Water Broke at Midnight, Husband Waited for Her BFF's Hair, Baby's New Daddy Didn't novel · Chapter 22 of 24

Chapter 22: Lacey's Last Stall

Greg pushed open the salon door at ten past nine on Sunday morning.

The woman with the trowel from two doors down had Tilly at home, in her kitchen, with a bottle and a cartoon on low.

I had not asked her twice.

The salon smelled of hairspray and warm towels.

There were four chairs and a long mirror, and a neon sign over the register that said *Lace & Co.*

The only person in the shop besides the owner was the woman I had seen in the post.

She sat in the first chair in a black cape with her belly out in front of her, and Lacey stood behind her with a hair dryer.

A big man in a quilted jacket sat in the waiting area, scrolling his phone with his boots stretched out.

The dryer clicked off.

Lacey saw me in the mirror.

She did not scream, and she did not run.

She lifted her chin.

"Mar," she said brightly. "What a surprise. We're closed."

"The door was open," Greg said.

"Hi, Greg." Her eyes went to him and away. "Everyone, this is my brother and my old friend. They're just leaving."

The pregnant woman turned her head.

She was thirty-something, with a kind, tired, freckled face.

She had one hand on the arm of the chair and was breathing out through her mouth.

"Is everything okay?" she said.

"It's a long story," Lacey said. "Don't worry about it, honey. Close your eyes."

I walked down the aisle between the chairs.

"I'm Kira," I said. "I'm not going to take much of your time."

"Okay."

"How far apart are your contractions?"

The woman blinked.

"Six minutes, maybe. They started around seven." She laughed shyly. "Lacey says it's false labor. She says I've got hours, and I should get the photos done."

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