Free Baby Be Mine (Spinsters & Casanovas Series Book 1) by Wanitta Praks

headed out the door.
    As soon as the door closed, Whitney turned
to Clarice right away.
    “We need to talk.”
    “I’m all ears.” Clarice had always been more
in tune with Whitney, but all three needed each other; otherwise,
they wouldn’t be called the three musketeers in high school or the
three spinsters now. No, wait, at the moment, she was the only
spinster who had turned thirty. Whitney’s birthday was coming up
soon. As for Elise, she was a good three years behind at only
twenty-seven.
    “About Elise…” Whitney started.
    “What about her?”
    “She’s not happy.”
    “I didn’t notice.”
    “Of course you wouldn’t notice. You were too
consumed with finding the man to give you a baby.”
    “I’m sorry. Am I being to forward with my
desire for a family? So much that it’s impacting you? I’m sorry. I
sound quite selfish now.”
    “Look, Clarice, I don’t mind you looking for
a life partner. Stop apologizing, for God’s sake. I want to talk
about Elise, for you to keep an eye out for her. She doesn’t seem
too happy these days.”
    “Yes, I suppose she’s still not over her
parents’ deaths.”
    “That could be it.”
    “We should do something to cheer her
up.”
    “We could. But we need to clear the air
first. See what’s bogging her mind right now. See if she wants to
tell us what the problem is.”
    “Yes.” Clarice agreed.
    That night after they finished their
delicious meal of pizza, char noodles, rice rolls, and char satay,
Max left, saying he needed to head back to his apartment to finish
his homework. Once all was silent, Clarice eyed Whitney silently,
signaling whether it would be the perfect time to speak.
    With Whitney’s confirming nod, Clarice began
her enquiry.
    “Elise, we need to talk.”
    Elise looked startled, dropping her chicken
nibble into her peanut sauce.
    “What about?” she asked, avoiding Clarice’s
eyes.
    “Why you’re always so easily startled like
this,” Whitney said simply.
    “What’s wrong? You can tell us.” Clarice
reassured her friend.
    “It’s nothing,” Elise said without looking
at them.
    “Nothing? Then why are you like this?”
Whitney asked in frustration. The last time she saw something
resembling this was after her parents’ death, and she didn’t like
the outcome at all. Elise had almost committed suicide, saying
there was no one left in Australia for her, as she was an only
child. It was only when Clarice and Whitney went to help Elise and
told her to move here that she even resembled a human being
again.
    Elise stayed silent again. Expelling a deep
sigh, Clarice went to hug her friend.
    “Look, I respect you, Elise, and if you want
to keep it to yourself for now, then that’s fine too. We just want
you to know you have us,” Clarice said, hugging her friend. She
knew the feeling, having refused to speak up when people bullied
her when she was young. Clarice didn’t want to pressure her friend
into confessing anything until she was ready.
    “We’ll stay by your side no matter what
happened,” Whitney added. “And we’ll give you our undivided
attention.”
    “Yes, when the time comes, we’ll all be here
for you,” Clarice said. “Max included.”
    “Thank you, guys. I love you so much.” Elise
hugged both of her friends. Somehow it would be a long time yet
before she could tell her friends what she had been storing in this
heart of hers. But it wasn’t the time yet, and she prayed it would
never come, hoping and wishing she would never have to face that
moment, hoping and wishing this feeling within her heart would one
day fade away.
    “I miss my parents,” she finally said, just
to stop their curiosity for now.
    “I miss them too. Just know we’ll always be
there for you,” Clarice said.
    “Same here.”
    And then they all went into a little
emotional downpour, with tears and snot mixed together. Three boxes
of Kleenex later, Elise finally broke the silence.
    “Enough about me. I can’t wait to see