Falling into Place - Forbidden Heart Series

28| The B-Word

What was the name of that movie? You know. . . the one with the dinosaurs and those archaeologist types. I think it had Jeff Goldblum, too. Yeah, he was definitely in it. Loved to hear himself talk.

Jurassic Park! That's it. It's probably been over a decade since I've seen it, but that's what popped into my head when I walked into Down the Rabbit Hole for my baby shower. With my husband by my side, Ryan and I froze in the doorway.

"Holy shit," he breathed.

Since talking seemed impossible, I nodded. To the left was a onesie decorating station. There was a row of white onesies and a row of pink onesies. In between the rows were multiple glitter pens, and well. . . glitter.

To the right was another table that had different foods on it. It was hard to see from this distance, but it appeared Priscilla listened to what I said and kept to the list that I gave her. There were finger sandwiches, veggie plates, and chips with some kind of dip next to it.

One other thing that had Ryan and I standing here completely blown away was the decoration. Pink and white streamers and balloons were everywhere. There was a large banner that had Baby Hale written across it in cursive that hung about the tables.

It seemed like a lot when you looked at it -- and to be perfectly honest, it was a lot. But it was also exactly what I wanted. When I told a few of my work friends about my shower, they teased me and told me it was most likely going to be over the top. Seems they were right.

As if the food and decorations weren't enough, my eyes found the three tables full of presents. There were boxers and gift bags of all sizes on top of them and on the ground around them. It was the amount of gifts plus the decorations and everything else had my mind going to Jurassic Park. All I could hear in my head was the line "Spread no expense."

"Don't just stand there!" Lanie bellowed from behind the bar. "Get in here so we can get this party started!"

We stepped farther into the bar and got swarmed by our friends and family. Hugs and congratulations were exchanged first from the moms. Then Ryan's Aunt Gwen. Then Cherise. After that was the few work friends from Ryan's job at the office and a few from my old job as well.

Harper walked up to me with a wide smile and hugged me. "Congratulations, D! Jackson and I are so excited for you."

I closed my eyes when I hugged my best friend back. I knew she meant it, but I still felt for her and Jackson and their pregnancy issues. "Thanks, Harp. I'm so glad you're here."

I pulled away from her only to be immediately, and carefully, bear-hugged by Nate. "Nate! Put me down!"

He set me back on my feet and clapped Ryan on the back. "I can't believe you're going to have a kid, man. Your life is going to change so fucking much."

"I know," my husband replied, reaching out to rub my distended belly. "I still can't believe it sometimes."

Nate muttered something close to "Better you than me." before Karma joined us.

She stepped beside her man and he had draped his arm over her shoulder, pulling her into his body. It was truly amazing how well those two fit together. When you looked at them, it was obvious that they belonged together. I was surprised when I first heard the infamous story about Nate and Karma. On a girl's night awhile back, Lanie, Harper, and Karma old me all about the secret romance they started at the beach in Treasure Island.

We went through two bottles of wine and a box of tissues before she got the end of the story. I had never heard anything more romantic, and at the same time, heartbreaking.