Charlotte Delaney has sworn off men. After one relationship disaster after another- including turning a guy gay!- Charlotte is so over the male species.
Isaac Fletcher had his heart cruelly broken. Yes, it was years ago. No, he never got over it. I...
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Throwing on my coat, I shot the woman at the doorway a dark glare and whispered Gabh Transna Ort Fhéin in my best Sunday School Irish, not that Mother Cassidy would ever have taught any of us how to say go fuck yourself sideways in Irish Gaelic. No, that was something I learnt from my father.
Usually, I reserve that type of language for my sisters or random family members when they annoy me but this woman totally deserved this type of reaction from me. After all, when she announced to the entire birthing class that my birthing partner was not my husband because I was unmarried, I was ready to storm across the room and slap that bitch down. Of course, Lucas wouldn't let me. Instead, he grabbed my hand and apologised to the woman on my behalf, blaming my hormones for my behaviour.
When Lucas pulled me from the room, I was gesticulating and shouting French death threats at the woman but the longer her smug face smirked at me, the more irritated I became and that just brings out my nasty Irish side. Irish Charlotte is vicious.
"Charlotte, behave," Lucas warned me. Again, he apologised profusely to the woman. "I honestly don't know what has got into my sister."
"Lucas, I am perfectly capable of apologising for my actions," I snap at my brother. When I slip my feet back into my Birkenstock sandals and snatch my YSL tote, I inch closer to the door, ready to leave. "However, in this instance, I will not say sorry for reacting to her bad attitude. She basically called me out for being unmarried and pregnant. And! To top it all off, she smells like rosemary and it's really making me want to vomit. I cannot possibly stay here. I am leaving and I will not be recommending you to my pregnant friends."
Granted, I don't have any pregnant friends so my promise on that front would have to wait until either of my sisters get knocked up but I certainly wouldn't tell them that the Regent's Baby Group is the best place to go for prenatal classes. Then again, I've been to five different groups now and none have lived up to my expectations. We got kicked out of one, shamed in three and turned away from another one because some other pregnant lady went psycho over the fact that I was considering Esme as a name for a girl and that was what they had chosen. We couldn't possibly, she argued, have two mothers in the same class bestow the same name on their child. Last in, first out saw Isaac and I get kicked out. Shame, I actually liked Lizzie, the instructor.
"Pregnancy is making you crazy, Charlotte," Lucas told me, indignancy filling his every word. My brother and I are close, normally, but recently, he's taken offence with everything I do, blaming it on the fact that I'm having a baby. Although I hate to admit it, he was partly right on that front. "I cannot wait for you to have Nugget if only so you go back to being normal. Well, if we're done here, I'm going to drive you home and then I can Milly out for dinner. I need to be around sane people."
Deliberately ignoring my narrowed stare, Lucas bundles me into the passenger seat of his tiny Fiat 500 and drives me the short distance to my house. When we arrive, I jump out of the car without giving him a second glance, and ignoring his cheerful call of '"Bye!' I unlock the door of the house and slip inside. Slamming the door shut, I raise my hand and give it the middle finger, silently glad that the door was between my brother and me.
