“The next thing I have to tell you,” I say, putting the photos facedown on the table and dramatically sliding them across to Seamus and Amber, “is that Logan and I will kind of, sort of beat you to parenthood.”

Amber gasps, her grabby hands reaching for the photos. “Is it a sonogram?” she exclaims, ever hopeful.

“No,” I laugh, finally letting the pictures go so that she can look at them.

“Oh my god!” Amber squeals, just like me.

“That is ridiculously cute,” Seamus says, looking over Amber’s shoulder as she hastily flicks through the images.

“So cute!” Amber effuses.

“It’s a he, and I think we’ll be getting him in a few weeks,” I tell them, smiling eagerly. “Mercy, Logan’s housekeeper, got him for Logan’s birthday.”

“When was his birthday?” Seamus asks.

“Yesterday,” I say.

“How old is he?” Amber pries.

“Thirty-five,” I tell her.

“That old?” she asks with wide eyes.

I roll my eyes.

“Eight years is a lot, Gem,” she tells me.

“It’s only seven and a half, and I can handle an older man,” I grin.

“I bet you can,” she laughs. Her attention is stolen once more by the puppy pictures. “Ooh, I want one,” Amber says immediately, looking at her husband imploringly.

He shakes his head. “Baby first,” he says, “then a dog.”

“My puppy and your he-she can be friends,” I tell Amber, almost giving her what she asked me for on Monday, and she smiles back, nodding vehemently.

“Don’t you start calling the baby that too, please!” Seamus says, making me laugh.

“It’s cute,” Amber tries to convince him.

“No, it sounds like a hermaphrodite, which I highly doubt our baby will turn out to be.”

“Well, I think it’s cute,” she continues, “and darling,” she claps her hand onto Seamus’s leg, “you only have to put up with it for another eight months.”

“You’re not finding out the sex of the baby?” I ask, shocked. I was sure they’d want to know, but both of them shake their heads.“That’s very restrained of you to wait until the birth. Do you mind if I find out?” I ask cheekily, trying my luck.

“Are you going to find out what you’re having?” she asks me. “I assume that’s why you’ve come to see us this morning.”

I grin at her presumptuous nature. She certainly doesn’t give up easily. “I’m not pregnant, Amber. I confess I hoped the puppy would appease you,” I say.

“The puppy is an excellent start, but I know you, Gem, and you didn’t come over to tell me about a dog.”

“No,” I agree, then I blurt out, “I came over to tell you that Logan proposed last night.”

I realise too late that I should have had a camera on Amber to film her reaction. She screams, then claps her hands to her mouth looking at me with huge eyes, before slowly lowering her hands, allowing me to see her trembling bottom lip. She’s managed to capture a huge range of emotions within the space of only five seconds!

I laugh heartily, abruptly feeling grateful not only to have such joyous news to share, but also to have such wonderful friends to share it with.

“Don’t jump the gun, Amber,” Seamus tells her, levelheadedly. “First we need to know: did you say yes?” he asks me.

Before I can respond, Amber shrieks, “Of course she said yes!”

But Seamus waits for my confirmation. It’s with huge satisfaction that I nod, “I said yes.” Over and over again, I recall happily.

Seamus cheers loudly and stands to give me a congratulatory hug. I get to my feet to embrace him and as soon as we break apart Amber is on me, hugging me more tightly than she’s ever done before.

“I’m so happy for you, Gem,” she cries, her body shaking.

“Will you be my maid of honour?” I say quickly, asking her to perform the role that I performed at her wedding.

“Yes! Oh my god, yes,” she says, squeezing me.

Over her shoulder, I grin at Seamus. “You can be a bridesmaid if you want,” I offer him giddily.

“Hmm, let me think about that,” he says sarcastically, making me laugh, as he starts brewing us coffee. “Thanks, but no thanks, Gem. But I do second her notion — I’m very happy for you both as well. Even if it is incredibly soon,” he adds.

Amber gives him a scolding look.

“I know it’s fast,” I nod, unaffected by his comment. I then shrug, saying to Seamus, “I love him, he loves me. Why wait?”

“I think it’s a fabulous idea,” Amber tells me, and I know that at least half of her reasoning is due to the amount of shopping we’ll be doing in the coming months.

“It is a great idea,” Seamus agrees, “but it’ll still be a great idea in six months time.”

“What are you, her mom?” Amber asks her husband. “Oh my god, have you told your mom yet? She’s going to hit the roof!”

No, she’s not, I coo to myself. “Not yet. You and Logan’s best friend are the only ones to know for now,” I tell them pointedly, and they both nod their understanding. “And Seamus, I understand your concern, I just…”

“Don’t agree with it?” Amber pipes up, grinning.

I shake my head. “It’s not that. We could wait six months, or longer, I just really don’t want to. My impatience would win out, I know it would,” I laugh. “I want to be Logan’s wife as soon as I possibly can,” I say, unable to keep the enormous smile from my face as I say the words Logan’s wife.

Amber squeals again, looking as ecstatic as I feel.

Laughing at the pair of us, Seamus concedes, “It couldn’t be more obvious that this is what to you want.” He holds his hands up in surrender. “No more questions from me,” he promises. “Congrats, Gem,” he smiles, handing me my coffee. “Logan is a really great guy, and I’m sure you’ll be happy together.”

“So happy,” Amber beams.

“He, uh, asked me after I did our dance for him,” I confess to Amber. “You know, the dance?”

“You’re shitting me?”

“Nope,” I giggle.

“What dance?” Seamus asks.

“Our dance to The Best by Tina Turner,” Amber reminds him.

He cracks up, evidently having seen it too. “Logan proposed after seeing that? I nearly divorced Amber when I saw it,” he jokes.

“It’s awesome!” she and I wail together, making him laugh.

I stay for a further ten minutes, enjoying a delicious cup of coffee, over which Amber tries to convince Seamus of the merit of our dance, and then it’s time to leave. Work beckons. Or perhaps calling it sitting-at-my-cubicle-and-thinking-about-Logan-all-day would be a more accurate description of what lies ahead for me.

Gathered around the doorway once more, I ask Amber and Seamus, “Are you free tomorrow night?”

Amber shakes her head. “We’re going on a double date with Patrick and Layla,” she informs me.

Oh! “That sounds fun.”

“I would’ve asked you and your fiancé to join us,” she grins excitedly, “but I thought you had Logan’s business thingy on?”

“I do, and he said this morning that I should invite you too.”

“Damn, that would’ve been swanky,” she says, amusing me. “We definitely have to celebrate soon,” she tells me. “I’ll be good to drink again in approximately thirty-six weeks.”

“Longer with the breastfeeding,” Seamus reminds her.

“Oh, yeah…” she says, calculating a new length.

I love hearing them talk like this. I love that it’s their new normal. It’s something they’ve both wanted for years, and to be able to watch their entire journey from their very first dates to their first child, is just so cool!

“I love our little he-she already, but my social life is going to take a massive hit,” she says, as if this is only becoming apparent to her now.

Seamus rolls his eyes at her use of he-she. “This is what you’re in for when you get married,” he tells me. “Being simultaneously in love and irritated at all times.”