The First To Know

Joanne's first instinct was to slam the door shut.

Her interactions with Fiona over the past two years had been minimal, and the few encounters they'd had were dripping with hostility.

Joanne might be sharp in business, but she was completely out of her depth when it came to the verbal gymnastics of housewives. She lacked the finesse, the calculated sweetness laced with poison. She had no female role models growing up, no one to teach her the art of polite warfare. She was direct, blunt—while women like Fiona thrived in the shadows of passive aggression.

She shot a glare through the crack in the door at Patrick, silently demanding why the hell did you let her in?

Patrick sighed in silent apology, but before she could shut the door in Fiona's face, the woman pressed a hand against it.

"I'm pregnant."

Joanne froze.

Her first thought? Is she lying?

Her second? Even if she is, I can't be the one to test it.