The Lonely Hearts Club by Radclyffe Read Free Book Online

and I want it now. It’s just that the circumstances have kind of temporarily overshadowed the ‘Oh, hallelujah, I’m having a baby’ part.”
    “Good.” Bren bounced a little in her seat. “Because we already have all kinds of fun things planned, like baby showers and fixing up the nursery and a naming party and…things.”
    “Thank you,” Liz said, brushing her fingertips over her cheeks to wipe away the quick flood of tears. “God, this is the second time today. This is ridiculous.”
    “What?” Candace demanded.
    “I’m all over the place emotionally. And you know it’s not like me at all to get weepy.”
    “What else happened today?”
    “Oh, nothing. I was just telling Reilly about Julia and I got…never mind.” Liz recognized the hawk-like glare in Candace’s eyes. Part was likely Candace’s natural curiosity, but the other looked a little bit like jealousy, and Liz wasn’t in the mood to deflect Candace’s questions.
    “Reilly. Reilly.” Candace played with the name as if it were some exotic flavor, then lasered in on Liz. “Would that be the surgeon from last week?”
    “Yes,” Liz confessed.
    “You didn’t tell us you were seeing her.”
    “I’m not seeing her.”
    “But you saw her. Today.”
    Bren murmured, “Candace. Your claws are showing.”
    “Oh, bullshit,” Candace snapped. “Nothing exciting is happening in our lives, Bren. We might as well get off on Liz’s.”
    All three laughed and the tension dissipated.
    “So tell,” Candace demanded.
    “It’s hardly sexy. Unfortunately, Reilly witnessed my early morning bout with morning sickness and was nice enough to drive me home afterwards. We got to talking. That’s all.”
    “I don’t remember,” Candace said conversationally. “Did you say she was hot?”
    “Yes,” Liz said, grinning at the memory of Reilly’s tight body in jeans and a scrub shirt. “She’s hot.”
    “So when are you seeing her again?”
    “Oh my God, Candace. I’m pregnant, in case you’ve forgotten. The last thing I want is a date.” Despite her protests, Liz thought about Reilly’s casual suggestion that she drop by the ball fields. Casual. She could do casual.
    “What?” Candace pounced.
    “Nothing. Nothing.” Liz picked up her lemonade and drained the glass. “So how would you two like to go to a softball game tomorrow night?”

Chapter Five

    “Oh my God, oh my God,” Candace moaned breathlessly. “Why am I just finding out about this place now?”
    Laughing, Liz watched Candace’s head swivel rapidly and finally slapped her playfully on the arm. “Stop that, you’re going to hurt yourself.”
    “I don’t care. Look at the women. I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven. Do you think they need more players?”
    “When’s the last time you did anything more athletic than hefting your briefcase?” Bren teased. She closed the top on her black Mazda RX 7 convertible, her one indulgence. Liz and Candace, who had driven to the softball fields in Liz’s Audi, waited by her door. When Bren climbed out and surveyed Belmont Plateau, she finally got the full effect of seven softball fields filled with women. “Oh. Oh my God.”
    “That’s what I said,” Candace replied archly. She threaded her arm through Bren’s and added conspiratorially, “Besides, doesn’t fucking Angela Howard blind last night count as exercise?”
    “It certainly does in my book,” someone replied in a low, husky voice.
    Liz jumped at the familiar sound and spun around. There couldn’t be two women in the world with that voice, and one glance confirmed her assessment. Parker Jones, an associate in her law firm, stood behind them, a saucy grin on her face and a predatory glint in her eye. If possible, Parker looked even better in athletic shorts and a tight tank top than she did in her always elegantly tailored business suits. With her windblown chestnut hair, blue eyes, and summer tan, she was model-gorgeous. Liz knew Parker was a lesbian