazing down at his girlfriend. His finger reached out to graze the baby’s chubby little cheek, and Madison almost cooed again at the sight.
The three of them looked so happy together, basking in total domestic bliss. Chris and Evie did seem tired, but it wasn’t enough to cover the intense joy written all over their faces.
“You’ll come visit me when you get better, right? You can stop by after work, anytime really. I doubt I’ll be moving out of the house a lot in the next few weeks.”
“As soon as I’m positive all the germs are gone, my ass will be on your couch, holding that precious little bean, you can bet on it.”
Madison heard a knock coming from her laptop, just as Everleigh and Christopher’s heads turned to the right.
“I guess your mom is-”
The small, barely stifled squeal of delight she heard confirmed that, indeed, Nora Brooks had arrived. The gorgeous blond tornado appeared by Everleigh’s side, leaning in to take a good look at her grandchild.
Madison smiled at the way Chris looked sheepishly at the camera while his almost mother-in-law was fussing over his son. Madison gave him a quick wave, mouthing a “bye” before disconnecting the call and letting them savor their first moments as a family.
With a sigh, she got up from her couch and headed to the kitchen to grab a bottle of Gatorade. She was feeling better today, having sweated off most of the virus the day before. She was still feverish, weak, and the coughing and sore throat weren’t gone, but she didn’t feel as bad as she had on Friday. Hopefully, a couple more days and she’d be back on her feet.
She had just woken up from a long afternoon nap when Ben showed up unannounced. He was leaning against the doorframe when she opened the door, and he cocked his head to the side with a small grin. “Thought I should check up on you. And bring back the spare keys I used when I left yesterday.”
Letting him in, she tightened the belt on her ratty robe. “As you can see, I look a little more like a human being today.”
“I also got you more Gatorade,” he said, lifting a grocery bag and dropping the small keyring in the bowl on the console. “Freshly squeezed juice as well, for the vitamins. I suggest you drink it right away, I did it myself.”
“You squeeze your own juice?”
He paused as he was about to head to the kitchen. “Now, Pumpkin, you can’t go and drop innuendos like that when you’re too sick for me to do something about it.”
“Ewww!”
“That will teach you. And to answer your question, yes. This one is full of oranges, with lemons, a little bit of ginger, apples, and kale.”
“Why would you ruin such a good juice with kale?”
“You can barely taste it, and it’s healthy. Anyway, want to discuss the wonders of green vegetables or look at all the pictures I took of… my godson?” he asked, his shoulders straightening in beaming pride. “He is perfect, by the way. Like… Chris totally aced it.”
“Chris?” Madison asked. “Chris aced it? I wasn’t aware he carried that baby for nine months and pushed it through his penis.”
“It was technically eight and a half months, and you know that the gender is determined by the father. He did such a great job.”
“Ben. All he had to do was climax. That’s it. That’s his great job.”
“Still. He didn’t let us down. We’re finally gaining in numbers.”
“Oh my God, you’re impossible.”
“Hey! I’m not pretending Evie didn’t do her part. The kid is freaking cute, it’s obvious he gets that from her. Speaking of cute, you know you look very pretty today?”
She looked at him through half-closed lids. “Diversion?”
“A little,” he admitted. “You’re getting mad at me, I can see it, and I can’t even offer to sex you up a little.”
She rolled her eyes then pressed her palm to her forehead. “Ben?”
“Yes?”
“Sit down. I’m gonna get a big glass of your juice and-”
“Now, don’t flatter me, I might be extremely manly, but I still can’t even fill a shot glass.”
“I’m gonna throw up.”
“I brought some Pepto!”
She slammed a cushion on his face then tore the bag of groceries from his hands. “Sit down, be quiet.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
She took a careful sip of the juice, finding it surprisingly good, and she poured half of the bottle in a glass, grabbing some water for Ben before heading back to the living room. He had already made himself at home, shoes off, feet on the ottoman and remote control in hand.
“You don’t have to keep me company, you know,” she said as she sat down next to him, tucking her feet underneath her.
He dropped his head against the back of the couch, eyeing her. “Shut up.” He extended one of his arms, creating a very tempting little nest for her to snuggle in and, after a few gulps of her drink, she made herself comfy against his chest.
His arm closed around her, and she let out a deep sigh of contentment. This was an extremely comfortable position.
“Something wrong?” His voice was low, soft, almost a murmur. Hearing the echo through his chest made her want to rub her nose against the fabric of his shirt, like a cat.
“No. I’m sad I missed Little Shrimp’s big day, though.”
“Hopefully you’ll be there for their second kid.”
“They are already planning on a second one?” she asked in surprise. She couldn’t even see herself considering a child - let alone two. It’s not that she didn’t want kids. She did. Or at least, she thought so. But it was something in the future, a blurry, far away plan involving a mysterious man.
“I know Evie wants two or three. And Chris would like that as well. So, yeah, they’ll probably try at some point.”
“Do you want kids?” she asked him, lifting her head to look at him, her chin propped up on his pec.
His brows lifted high on his forehead. “Where did that come from?”
“Nowhere. I just realized I have no idea where you stand on this.” Violet and Ian didn’t want any. Harper had always been in the “not now for sure” group, but based on what Madison had gathered, she was now strongly leaning toward the “not in the future either.” Ben was still a mystery in that aspect.
He shook his head. “Never saw myself getting married or starting a family, to be honest. So… I guess the answer is no? I never really… stopped to think that maybe it wasn’t a matter of when, but of who and… I don’t know, it’s hard to explain.”
“You mean it’s like a multitude of circumstances that could lead you one way or another?”
“Yeah. I guess you could say that. But the short answer is no, I don’t think I want to have kids. It never seriously appealed to me. It’s easy to screw up a kid, you know. So fucking easy.”
“It’s also easy to love them,” she offered softly. It didn’t take a genius to realize a whole lot of insecurities were at play when it came to Ben, but it wasn’t something people could see easily, unless they knew him well.
To be fair, not even a year ago, she didn’t think there was much more to him than his playful persona.
And yet, here he was, spending a Sunday afternoon with her, cuddling on her couch while she tried to get over a stupid, annoying flu.
She had always thought that the man was easy to like.
She was finding out that he was just as easy to love.