Pregnant With Her Best Friend's Baby. Alison Roberts

Yeah...the hotter the better...

      She could see the way Joe stilled for a moment, the sauce bottle still in his hands. Then he caught her gaze with the most direct look they’d shared since before that awkward conversation.

      ‘It was the start of a great friendship,’ he said quietly.

      ‘One that I hope we still have,’ Maggie said, just as softly. It was more than a great friendship, it was the best kind of friendship it was possible to have. She loved Joe and she knew that he felt the same way about her. It was a bond that nothing could break.

      ‘I’m really sorry, Joe,’ she added. ‘I just wish I could wind the clock back and that I never talked to you about any of that baby stuff.’

      ‘It wasn’t entirely your fault. It was me who put the idea into your head.’

      ‘It’s not there now. Can we pretend it never happened?’

      It seemed that Joe was thinking along the same lines.

      ‘Consider it forgotten,’ he said. ‘Never to be discussed again.’

      ‘What were we talking about?’ Maggie tilted her head. ‘I’ve forgotten.’

      They both laughed, reaching for paper towels for what looked likely to be a messy meal, and virtually all of the tension that had been there between them seemed to evaporate with the sound of that laughter.

      Normal service had been resumed and thank goodness for that. Maggie could finally relax enough to really enjoy this party to celebrate the wedding of two of her closest friends.

      They couldn’t really forget about it. Maggie knew that. Some things just couldn’t be unheard in the same way that images from things seen could never be erased from your memory cells. But they could pretend to pretend, couldn’t they? And maybe that would be enough to make everything all right again.

      If nothing else, it was a good start.