“Oh my God,” she says, looking around. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I know, I don’t have to. I want to. There is nothing more I want in my life than to have you as my wife.”
“Is she going to say no?” I hear Alex who looks over at Julia, who just smiles.
“Nah, she’s too in love with him to say no,” Julia says, shaking her head.
“So what do you say?” I look at her, and she bends down, putting her hands on my face.
“You can’t take it back,” she warns, kissing my lips.
“Never,” I assure her, slipping the ring on her finger.
“I guess this means I’m his sister-in-law.” Everyone chuckles at Julia’s remark as I stand and take Jillian in my arms.
“Who knew a blind date with Zander would lead to the love of my life,” she says, looking down at the ring on her finger. “Later, we can discuss how much this ring cost.”
Chapter 38
Jillian
“How did they take it?” Julia asks from her side of the table while picking at the fruit bowl I just set out. It’s a nice day, so we are lounging by the pool area.
I shrug. “I think good. What was I supposed to do? Maternity leave was six weeks, and I would have to be back right at the start of school.” My voice trails off. “I just don’t know how I would be able to leave the baby that soon.”
“Hey,” Julia says. “You have the opportunity to stay home, you stay home.”
“I want to be a stay-at-home mom,” Alex says from the couch area right off the table. When the pool was installed, I thought it was nice, only to come home two days later to find another construction crew. This time, they were making a shaded area for the baby. When that was done, Michael had someone come in and do a whole kitchen area because heaven forbid there isn’t a sink and fridge out there.
The back door opens, and I look up to see Michael in shorts and a top with a white baseball hat. “There’s my girl.” Walking to me, he bends to kiss my lips and then rubs my stomach.
“Whoa,” Dylan says from behind him, dressed in the same attire since they went to play golf this morning. “That is a lot of skin.” I sit back in the chair and rub my stomach. I’m seven days overdue and miserable. I swear I don’t know how much longer I can do it. He puts his hands on his hips. “Can that like explode at one point?” He does the sound of a bomb going off, making me chuckle and look down.
“You’re such an idiot.” Alex sits up and comes to sit next to me.
“It’s an honest question, Alex,” he says, and she shakes her head, grabbing his hat off his head and then walks over to the pool. “Alex,” he calls her name, and she looks over, right before she steps into the pool. “The washing machine shrank your bottoms again.” We laugh at him while she flips him the bird.
“How are you feeling?” Michael sits in the chair next to me and grabs a strawberry.
“Babygeddon is in your hands,” Julia says, getting up. “I’m going to take a nap.” She gets up and walks into the house. Ever since my due date has come and gone…actually, when I turned thirty-six weeks, it’s been all hands on deck. Michael refuses for me to be alone at all. If I’m up, someone has to be up with me. If he’s not with me, he has someone come and sit with me. Come to think of it, it’s the only thing we argue about.
Dylan gets up from his chair to come eat some fruit with us at the table. “Where is your necklace?” He tries not to laugh.
“That was a good idea,” Michael defends, shaking his head while I glare at him. The day he brought it home was the day we had our first full-blown, slamming-the-door-at-him sort of fight. I didn’t talk to him for a full twenty-four hours, and it was hell for both of us.
“Bringing me a Life Alert necklace was the stupidest thing you’ve ever done,” I hiss at him.
“It was in case you fell, and I didn’t hear you.” Michael tries to plead his case again, but I stand in front of him.
“Michael, if I fell, the house would shake,” I grit between clenched teeth and start to storm away when I feel a gush come out.
“Oh my God,” I say mid-step. Michael springs out of his chair. Alex stops moving and looks over, and Dylan flies out of his chair.
“What is that?” Dylan points at the puddle of water around my feet and running down my legs. He puts his hands to his mouth and gags. “I’m going to throw up.” Michael just stands there, his face turning white like a ghost. “Oh my God, why is it still coming out?”