Collier had been all kinds of secretive Friday night, and Saturday morning, he shipped me off to a spa for a couple of hours of pampering. I took my new bottle of OPI with me and enjoyed the royal treatment—manicure, pedicure, massage, hair, and makeup. As the girl finished setting my face with some mist to hold her work in place, my nerves set in. Or maybe it was morning sickness. Whichever it was sent me flying to the bathroom to empty my stomach. I wiped my mouth and dreaded looking in the mirror for fear of what my retching had done to the paint on my face. To my surprise, every bit of it held, including the mascara when my eyes watered. The only thing that needed a touch-up was my lips. This girl was good.

She fixed my lipstick and seemed as pleased as I was. I’d opted for a more casual up-do and added fresh flowers to make it special. But with the natural appearance of my makeup, the high ponytail with large curls fit perfectly. I hadn’t wanted to break the bank on a dress I’d wear once, especially not one only donned poolside. But the one I’d found caught my attention and hid my rounding belly with an empire waist while accentuating my ta-tas. The spaghetti straps were perfect for the location, and the material was light and flowy. Organza with a gauze-like overlay that gathered in the center just beneath the dropped V-neck. The skirt skimmed the tops of my toes, and I’d opted to go barefoot. And instead of lingerie underneath, I chose a white strapless bikini to be able to enjoy the sun with my friends. Although I probably should have cleared that part with Collier.

By the time I got home, cars had filled our driveway, most of which I recognized, and one or two I didn’t. I parked in the garage, but when I went inside, Ronnie stood waiting for me in the kitchen. She whisked me away to a bedroom facing the front yard and held me captive.

“What are we doing back here?”

She opened the closet to reveal the plastic my dress hung in. “You need to change clothes. Your friends are out back.”

I closed the door behind me to ensure no one walking by got a peek at the goods. “Did you get the swimsuit, too?”

“I grabbed everything that was with the dress. It’s in the bottom of the garment bag.”

“How long do I have?” Clearly, Ronnie had been brought in on the plan since she’d been given the task of getting me dressed.

“As long as you want. Collier just told me to let him know when you’re ready.”

I started to strip out of my shirt and shorts. “Who all is here?”

“All the girls, his friends, and the catering staff, minister, and photographer.”

Just as my shorts hit the floor, V gasped, and I realized she hadn’t mentioned music. “What about music? Please tell me there will be music.”

But I’d lost my best friend’s attention. She’d taken two steps to get next to me, and her hand now rested just below my belly button on my bare skin. My hands dropped to my side, and I pushed my hips toward her just slightly.

“Gizzy, there’s a baby in there…like for real.” Her eyes met mine, and the wonder dancing in her black irises brought a soft smile to my lips.

My response was barely a whisper. “Now you see why none of this really matters. I mean, it does, but it’s pretty insignificant in the long run.”

Her hand left my tummy, and her arms wrapped around my neck. “I’m so happy for you. I can’t wait to meet the little guy.”

“Or girl.” I needed to remind her that there was a possibility of another gender.

“Or boy.”

“Or girl…”

She laughed, knowing a boy would be disastrous for me. I wouldn’t have a clue how to even change a little boy’s diapers, much less raise one. I would be much better suited for a girl with fancy dresses, cute hair, and nail polish.

“What if it’s twins?”

I hated her. “It’s not twins, you whore. Jesus, why would you even say that?”

“Because Collier is a twin…”

I didn’t bother to tell her I’d thought the same thing; instead, I explained as though I’d known all along what Collier had told me to ease my mind. “He’s a fraternal twin.”

“So? That’s still a twin, right?”

“Yes, but that means it comes from the mother’s side. He wasn’t an embryo that split like identical twins are, he was one of two eggs fertilized at the same time. Meaning his mom was like a superhero egg maker or some shit. Most women only have one at a time.”

She shrugged. “We can still hope.”

I smacked her playfully, or not so much, on the arm. “What the hell, V? Do not wish twins on me. I don’t even want to think about how hard it will be to raise one at my age, much less what two would do to my figure.”

Stepping away from my friend, I found my new swimsuit in the bag, shimmied out of my undergarments, and replaced them with the bikini.

“That’s a super-cute suit, but West is going to go ballistic when he sees it. I hope you don’t plan on taking that dress off.” Ronnie plopped down on the bed. Her long, overly thick black hair bounced with her. I was lucky to have such gorgeous friends. We all complimented each other nicely standing in a group and never failed to draw attention.

“Why?” The question came out of my mouth just as I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I had to admit, I was a wet dream come to life for a guy who had a bit of a pregnancy fetish.

“I can see you just answered your own question. What were you thinking when you bought it?”

“That it was a cute, white bikini…” Collier would flip.

“Did you miss the part where your breasts look like a porn star, and your ass is barely covered? Not to mention, the bottoms highlight Collier’s growing baby?” She’d gone from worried to hysterical laughter.

I refused to worry about it. There was nothing I could do at this point, and besides, the only people here were our friends. All of them had seen me in skimpy swimwear along the way. “Can you just help me with the dress and shut your whorehole?”

Within minutes, I was dressed and ready to go, but I had no idea where that was or how any of this would take place. Ronnie assured me I had nothing to worry about and led me to the kitchen. She handed me a small bouquet of tropical flowers and pressed play, filling the patio with music on the outside speakers.

“When the song changes, just walk outside. The runner will take you to your groom.” She kissed my cheek and held my shoulders when she pushed back to take it all in. “You look stunning, Gizzy. I love you.” With a quick hug, she didn’t wait for my response and turned on the ball of her foot to go outside.

It might have been an hour or thirty seconds, I didn’t know, but when the song changed, my feet moved. I didn’t know where I was going or what I was doing, I just knew that silver runner ended at my future.

A cloud hid the sun perfectly, still providing a gorgeous day but shielding our guests from the heat of midday. I couldn’t take in all the details in the short walk, but our friends were all gathered near the pergola to the side of the pool. There were so many flowers I wondered where they’d all come from, but then Collier came into view. And nothing else mattered.

He stood in a black tux at the side of the minister with his hands clasped in front of him. The smile on his face radiated happiness, and I almost took off running to meet him, but I thought he might frown upon my wrapping my legs around his waist in a full-body hug at this particular moment. Everything about him was sheer perfection for me. I’d waited over thirty-nine years, but the man of my dreams had been well worth it.

I stared into his eyes while the officiant spoke and recited the words as I was told, but all of it was a blur until the kiss.

The kiss.

Holy mother of God. The kiss.

Collier didn’t hold back. What started as a peck, turned passionate with him dipping a deep arch in my back, parting my lips with his tongue, and fully engaging in a bikini-bottom-wetting session of sexual torture in front of our friends. They hooted and hollered when he finally brought me back to a standing position and then tossed flower petals in our direction when we walked back down the aisle into the house.

As soon as we were inside, Collier shut the door behind us and grabbed my hand. We raced to the stairs, then down the hall, and finally into our bedroom. In a flash, his tux was strewn all over the floor, and his hands found the hem of my dress and lifted it over my head. I stood there wondering what the rush was when I saw Collier standing at attention. He hadn’t taken notice of my bikini, he’d just removed it in haste.

His lips met mine in a frantic kiss, and he spoke against my mouth as his hands roamed my already alert body. “We have less than ten minutes. Please don’t fight me on this.”

I didn’t know who Collier thought he’d married, but I was still the same wanton whore who’d loved to spread my legs for him that I was an hour ago. He never had to beg, or even ask for sex—I offered it willingly…evidenced by my growing abdomen.

In seconds, he sat on the bed and pulled me onto his lap to straddle his erection. There was no need for foreplay, the kiss at the altar had left me lubricated and ready for the party in his lap. My hips sank down on his girth, and I rode my hedonistic desire into a full-blown orgasm. Collier’s explosion followed soon thereafter. But he didn’t hurry me. He cupped my ass in his hands while I was still perched on his softening dick. “You looked beautiful, and I love my baby bump on you.”

The soft expression of love sparked a grin on my face. I wished we could stay here forever lost in each other, but we had guests downstairs that we needed to tend to. “Your baby bump?”

He popped my rear end with a playful smack. “My baby. My bump. And I think it’s sexy as hell.”

I eased myself off his lap, grabbed my bikini from the floor, and then hurried into the bathroom to clean up while he put on his swimsuit. When I reemerged, his face fell.

“What is that?”

I knew what he referred to, but I would play innocent as long as I could. “Huh? What?”

“You’re not wearing panties and a bra to the pool.”

Through my laughter, I said, “It’s a swimsuit, silly.”

“Not one you’re going to wear.”

“You’re crazy. It’s just like my others.”

“That you wore when you weren’t three months pregnant with my child. Go change.”

“Into what, Collier? All I own are bikinis, and I bought this one for today.” I spun in a circle to give him the full effect. “See? It’s white. Virginal.” I tried to give him a coquettish smile, but he wasn’t having any of it.

“Then grab a tank top or something to put over it.”

“Fine,” I huffed but conceded. I refused to wear a tank top that would be immortalized in photographs, but I had some sheer cover-ups that would work perfectly and be stunning in pictures.

With West happy, we made our way back down the stairs and out to our party where I was finally able to take in all he’d done.

Our backyard had been turned into a tropical oasis with a luau going on including a whole hog. I have no idea how I’d missed that thing slowly spinning on a stick with an apple in its mouth, but there it was just the same. And I’d be lying if I said it didn’t smell divine. Collier had managed to cover every free inch of space in planters filled with every kind of brightly colored flower imaginable, and paper lanterns hung overhead draped across the pool. I knew the lilies floating on top of the water wouldn’t survive the first guy cannon-balling in, but for now, every detail was perfect. Even the music in the background matched the décor. As the afternoon turned into evening and the sun started to set, someone lit Tiki torches around the perimeter of the yard, and the paper lanterns glowed above. The entire day had been perfect.

I sat on a chair with a plate of cake in my hand, and my gaze roamed from face to face. Never in a million years had I expected to wind up with this when I proclaimed to Ronnie I was switching teams. Not only had I found the love of my life, but I had a baby on the way and had made some of the best friends I’d ever had. Beck danced with her brother while laughing at something Roma said on the arm of Parker. Ronnie and Trish sat not far off looking all googly-eyed at each other. Roxie, Amy, and Stella were in the pool with Mark and Collier’s other friends sipping cocktails and having fun. We might be an odd bunch to outsiders, but my foolish thoughts of becoming a lesbian had led me to the most incredible women I’d ever known, who also helped me find the most incredible man and his bunch.

Through all the years of horrible dates, a failed marriage, adultery, and everything in between and after—every bit of it had been worth it to get here. With these people. Our family.

When the night came to a close, our friends gathered out front. Parker promised Collier he’d make sure everything was cleaned up and that the caterers and photographer were paid. “Oh, and your suitcases are in the trunk.” The red Porsche had been decorated in tacky wedding garb that made me grin.

I hadn’t packed a suitcase but figured Collier had overseen that process, not wanting anyone to see my unmentionables…or he’d left it to Ronnie, in which case I could always go shopping whenever we got wherever we were going.

I hugged my friends goodbye and finally pulled away from V who’d become a blubbering, emotional mess. I half wondered if she were pregnant, but quickly rid my mind of that thought.

When I pried myself out of her embrace, I glanced up to see West just a few feet in front of the group. The smirk on his face told me he was up to no good, but instead of questioning him, I went with it. He reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out the key fob. I stopped in my tracks when he held them up. “Elle, you want to drive?”

The squeal that escaped my lips was high-pitched and overly girly, but I’d wanted behind the wheel of that car since the day Collier and I met. I grabbed the keys from his hand before he could tell me it was a joke or change his mind and galloped past him to the driver’s side door. My husband followed behind me and opened the door to allow me to get in.

I heard him tell everyone bye one last time, and they all waved as he got in the passenger seat.

My heart raced as I pressed the ignition button, and then it soared when the engine came to life. “You ready?”

“For the ride of my life? Yeah, babe. I waited thirty-nine years to take it.” He kissed me once more, and I pulled out of the driveway to head to the airport.