Page 102 of Santa's Baby
Pregnant.
Phoebe smiles expectantly, her eyebrows raised. “Well?”
I look down at the stick again, then back at Phoebe. “You’re serious? You’re really pregnant?”
She nods, the grin never leaving her face. “You kind of stole my thunder with the proposal. I should have guessed what you were up to and told you sooner.”
My face breaks into a smile so huge it’s about to split wide open. “No. No, no. This is too amazing. Oh my god, Phoebe. We need to tell everyone. Now. Right now.” I pat my pockets again and again before finally finding my phone and pulling it out.
Phoebe tries to take it from me, but before she can, I’ve pressed the button to call Eric.
“So? Did you do it yet?”
“I did. She said yes. But that’s not the best part. She’s pregnant, dude. We’re having another kid.”
“I knew it! Called it. Damien owes me twenty bucks.”
“You bet on Phoebe being pregnant?”
Eric’s laugh comes through the phone.“We bet on whether you’d manage to propose before she got pregnant again. And since you only asked her to marry your dumb ass tonight, well, that means she was pregnant before.”
I snort a laugh. “You know what? I don’t even care that you made a bet. I’m going to be a dad again. I have to go. More people to call.”
I hang up with Eric laughing in the background and dial Webster and Frederick next.
“Archer! Merry Christmas. How was the party? Did you ask her? Tell me how much she loved the ring.”
“Webster, put me on speaker. Frederick needs to hear this, too.”
“Okay. You’re on speaker. Go ahead.”
“She said yes, but it gets better. She’s pregnant. We’re having another baby.”
“I knew her boobs looked bigger,”Webster says with a laugh.“I can’t believe she hid it from me.”
“Tell me, Archer,”Frederick interjects, his voice serious.“If you’re newly engaged,and youjust found out your new fiancée is pregnant, why are you on the phone with us?”
“Oh, shit.” I spin around and spot Phoebe dishing food out of a takeout container, her mouth already full of something as she grins at me.
“Don’t worry about me. You go ahead with your phone calls.” She shoves another bite of food into her mouth. “This is so good.”
“She’s fine. She’s stuffing her face with Butter Chicken at the moment.”
“Hey. She’s growing your child. She deserves to stuff her face if she wants to.”Webster laughs through his defense of Phoebe’s eating habits.“You better keep her well fed.”
“Archer. Listen carefully. I’m going to hang up this call and when I do, you will go back to Phoebe. Do not call anyone else. Do you understand me? This is a special night for the two of you. Don’t ruin it by being even more of an idiot.”
Oh, shit. I am an idiot. Frederick is right. I should be spending this time with Phoebe.
Damn it. Leave it to Frederick to be the voice of reason, as usual.
“Gotta go, guys. Talk later.” I stab the end call button and drop my phone on the dresser. “Hey, sweetheart. How’s the food?”
Phoebe nods and gives me a thumbs up. “Better than I remembered.” She swallows and wipes her mouth with a napkin. “So, which one gave you shit? Was it Frederick? It was Frederick, wasn’t it? He’s always so sensible.”
I cringe. “Yeah. Sorry about all that.” I pull up a chair and sit next to her. “I got a little carried away.”
She shrugs, taking my hand in hers. “It’s fine. You’re excited. I am, too. After all, how many people can say they’re having Santa’s baby, again?”
With a chuckle, I lean forward and touch my forehead to hers. As far as I’m concerned, she can have Santa’s baby as many times as she wants. I should have known that first night that we were destined to be Santa and his Bride again.
Only this time, I can guarantee she’ll go through with the wedding before sleeping with Santa Claus on her wedding night.
The End
