Page 43 of The Final Game
“But I know she’ll be fine,” Leila says, letting out a breath as she places her phone beside her. “And I’m really excited for Nova to have some time with her baby sister.”
“How did she react when she met her?” Rosie asks, her eyes lighting up. I wonder when her and Grayson will have kids. I hope it’s much easier for them than it has been for Lucas and me.
“She cried,” Leila adds, tears building up in her eyes. “She rarely ever cries, and she bawled her eyes out when she saw her sister, saying she loved her. Fuck.”
“Don’t cry,” I say, feeling my own tears start to build. “We can’t all show up with ruined makeup.Breathe,” I order her, fanning her face, until the tears start to go back into her body.
“As much as I love the talk of babies, it’s kind of making me nauseous. Can we please move on?” Gabi asks.
I glance over at her, and a smile creeps up on my face. This is the perfect time to tell them. “Actually…” I start, feeling my heart knock against my chest.
“Oh god. You’re pregnant, aren’t you?” Gabi asks.
The knocking increases, and I shake my head. “No, I’m not.”
“Phew,” she says, closing her eyes.
“I actually can’t get pregnant.”
Gabi freezes, her eyes widening when she looks back at me. “Wait. What?”
“Fuck,” Leila says. “Please say you’re kidding.”
I shake my head. “There’s nothing inherently wrong according to the doctors, but we’ve been trying for a while, and… I really don’t know if it will ever happen for us. But…”
“But?” Leila asks, lifting her brows.
I take a deep breath in, squaring my shoulders. “Lucas and I decided to adopt a while back.”
Gabi’s eyes widen. “You did?”
I nod in confirmation. “I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you girls before, but I didn’t want to say anything before anything was concrete,” I admit. “I didn’t want the pressure, or questions, or for you guys to look at me like I was a failure,” I say, my voice cracking on the last word.
Gabi lifts off her chair, coming to sit beside me, and places her hand on my shoulder. “You could never be a failure,” she says.
“We completely understand why you didn’t want to tell anyone,” Rosie adds, her blue eyes glassy.
“Wait,” Leila says, her brows knitting together. “You just said you didn’t want to tell us before anything was concrete. So, if you’re telling us now, does that mean…”
I nod, my smile widening on my face. “We’re getting a baby.”
“Oh my god,” Gabi gasps, and I notice her eyes brimming with tears. “Wait. Really?”
I nod, letting out a laugh. “We got the call this morning,” I tell them. “And the loud noise you heard from the guys just now wasn’t from a game they’re watching, but from Lucas telling them about the adoption.”
“What?” Gabi says, furrowing her brows. “I can’t believe they found out before me.” Leila clears her throat, and Gabi rolls her eyes. “Us,” she corrects.
“I was really nervous,” I admit to them. “I needed Lucas to tell them first. But I’m so happy I finally told you guys.”
“You’re going to be a mom,” Leila says, with a smile on her face.
The word lights up my chest, and I let myself accept it, nodding. “I am.”
“We can have playdates,” she replies, nudging me on the arm.
“That sounds boring,” Gabi adds.
“Well since you don’t have a child yet, you won’t be invited to the playdates,” Leila says with an amused look.