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a little bug-eyed, but said nothing at first. He finally managed a weak, “Wow.”
    “You look like the real deal, Athena,” Bob added, his voice now lowered to a whisper. “Ironic.”
    “Ironic? What do you mean?”
    “Kind of Virgin Mary–like,” Bob said.
    “Virgin Mary?” I asked. “Did we have to go there?”
    “Well, didn’t you tell me once that Athena was the virgin patron of Athens?” Bob scratched his head and gave me a closer look. “Just seems weird to see her in the family way.”
    “This was your idea, remember?” I stared down at my baby bump, ready to snatch it out and forget the whole thing. “This is ridiculous. I’m not going through with it. There’s got to be some other way to break the news to Rex without publicly humiliating myself. Let’s skip this.”
    “No, wait. We’ll all do it, then you won’t be alone.” Bob grabbed a basketball, which he shoved under his T-shirt. Then he tossed a football to Paul, who attempted to do the same. His belly ended up looking pretty lopsided, but that didn’t really matter. He just made a joke out of it, one that brought a much-needed smile to my face. Within seconds, we were all doubled over in laughter. In fact, I got so carried away that I had to hang onto my belly to keep my soccer baby from falling out.
    I reached for the olive jar and popped the final olive into my mouth just as a rap sounded at the door. Before we could open it, it swung wide and Rex stepped through.
    Bob belted out, “We’re having a baby, my baby and me,” with Paul chiming in on the last couple of words.
    I would have joined them, but the words lodged in my throat as I caught a glimpse of the man standing directly behind Rex in the doorway.
    Tall. Dark, wavy hair. Perfectly sculpted face.
    Adonis.

There are those moments in life when you wish you could just dive under the covers and hide. As I stood with soccer belly extended, facing the handsomest man the Lord had ever placed on Planet Earth, I had the craziest desire to do just that. Fortunately—or unfortunately—I never had the opportunity.
    Rex looked my way with a fatherly gaze, his eyes narrowing as he took in my midsection. Then he looked back and forth between Bob and Paul, the worry lines between his eyes growing exponentially. For a moment he said nothing. Well, with his voice, anyway.
    “I can’t leave you kids alone for a minute, can I?” he said at last. “What are you cooking up in here?”
    “Follow the clues, Rex.” Bob waddled across the room, hands cupped around his shirt-covered basketball to emphasize his faux pregnancy. “Do you get it? Can you solve the mystery?”
    Rex’s gaze narrowed further, and he raked his hand through wisps of thinning white hair. “You’re all in need of psychiatric help?”
    Paul snorted. “We’ve always known that. Try again.”
    Bob punched Paul in the arm, and his basketball baby came rolling out. I would have mentioned it, but I couldn’t seem to stop looking at Adonis, who now leaned against the doorjamb, his face lit with a half smile as he quietly observed the goings-on. The handsome stranger shifted his gaze to me. For a moment our eyes locked. Bluebirds sang. The earth stopped spinning. My heart shifted into overdrive.
    Then his gaze gravitated to my belly. Ack! I shook off my daydream, realizing what an idiot I must look like. Still, how could I get the soccer ball out without making a bigger spectacle of myself? I’d wedged it in there pretty tight.
    By now, Paul had removed the football from under his shirt, leaving me the only expectant writer in the room. Lovely. The virgin patron of Athens, all alone in her ninth month of pregnancy.
    Rex looked my way. “Athena? Something you want to tell me?”
    “Um, well . . .” Think, Athena. Be quick on your feet. I mustered up all the courage within me and began to sing in melodramatic fashion: “We’re having a baby . . .”
    “My baby and me!” Bob and Paul chimed in.
    We all