Special Deliveries: A Baby With Her Best Friend. Maureen Child

shot a quick glance at Pam over her shoulder before turning back to Amanda. She leaned in closer to say, “Everybody knows Pam’s been crazy about Nathan since school. Just like everyone knows that she’s jealous of you.”

      “Everyone but me,” Amanda said and picked up her coffee for a sip. Yes, she knew Pam had had a crush on Nathan when they were in school. What girl hadn’t back then? But jealous? “Why should she be jealous of me?”

      “Hmm …” Piper pretended to ponder the question. “Let’s see. You’re younger, prettier, you’ve got a college degree she never bothered to go after and most importantly—you have Nathan.”

       “Had.”

      Piper’s eyebrows lifted. “You sure about the past tense, there?”

      The old-fashioned jukebox was playing in the corner, some classic rock and roll song streaming through the one large speaker. A couple of people sat at the counter having a late lunch and two elderly women occupied a booth and shared tea and cake. Most people around here stayed home on Sunday and had family meals together so it was a slow day for the diner, which was both a burden and a blessing.

      Since Amanda hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, she was grateful to not be so busy. But not being busy meant that Pam had the time to make Amanda’s life miserable. Which, she had to say, her sister was getting really good at.

      But the worst part about a slow day at the diner? It gave Amanda too much time to think. Too much time to wonder about what had happened the night before between her and Nathan. And no matter how much thought she put into the situation, she was no closer to understanding it.

      She knew that the two of them together were magical. But she also knew that didn’t guarantee a happy ending.

      “Whatever you’re thinking,” Piper said quietly, “you should stop it. Doesn’t look like it’s making you happy.”

      “It’s not.” Amanda took a bite of her pie and let the dense lemon flavoring explode on her tongue. When she’d swallowed, she said, “I don’t know that last night meant a darn thing, Piper.”

      “If you want it to mean something, it will.”

      She laughed shortly. “Not that simple. What if I want it and Nathan doesn’t?”

      “Make him want it,” Piper suggested with a shrug.

      “Oh, well, that should be easy,” she mused.

      “No, it won’t,” Piper told her. “Nothing worth having comes easy. The question is, do you want him?”

      “Wish that was the only question,” she murmured and finished off her pie.