Free Walk On The Wild Side by Jami Alden Page B

still on deck this morning to make sure everything went smoothly and to settle up with JT.
    And, she admitted as the time finally came to gather at the dining hall, as anxious as she was, she couldn’t deny that her skin prickled with the anticipation of seeing him again. Of looking across the table, knowing the secrets they now shared.
    Ellie, Damon, and Anthony were already seated at a big round table in the center of the room. Damon sipped coffee while Ellie attacked a plate of French toast with a gusto only matched by the way Anthony was taking down his pancakes.
    Molly gave them a little wave and stopped at the coffee station to pour herself a cup before joining them. “So how are you this morning, Decker family?”Ellie swallowed a bite. “Couldn’t be better.” She took another bite, chased it with a sip of juice, and fixed Molly with a somewhat solemn look. “How about you?”
    Molly forced herself not to roll her eyes, feeling the full weight of all that was loaded into that simple question. “You know, I’m great. Last night was surprisingly—” awesome. Nope, if she went there Ellie would immediately know something was up. “Not awful.” She smiled and nodded at some of the other guests starting to trickle in.
    “You sure? I feel really bad about the whole bouquet thing—”
    Molly waved her hand as she took a sip of coffee. “Don’t worry about it—I know you didn’t mean anything bad by it. In the end, it kind of sort of made my night work out a whole lot better. I was so happy for you guys, I didn’t even have time to think about my stupid bullshit.”
    Within a few minutes the table had filled up with Damon’s family, including Sadie and Dylan, Deck and Jane, along with Vivian and Frank Decker. Everyone looked a little bleary eyed and worse for the wear— clearly the party in the bar had gone on after Molly and Brady had made their getaway.
    A server she recognized from the night before, a cute brunette in her early twenties, approached the table with a stack of menus. There was a collective rumble of appreciation as several people made pleas for something extra greasy to soak up the sins of the night before.
    When she put the card describing the breakfast selections in front of Molly, Molly started to refuse it. It had been so long since she’d been able to choke down more than an energy bar in the morning, why should she bother?
    Then she caught sight of—not to mention a whiff of—a plate of amazing looking huevos rancheros topped with fresh avocado and tomato salsa being placed in front of Ellie.
    “Thank you,” Ellie said enthusiastically as her empty waffle plate was whisked away. She forked a bite into her mouth and closed her eyes in bliss.
    Molly’s stomach rumbled with a serious case of food envy and she took the menu from the waitress.
    “You got the eggs too?” Damon asked.
    Ellie’s empty fork froze halfway back to her plate, pointing at Damon in a way that had menace written all over it. “Is there a problem with that?”
    “Well those were some big waffles.”
    His mother made a scolding sound and shot him a “have I taught you nothing” look from across the table.
    “I’m pregnant. I’m hungry,” Ellie said through clenched teeth and forked another huge bite into her mouth.
    “I know, but you don’t want to go too crazy—”
    Her fork hit the plate with a metallic clang. “Are you saying I’m getting fat?”
    All conversation stopped as everyone watched, waiting to see how big of a hole Damon was going to dig for himself.
    “No, honey, of course not,” he said, wisely backpedaling.
    “Because if I’m getting fat, it’s because of you, and you’re also the reason I barfed for six weeks straight and now have to make up for all the food I couldn’t eat because of this little alien taking over my body!”
    Damon wrapped his arm around Ellie’s shoulder, pulling her close even as she tried to shrink away. “Of course you’re not fat. You’re