Page 263 of Where We Stay

I open the box and hold it out of her reach.

“It’s pretty,” she says softly.

“Think she’ll like it?”

Aspen nods seriously. “She’ll love it.”

I close the box and slide it back into my pocket. “You cannot tell Blair.”

“I know.”

“I’m serious, Pen.”

“I can keep secrets,” she insists.

I give her a look.

She sighs. “Okay, sometimes I accidentally tell secrets. But I won’t tell this one.”

I crouch until we’re at eye level. “Promise?”

Aspen hooks her pinkie around mine. “Promise.”

Footsteps sound upstairs, making her eyes widen.

“Oh my God,” she whispers.

“Act normal.”

“What does normal look like?”

“Pen.”

She runs toward the living room just as voices carry down the stairs.

“You need the other earrings,” Rory says.

“I like these ones,” Blair argues.

“No. Trust me.”

“I’m starting to regret asking for your help.”

“You’ll thank me later.”

Blair’s laugh reaches me first. Then Rory appears at the top of the stairs, catches my eye and looks pointedly at my pocket.

I give her a slight nod.

Ready.

Blair steps into view a second later, and I forget how to fucking breathe.

She’s wearing a soft cream dress that falls just above her knees, with a brown coat draped over one arm. Her hair hangs in loose waves around her shoulders, and the bump beneath her dress is impossible to miss now.

Small and round.

Ours.