Baby on Board

14 Weeks

I snigger. "I'm sure the women would love to catch a glimpse of that. Lord knows he has something to be proud of."

"Gross," Martha gags. As revenge, she slides the cart into my legs again. "Oops."

After a few more minutes of shopping, Martha's phone begins to ring but it isn't the familiar tone of her regular mobile. No, this was a generic ring-ring tone coming from a phone I'd never seen before. That's interesting. Both Emma and I watched as Martha dug into the deepest, darkest corner of her bag and pulled out the phone, hitting the green button on the screen swiftly. When she said, 'Hey boss,' down the line, Emma and I shared a sideways glance before looking back at Martha, not even trying to hide the fact that we were eavesdropping. After three minutes on the phone, Martha announces that she has to leave. Something about needing to go to the office to complete some paperwork. Like that was a believable cover story.

When it was just Emma and me, we got a lot more shopping done, so much so, that the only person I had left to buy for by the time we got back to the house was Dad. After five minutes of being on the internet and I was clicking the Confirm Purchase button on some distillery website, ordering a bottle of whisky that Emma was convinced Dad would like. 

"Done!" I happily announce, making Sera jump in her bouncy chair. Reaching down at her, I brush my hand across her cheek. "Sorry, baby."

"I can't believe that you and Sophie have babies," Emma comments as she watches Sera and me. "I always thought that I'd be the first to have a baby but at this rate, I'll be the last. Even Lucas will be a parent before me."

I frown. "Like that will ever happen. Not only is Luc anti-marriage, he's also anti-babies. Plus, I thought you and Adam were pretty set on having kids in the near future. As I recall, when he proposed, he sat Dad down and told him of his five-year plan and I'm sure by twenty-twenty, you were supposed to either be pregnant or have just had a baby."

"Yeah, well, that five-year plan is a bunch of crock," Emma grumbles. Getting up, she wanders out of the room, returning a few minutes later with a glass of wine in her hand. Looking at the measure in the glass, I could see why she was sacked as a barmaid when she was in university. "There are three people in my marriage, Charlotte. Adam, me, and his job. I thought coming to London would be a positive step for us, the first to get us closer to the end-goal of that plan, but no. Apparently, moving into a new job means that Adam has to work ungodly hours, trying to impress his boss, while neglecting his wife. God, I can't wait to go to Paris this week."

"Adam's taking you to Paris?" I smile happily. Maybe this is what they need- time away from London, just the two of them, and they'd come back stronger than ever. Emma shakes her head in response to my question, though. "Who are you going with?"

Emma blushes slightly. "Mum is sending me to keep an eye on a photoshoot for an ad campaign so she can get the house ready for Christmas," she starts. A few minutes pass without her expanding so I eventually reach out and swat her leg. I want to know who she's going with. "It's for her menswear line."

That was enough information for me. "Don't sleep with him."

"With who?" Emma innocently asks. 

"You know who," I state, shaking my head in disapprovingly. "Keep out of Hugo's bed. And make sure Hugo keeps out of yours. Your marriage isn't worth a misspent night with him. Even if he does look like a freaking model."

Emma laughs. "You know he is a model, right? And as I recall, you had a crush on him once upon a time."

"Not the point, Emma," I warn her. "Do not have sex with Hugo. If he pulls that, voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir shit on you, you say, non. Hear that, Emma. Non. No. Never. Married. Non."

Emma rolled her eyes at me. "Si tu le dis."

This is going to end in disaster. Where's my glass of wine when I need one. 

Here's your Sunday night update.

Ok, so I mentioned last week that you NEED to go and check out A Wattpad Chrimbo (it's in my reading list) to see part of the first chapter of Mick and Lyanna's story! This is not a joke, you really have to go and check it out. Why? Well, I'll tell you why:

-if you go over to the chapter it appears in (titles Sarah George), read it and suggest a title for the story (think of it as naming a chapter because we already have a working title for the overall story), you could be in line to win a prize!

-Prize? What prize? Simple- if your suggestion is picked as the winner, you will get the chance to create a character for one of my stories! The last time we did this, a reader created Keira Delaney and she is the best thing ever!

-So if you want to create an amazing character and trust me to bring them to life, please, please, please go and read the chapter (read it anyway!) and comment a title suggestion. 

Ok, that's that done. Thank you for all your comments on the first chapter of Girl Friday! I loved reading them. 

I'll see you all on Wednesday for the next instalment of Baby on Board!