Baby & Bump (The This & That Series) by Brooke Moss Read Free Book Online Page A

nostrils flared. “I don’t think so. Nothing makes me feel better.”
                  “That just means you have a very healthy baby in there.” Candace’s eyes sparkled.
                  I smiled despite my roiling stomach. “Healthy or not, I’d like to be able to get through a meal. I couldn’t even eat my mother’s soup.”
                  “What kind? Patsy makes such good soup.”
                  “Cheddar ham.” I closed my eyes and willed the memory out of my head. Even just remembering the smell made me ill.
                  “Oh, darn. That’s good soup.” She plucked a slice of summer sausage off of the tray and popped it in her mouth. “How long’s it been since you’ve eaten a full meal?”
                  I thought for a moment. The days since finding out I was pregnant had started to blur together. I’d eaten. I was sure of it. I mean, so what if most of my bites were tiny tastes while I was preparing food at Sweets & Eats, to make sure I’d not over-salted the chicken salad, or made the crème brulee to sweet. That was eating, wasn’t it? So what if every time I smelled anything resembling a cucumber, I ran to the restroom with my hand cupped over my mouth? I’d been eating. Sort of.
                  Oh hell, who was I kidding? It’d been weeks since I’d consumed a meal. Which was a real drag, considering how much I loved food.
    “A long time,” I confessed.
The men in the living room erupted in cheers.
                  “Here.” Candace plucked a few pieces of each kind of meat off of the tray and placed them on a napkin for me. “Why don’t you try to eat something, and we’ll talk about how it went at your mom’s place?”
                  I accepted her offering and nibbled on a slice of salami. “It went down in a ball of flames. You already know that.”
                  She nodded. “Tell me what happened.”
                  “Well, for starters, I think my family would have been happier if I’d announced I have cancer.” I took another bite and chewed it slowly. “My mother cried. And accused me of having a one night stand.”
                  One of Candace’s eyebrows rose high on her face. “Well, didn’t you?”
                  I looked down at the meat in my hand. “No. Well, sort of. But not really.”
                  “Good Lord, I can’t take it anymore. Marisol and I are losing our minds.” She balled her hands into fists. “Can’t you please tell us who it was? This whole vow of secrecy thing is really making me nuts. Spill it.”
                  Shaking my head, I took another bite. “No. It’s not up for discussion.”
                  She snatched a piece of ham off of the tray and chomped on it furiously. “Marisol thinks it was the president. She says that’s the only reason why you would have to keep it such a secret.”
                  I glared at my cousin. “The president? Really? And when in the world would I have had time to fly to Washington DC to have an affair with the president?”
                  Candace threw up her hands. “I don’t know! Then the mayor. The mayor of Spokane? Or the governor of Washington State.”
                  “Would you stop it, please?” I sighed, exasperated. “First off, the governor of Washington is a woman. You voted for her. And second, I don’t even know the mayor. Now stop.”
                  “Whatever. But don’t think I’m letting this go.”
    “Oh, I don’t expect you will.” I forced a smile. “New subject.”
    She chewed her ham. “So once they knew you didn’t have cancer, how did they take it?”
              I shuddered. “The Patsy Baump drama was on high tonight. She said that she would be kicked out of the presidency of