Chapter 20

Amber

I sit in between my mom and Bri, fighting my nerves. I don't know why I'm nervous for the ultrasound. It's not going to be painful. Maybe it's just that it will feel so real after this. "Amber Campbell." I'm startled from my thoughts by the nurse. I stand to my feet and take a step forward.

Bri puts her hand on my arm. "Don't forget you can't tell me. I want to be surprised at the reveal." I nod and follow the nurse down the hallway. The next few minutes are a blur until suddenly, there's an image projected. My breath catches in my throat.

"Oh, Amber," my mom says softly.

"There's your little peanut," the tech says with a smile. "Did you want to find out today what you're having?" I nod, unable to speak. "Okay, let's check," she says. "Are you ready?" she asks a moment later. I nod again. "It's a girl." I blink and stare at the image. She asks me a few more questions that I'm not sure I answer. I'm sent out with printed off images, and I can't stop staring at them.

Bri takes in my shocked appearance and smiles. "I take it, it went well." We head to the car, and I let mom and Bri carry the conversation. My mind is spinning. Bri drops me off at my car, so I can drive to my shift.

"Thank you. I love you both," I say as I climb out.

"Love you too, Baby," my emotional mom says.

"Don't forget about the party tomorrow night?" Bri calls out before driving away.

"I won't," I assure her before heading to my car.

My shift passes quickly. Thankfully, I haven't seen any sign of Cal since the guys came in. Hopefully, they scared him off for good. I head home that night, oddly excited about the party the next night. I used to be a party animal but haven't been since my life turned upside down. I rub my belly. "I can't wait to meet you, Little One," I say softly. I freeze when I feel something. I don't move for several long moments, and then I feel it again. It's the slightest fluttering, just like the book said. I blink back tears and rub my belly because I'm pretty sure I just felt my little girl move for the first time.

The next night comes before I'm ready. I throw on the sweater Rico gave me, partly because it's soft and partly because I'm officially out of clothes. I need to get some clothes now that actually fit over my growing belly. I pull on my stretchiest leggings and run my straightener through my hair before adding a little bit of makeup. I head out to the living room. "Aren't you getting ready to go?" I ask my mom, who's reading on the couch.

"No, Baby. You go ahead. I'm not really into the game scene with all you young people. You go have a good time."

I frown. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! Go have fun."

"All right but text me if you need me, and I'll come right home."

"I won't but thank you."

For some reason, I find myself sitting in my car when I get there, too nervous to go in. "What is wrong with me?" I mutter to myself. I never used to be afraid to do anything.

A tap on my window makes me jump. Rico puts a hand up and grins. "Sorry," he calls out. I open the door, and he holds it open for me. "I just got here and saw you sitting here. Were you psyching yourself up to go inside?"

I shake my head and then cave. "All right. Yes."

"Why?" he asks, cocking his head to the side. "It's just me and the guys and your sister and Stephanie."

"Exactly. I've seen you guys play hockey. I don't think I want to play against you all, and have you ever played games with Stephanie? She's a shark."

He laughs. "Now, that I can see. Don't worry; I'll protect you from all the aggressive players." His eyes run the length of me, and his gaze snags on my belly.

I tug my sweater around me. "Yes, I'm aware I've officially popped. Everybody keeps telling me."

He gives me a soft smile. "You look beautiful, Amber."

"Thanks," I manage.

"Do you have anything to grab?" he asks.

"I have some pumpkin bars in the backseat."

"Pumpkin bars?"

I look up at him. "Do you like them?"

"I don't know. I've never had them."

"Do you like pumpkin pie?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Hopefully you'll like these then."

He grins before grabbing the tray. "I'm sure I will."

Somehow he manages to carry the tray and keep a hand on my lower back. I'm not really sure what to make of that. I've never been a helpless female before; that's for certain. But it sort of feels nice. Sebastian flings the door open for us. "How's the happy couple?"

"We're not a couple," I say at the same time Rico says, "Sebastian."

"What?" he asks innocently.

Rico steps past him and propels me forward. "I'll take these into the kitchen."

"Amber," Sebastian whispers loudly.

I turn to him and notice Rico stops as well. "Yes?" I draw out.

"Can you give me the lowdown?" he asks softly.

I stare at him. "I'm sorry?"

"The rundown? The gen?" When it's obvious I have no clue what he's talking about, he looks pointedly at my belly. "The gender?"

"Sebastian Hart!"

His grin widens. "Busted," he whispers right before Stephanie comes around the corner, hands on her hips.

"Are you trying to cheat?" she demands.

"Of course not, Beautiful," he says without skipping a beat. He strides over and takes her in his arms, and I watch as her face softens. "I was just greeting the pregnant mama."

"Sure you were," she says right before she reaches up and kisses him.

I move away from them into the living room and take in all the baby decor before moving into the kitchen where my sister's hard at work. "Hey Bri, everything looks and smells amazing."

"Amber," she says whirling around. After a big hug, she steps back. "I am so excited for tonight. We're all taking bets on whether it's a girl or a boy."

"It's a boy," Sebastian calls out from the living room.

"Girl," Stephanie argues.

"Aiden and I both think it's a boy," Bri says.

I make sure to keep a neutral expression on my face as I turn to Rico, who's leaning against the wall watching Bri and me. "What's your bet?"

"I haven't decided yet," he says easily.

"Well, you'd better decide soon," Bri tells him.

I help Bri carry food out to the table. Well, I try but Rico takes everything from me. We gather around Aiden and Brielle's big table loaded with all kinds of snacks and appetizers. "All right. I can't wait any longer. I'm dying to know. Let's do this."

"Is Gunner coming" I ask, looking around.

"No, he didn't want to," Bri says as she grabs a big board with balloons all over it. "Okay. Here we go, People." She sets the board against the wall and hands me several darts.

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Darts?"

"Yeah. You have to throw them to pop the balloons until one of them pops with either pink or blue confetti. The rest are just white confetti. Don't worry; Mom helped me so the right one is in there."

I stare at the board. "You do realize I have terrible aim, right?"

"Hopefully not as bad as Bri," Sebastian says with a laugh as Bri turns her scowl on him.

Aiden smirks but doesn't say anything. "Nothing from you, Handsome."

"I didn't say anything," he offers up.

Wanting to be a good sport, I push my chair back. "I don't think putting that board against the wall is a good idea. I'm going to damage the wall."

"It's fine," Aiden says.

"Stop stalling," Sebastian says.

"You got this, Amber," Stephanie says.

I take the first dart and throw it at the board. It hits the board, thankfully; but it doesn't hit any balloons. "Try again," Bri says excitedly. I throw another one that bounces right off.

"We're going to be here all night," Sebastian mutters, and Stephanie elbows him.

"You got this Amber," Rico calls out.

"Yeah, Amber. You got it," Bri says.

"Thanks for the moral support, but I really don't think I do." Two more darts and two more misses later, I turn around. "This isn't working."

"Rico, go help her," Bri says. Rico doesn't bat an eye as he stands up and comes over to me.

"I hope you're better at this than me," I say, handing him the darts.

"Probably not," he says good-naturedly as he takes three darts from me. He turns around and mimics throwing it a few times before he launches it hard. Pop. The first balloon pops and sends a spray of white glitter.

"We got one!" Bri says excitedly. "Keep going, Rico."

"Yeah, see if it's just beginner's luck," Sebastian goads him.

Rico turns to him. "Want me to use your head as a target?"

Sebastian laughs, and I turn Rico back towards the board. "As fun as that would be to see, focus on the board please."

"Yes Ma'am," he says with a grin. Then he throws another dart and nails another balloon. Eight balloons later, we're still going.

"Longest reveal ever," Sebastian says in a loud whisper.

"Okay, so maybe I got a little carried away," Bri says. "Keep going, Rico."

I'm just about ready to go find a chair when Rico hits the next balloon, sending pink glitter everywhere.

"It's a girl!"

"I knew it!" That's from Stephanie.

Bri's got tears in her eyes, and Aiden smiles at me. And then I turn to Rico. He gives me that soft smile he always does. "It's a girl." He sounds a little in awe; I know the feeling.

"Yeah."

"I'm glad." He doesn't say anything else, and I'm wrapped up in hugs and congratulations. We move on to games next. To nobody's surprise, the guys are absolutely ridiculous. After a few individual games, Bri grabs another box. "Okay, we have to split into couples for this one. Rico and Amber, you're together for this one."

"Sounds good," Rico says easily, and I turn to look at him.

"You don't mind being stuck with me?"

"Never." His voice is serious, but then he winks. "Besides, we're going to dominate."

"You don't even know what game we're playing," I argue.

"Doesn't matter. We'll still win," he says with total confidence.

"All right. This one is every couple against the other couples. It's a trivia game," Bri says.

Sebastian claps his hand. "Good thing I got the teacher slash writer."

"I married a teacher too, Idiot," Aiden says.

"Yeah, well my teacher is paired with me," Seb returns.

Aiden snorts. "Like that'll do her any good."

"Bring it on, Old Man," Seb taunts.

"Your both going to lose," Rico says, settling into the couch next to me. "I'm paired with the librarian; everybody knows they know something about everything."

I grin at him. "Thanks."

He elbows me gently. "We got this."

"Yeah we do." I roll up my sleeves, ready to get going.

"Uh oh, I know that look," Bri says settling in next to Aiden. "Amber's getting serious."

"You bet I am," I retort.

Brielle explains the rules to the game and draws the first card. "Here we go."

Rico and I don't just win the game; we decimate the other two teams. After a particularly hard question that stumps everybody else but I figure out, Rico turns to me and gives me a high five. I grin as I slap his hand. When I turn back, the other two couples are staring at us. "What? I can't help it if we're smart."

I can't stop laughing by the end of the game because Aiden's irritated and Seb just continually looks confused like he can't figure out what's happening. Rico stands when the game is done and puts out his hand to me. I take it and let him pull me to my feet. "And that, my people, is how it's done."

"Nobody likes a gloater," Seb says as he throws an empty can at him. Rico grabs it and returns it harder.

I laugh. "I've got to go to the bathroom."