Matt (Mail-Order Brides For Christmas)

“That’s not the reaction I expected,” he says.

“Me neither,” I manage between hiccups. “I’m just--I just didn’t know how I was going to manage being a wife and mother and performing, and I’m so lucky that I keep getting opportunities like this.”

“You deserve them all, my love,” Matt says, and kisses me on the cheek.

“Mama, why cry?” Joy looks at me pointedly, her pink lips pouting in an exaggerated frown.

I laugh and pick her up. “Happy cry, baby,” I say, pressing my lips to her smooth forehead.

I get my paycheck and we head back home. I still feel like I’m on cloud nine. How could life get any better than this? I wonder. Then, I realize that I know the answer.

“Matt,” I say, tugging on his hand for him to stop walking. Joy is fast asleep in her stroller, worn out from the morning’s activities.

He looks at me, and the sunlight sparkling in his bluer-than-blue eyes still makes my breath catch. “What’s up?”

“I have something to tell you,” I say, grabbing his hands.

He raises a brow. “Is it a good something?”

I giggle. “A great something. I didn’t want to tell you until I was sure, but I took another test this morning, and… well, I’m pregnant again.”

His eyes widen almost comically, and he cups my face with his hands. “Really?” he breathes.

I nod, feeling another wave of tears prickling at my eyes. I’ll blame it on the early-pregnancy hormones. “Really really.”

Matt grins and gathers me into his arms. We stand like this for a while, swaying gently back and forth, as the sun shines overhead and our beautiful daughter naps peacefully in her stroller. I wish I could capture this moment and live in it forever, but I know, too, that the future will be better than I can even imagine.

Matt kisses me gently. “I love you, Mrs. Mistletoe,” Matt whispers against my lips.

“I love you, too,” I say. I place a hand on my belly, already excited to meet our future son or daughter, already excited to grow our beautiful, perfect family and our beautiful, perfect life. I take Matt’s hand, and he grabs the stroller. “Now let’s go home.”

THE END