License to Date by Susan Hatler

Author:Susan Hatler [Hatler, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, General, Romantic Comedy, Short Stories (Single Author)
Google: BqnjBQAAQBAJ
Publisher: Hatco Publishing
Published: 2014-01-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

I arrived at work Wednesday morning and found Ellen Holbrook waiting in my office—more like sleeping, actually. She wore a peach button-up maternity dress that showed off her adorable baby bump. Her eyes were closed and her hand rested protectively over her ballooning belly.

Seeing her wedding ring sparkle on her finger caused that image of Paul wearing a tuxedo to pop into my head. His gorgeous blues and his flirty personality had been all I could think about until last night. Now all I could think about was his feathery-soft kisses that made me melt.

And made my nerves go on red alert.

Clearing my throat loudly, I sat at my desk. “Good morning, Ellen.”

Her eyes popped open, and she brought a hand to her cheek. “Kaitlin? Sorry, I must’ve dozed off.”

I chuckled. “Baby kicking all night again?”

Her mouth stretched into a smile. “Yes, he’s going to be quite the soccer player.”

“You found out the sex?” I’d thought they’d decided to wait.

“No, I just meant he as in the baby, in general. Henry thinks it’ll be fun to be surprised and I don’t want to ruin that for him.” Her mouth went tight. “Not like he’s the one who’s going to have a baby shower with only gender-neutral colors, though.”

“I, uh . . .” I blinked, stunned. I’d never heard Ellen utter a single negative word about her hubby. He sounded so perfect I thought he was fictional. Her lack of sleep must be getting to her. That or hormones. “What can I help you with?”

“The FMLA paperwork for my maternity leave.” She pushed a small stack of papers toward me. “And Kristen.”

My eyes shot up from the paperwork. Kristen had left me a voicemail last night ranting that if Ellen didn’t get off her back about her mother she might lose it. “Don’t tell me the engagement is off. I know she’s been stressing—”

“It’s still on for eighteen months from now. That’s the problem.” She straightened, tried crossing her legs over her bubble belly several times, then finally gave up. “We have to convince Kristen not to listen to her mother.”

Since their close friendship went way back to high school, I knew Ellen meant well. But Kristen’s voicemail made it clear she wanted Ellen to lay off. “I don’t think that’s wise.”

Ellen stared at me like I’d grown a third head. “Kristen’s mom cares more about where they get married than her daughter marrying the man she loves. It’s all about appearances, not marriage.”

“Her mom may be difficult,” I said, thinking of my own mother, “but she loves Kristen and only wants her wedding to be as beautiful as possible. Eighteen months isn’t that long.”

Ellen huffed. “It could be a lifetime. We have no guarantees in life.”

Even Paul’s parents’ time together had been cut short, but that wasn’t the point. “She doesn’t want to hurt her mom. I think we should respect her decision.”

She scoffed. “If I’d listened to my own mom, I’d still be online dating instead of with the love of my life.

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