Free Deceived 5 - New Beginnings by Eve Carter

squeezed it. I knew he was joking, but I wanted to make sure he knew that once the baby was born, I’d be back to my old self.
     
    He ran the back of his free hand down my cheek and looked into my eyes. The expression on his face softened, and he said, “I really do love you, no matter how crazy your hormones make you. I can deal with anything when it comes to you.”
     
    He kissed me, a soft gentle kiss, the kind that spoke of something deeper than passion. I leaned into him for a minute before pulling back. I didn’t want to keep Nina waiting.
     
    “I’m going out to meet Nina for lunch, if that’s okay.”
     
    “I kind of figured you were going somewhere when I saw you had your purse. Are you and Nina like BFF’s now?”
     
    “What? No, we’re just going for lunch.” Where was that coming from?
     
    “You have been doing a lot of things with Nina lately.” He shrugged. “Elyse is going to be jealous. I know how you girls are with your girlfriend stuff, very territorial. Meow…cat fight.”
     
    I smiled at the last part as I thought for a moment about what he was saying. I hadn’t seen it that way, but Elyse had been acting a little standoffish lately whenever I talked about Nina. I refused to let myself feel bad about it, though. “Elyse is too busy with Ricky. She doesn’t have time for me anyway these days.” I hoped he couldn’t hear the undercurrent of hurt my own words brought. I forced my tone lighter. “Go on and get back to work.” I gave him a quick kiss and pulled my phone out of my purse to check the time. “I have to go now or I’ll be late.”
     
    Patrick was still smiling as I hurried away as fast as a pregnant woman in my condition could manage.
     

     
    *****
     
    Fifteen minutes later, I paid the cabbie and rushed inside the small restaurant where Nina had told me to meet her. As I walked in the door, she waved to me, already seated at a table for two near the back. I plopped down in my chair.
     
    “Whew.” I blew out a breath. “Sorry I’m late.”
     
    “No problem.” Nina smiled at me. “You look great, Chloe. That top really accentuates your eyes. How are you feeling?”
     
    “Oh, thanks.” I hooked my purse over the back of my chair. “I feel great. Just get a little winded some times.” With the way I was panting, the statement felt a bit obvious.
     
    The waiter came over and placed glasses of water on the table, then paused, waiting for our attention. It wasn’t until I looked up first that I realized Nina hadn’t stopped looking at me the entire time since I sat down. Just as I was starting to get uncomfortable, she broke her stare and glanced down at the menu in her hands.
     
    “Are you ladies ready to order?” the waiter asked.
     
    “Yes, I am,” Nina said. “Do you need more time, Chloe?”
     
    “Um, I’m just going to have a salad.” Nina’s surprising attention had gotten me a bit flustered.
     
    “You should have the Asian pear salad with chicken. It’s really good.”
     
    The tone in Nina’s voice almost made it sound like I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. Still, I wanted to eat healthy and I trusted Nina to look out for me as well. “Okay, I’ll have that,” I told the waiter. Maybe Nina really was taking over the role of my best friend.
     
    The waiter nodded and then disappeared to put in our order. Nina leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, and said, “So I’ve decided to go forward with my plans to open a store here in New York.” She beamed at me with delight, obviously excited about her new prospect.
     
    “That’s great, Nina,” I said sincerely. Before I could ask for details, she was already giving them to me.
     
    “I already found the perfect spot on Fifth Avenue and I don’t see any reason to wait, so I’m moving forward as quickly as possible.” The words poured out of her, her enthusiasm clear. “You’ll love it. It’s going to be trendy and bright, with modern window