Ample & Alluring

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

I felt better when we walked into Bite Me! since I wasn’t starving anymore. As always, the place smelled like heaven. I should have gone into something like baking cupcakes instead of making babies but learning to get someone pregnant was definitely easier.

Charlie had two vanilla bean cupcakes waiting for me on the counter with everyone else’s. I picked up my plate just as someone brushed my arm. I turned and smiled at Wyatt.

“You can’t hate the holiday season if your favorite cupcakes are vanilla bean. They’re white, like snow.”

I laughed. “They’re boring, like me. I need as few decisions in my life as possible.”

“And choosing a cupcake flavor is a tough decision?” he asked, a twinkle in his brown eyes and a hint of teasing in his tone.

“When your brain is so full of decisions and facts and ways to diffuse emotional women, yeah, even choosing a cupcake flavor is enough to send me over the edge.”

Wyatt laughed, the deep sound sending a jolt through me.

Well, that was new.

“Then you should try the candy cane ones. Charlie only makes them this time of year. It’s like Christmas in cupcake form.”

“Then I’ll probably hate them,” I teased.

He laughed again, then offered me the cupcake. I noticed that he hadn’t taken a bite of it yet, but he was holding it out to me to bite it, not take the whole thing.

I leaned forward and bit off a small piece. The minty candy cane flavor was definitely front and center. The chocolate cake was smooth and rich and delicious. My vanilla bean was always good, but the chocolate was like sin. As I chewed, crunchy candy cane pieces exploded in my mouth, adding a new element.

“Damn. That is good,” I confessed.

He beamed. “See. I told you not everything about winter is bad.”

I shook my head. The man was nothing if not determined.

“It sounds like you need to take a break. The winter festival will be a perfect chance to get out and enjoy everything Winterville has to offer.”

“There you are, rolling out the Chamber of Commerce speech again. Or is it Visitor’s Center?”

Wyatt laughed again, making me grin. I really did enjoy talking to him.

“Alright people, we have an announcement!” Carrie said, interrupting us before I had a chance to say anything else.

Wyatt and I exchanged a glance then headed to our respective tables. One for the women so we could talk about the men, and one for the men so they could… well, probably talk about the women. Although they had the kids, so maybe not.

“We’re having another baby!” Carrie announced, squeezing Drew’s hand.

My eyes immediately went to Addi. Another one of the friends, but also my patient, I knew what Addi had gone through to get pregnant. Hell, besides her husband, Joey, I probably knew the best what she’d been through. I’d been there for her for almost a year. She was one of those patients that made my job harder because I knew they would be amazing parents, but I couldn’t get her pregnant.

It hurt me to hear Carrie was pregnant. I knew it was killing Addi. She finally swung watery eyes to me, and I almost cried. s**t. I had to find a way to get her pregnant.

“Congratulations,” I told Drew and Carrie when it was my turn to speak to them. I didn’t know them well, but Drew was Vicki’s boss and she adored him. Carrie was a character, definitely my kind of woman with a dirty mind. Except she didn’t keep it in like I usually did. She definitely kept me laughing.

Yeah, she was a great mom, too. She deserved another baby. She wanted a lot of kids, and I never begrudged anyone who made getting pregnant look easy. But dammit, I wanted to give that gift to all my patients.

Everyone morphed into baby fever with questions for Carrie. I slid into a seat next to Addi and quietly asked how she was doing.

She flashed me a smile I knew was forced. “I’m happy for them.”

“I never said you weren’t.”

“You know how it is,” she said with a shrug.

I nodded. “I do. You’re an amazing friend. It’s hard to sit back and watch so many babies come into this group when you’ve been trying. It’ll be your turn one day.”

Addi came to the realization that things were going to be harder for her before we met. I hated to see the defeated look in her dark eyes when they met mine. “I hope so.”

“I’m not ready to give up if you’re not,” I said with a lift of my eyebrows.

She shook her head. “I’m not ready to give up yet either.”

“Good. You have an appointment in two weeks, right?”

She nodded.

“We’ll talk then. For now, maybe we can steer things away from babies?”

She grinned. “I’d like that, but Carrie needs to have her time to be excited. They’ll move on eventually.”

“To s*x most likely,” I teased.

“You’ve learned our weakness.”

I laughed. “High school boys have nothing on this group.”

Addi, the high school science teacher, laughed. “Sadly, I think I agree with you!”