“Really?” Eddie raised the package to his ear and gave it a little shake. He was stalling for time while he tried to guess its contents. “How so?”
Margot shrugged one thin shoulder. “I just wanted to take something off your plate,” she explained. “You’ve taken charge of so much for us.” She reached across the table to wiggle one of Annabella’s exposed toes. “Didn’t he?” she crooned. “Anyway, I remember that it was always such a relief to see that you’d thought of so
mething when I was too preoccupied to even see straight. Sooo I thought I’d surprise you.”
“A surprise?” Eddie repeated. Normally he would have had some idea of what was coming, but this morning he found himself at a complete loss. Maybe Margot wasn’t the only one who needed espresso to resume normal brain function. As if reading his mind, Margot rose to refill his own coffee mug as Eddie tore into the delivery one-handed.
“Baby announcements,” he marveled as soon as he had cleared the packaging away. “Margot, I completely forgot about even ordering these.”
“I know.” Margot grinned. “What do you think of my design?”
“You did these yourself?” Eddie fanned a hand along the announcements. The more intently he looked, the more he thought he could identify Margot’s artistic stamp, and the touch that made her such a highly sought-after architect: the announcements were elegant and utilitarian, the words traced in soft silvers and grays on raised type. They were as gorgeous to look at as they were to feel, and they were completely unlike any birth announcements Eddie had ever personally received. “No powderpuff pink?” he joked. Of course Margot would forgo what would be expected.
“Look closer,” she encouraged.
Eddie drew Annabella in against his chest and leaned in to read the announcement. His sleep-deprived brain had glossed over everything except the name of their daughter; now, he saw the full message.
Mr. and Mrs. Jameson would like to invite you to join them in welcoming baby Annabella into the world.
“Mister and Misses…” He still couldn’t comprehend what he was reading. “Margot, did you mean to…?”
“Announce our marriage alongside the birth?” Margot came around the table with his coffee, and Eddie shifted Annabella so that his wife could seat herself on his thigh. She set his mug down and kissed his cheek. “Of course I did.”
“I…” Eddie was choked for words. He glanced between his child and the woman he loved, and couldn’t think of what he was meant to say – he, Eddie Jameson, semi-famous ad exec and formerly notorious party boy. The guy who could talk his way into, and out of, anything, had expended every word that might possibly describe how he was feeling in that moment.
Margot giggled, and swooped in to plant another quick kiss. “You should see your face right now,” she murmured. “It’s so cute. Almost as cute as our daughter.”
Eddie’s eyes burned with emotion. When Margot tried to steal another peck, he leaned in and captured her lips with his own. She sighed against his mouth and leaned in, threading her arms around the back of his neck. “I love you, Mrs. Jameson,” he murmured.
“I love you, Mr. Jameson,” she returned.
Between them, the biggest surprise of all – the one who had arrived unexpectedly, and brought their beautiful family together – slept on.