To Cherish and To Hold (Love of a Rockstar #1.5) Read Online Free Page A

unmentionable stains. Camille didn’t leave my side until I became comfortable enough to handle Nil on my own. She’d gone beyond the normal duties of a friend. Without her and my grandmother, the unpredictable tides of motherhood would have drowned me.
    “Was Luke a fat baby?” Camille asked.
    “No, that was me. I had arm rolls, thigh rolls and stomach rolls. I can show you pictures.”
    “I would love that.” She captured me in a weighty sideways glance. “So?”
    Picking at a hangnail on my thumb, blood pooled. This baby growing inside me sparked a wicked case of déjà vu, but one thing was certain: Luke and I had an unbreakable bond that had only grown since he’d returned three months ago. We were in this together.
    “So, I’m not sure.” My hand rested on my stomach. “It’s weird.”
    “Tell me about it. The whole idea of having a living human bobbing around inside you gives me the heebie-jeebies.”
    Camille’s stance on kids had never wavered, but I’d always hoped once the right guy came along, she’d change her mind. She would be an amazing mother.
    “That’s not what I’m talking about,” I said. “I’m talking about how this time last year I had no idea I would be sitting in a woman’s restroom, knocked up with Luke’s baby and actually consider having it.”
    “Life is like a roller coaster. You have to hold on and have faith that it won’t explode in a fiery crash.”
    “That’s awfully depressing advice.”
    She shrugged, unperturbed. “I got that nugget of wisdom from my mom. Blame her.”
    “I’m ok. Your mom scares me.”
    “Me and you both,” Camille grumbled.
    Crumpling the empty candy wrapper, it landed gracefully in the trash. Luke and Nil were probably wondering what happened to me. I hopped off the counter while Camille did the same. Before we went our separate ways though, I needed to hear her honest to God opinion.
    “What do you think I should do?” I questioned.
    “The last time I offered my advice on something like this, it ended up almost destroying our friendship,” she said, referring to when she’d kept Luke from seeing Nil the day of her birth.
    “That’s because it wasn’t asked for and you went ahead and did it anyways, but that’s in the past. What should I do?”
    Camille chewed her bottom lip, reluctance written in the lines around her mouth. “Only you know that answer.”
    I threw my hands in the air. “Camille! What should I do?!”
    “You should keep the baby! Duh!” she blurted in a single breath. “Jesus, you are tenacious.”
    Camille confirmed what I’d already decided in my heart. Luke and I had been given a second chance at love, and now we’d been given a second chance at reliving the moments he’d missed with Nil. Camille gasped in surprise as my arms flung around her neck. She stumbled backwards, laughing.
    “I’m going to be a mom again,” I whispered into her hair.
    “You are.”
    “Luke will be able to witness how terrifying childbirth is.”
    Camille snorted. “It’s not that bad.”
    Taking a step backwards, I raised my eyebrows at her . “Yeah? You want to try pushing a five pound baby out of you without an epidermal because you get to the hospital too late and there is nobody to hold your hand because the baby’s dad is supposedly an asshole who could care less about you?”
    Camille shifted uncomfortably as an awkward tension hung in the air. My outburst went to show that no matter how much we’d tried to bandage our friendship, what Camille had done to me that day would always be the permanent elephant in the room.
    She picked up her bag off the floor. “Luke will be right by your side this time, that’s what matters, right?”
    “Right.”
    “I have to go. My test won’t ace itself.” She gave a weak wave and was about to open the door when she turned around. “Congrats by the way. This baby will be amazing, just like Nil is.”
    A lump formed in my throat. “Thanks.”
    She opened her mouth. I