“No. I’m not scared. I’m excited. You and I are going to be parents.”
“But it’s a bit up in the air, isn’t it? This is going to change things.”
He wraps his arms tightly around me and leans down to kiss me gently. “Of course it will change things, but it just takes us one step closer to our dream by the ocean. We’ll just have the kids before the cottage. That’s all.”
I toss my head back and laugh. I knew that Jace would be able to make me feel better. “I guess so.”
“This is wonderful. And it isn’t soon, is it? We’ve been together for a long time… on and off.”
“On and off?” I chuckle, liking his point of view. “That’s one way to put it.”
“Well, we know that we’re going to be together anyway, don’t we?”
“Yeah, I guess we do now, don’t we? You and me against the world.”
“So, you don’t need to be nervous. It’s going to be just fine. You and I can do anything. We have been through so much already, bad stuff. This is good. Great news actually. We will be just fine.”
He kisses me once more, sweetly and passionately all at once. I find his happiness contagious and it’s seeping into me as well. It will be good for Jace and me, we are going to be together forever, and we have nine months to come to terms with it. It’s going to be fine. I have this wonderful man by my side, life is perfect.
“I love you so much, Addie,” he murmurs to me. “And you will make a wonderful mother.”
“I hope you’re right. I’m going to need all the baby books in the world to prepare me.”
He grabs my cheeks and kisses me softly, reassuring me with his lips. I fall into him, loving him desperately. This moment started off terrifying and ended up amazing, all because of him. He really is my perfect man.
T he next few days pass in a blur. I get a lot of morning sickness, that’s what sent me flying home from work on that very first day when I discovered the life growing inside of me, but I can cope with that. The hardest thing is keeping it from everyone at work. I don’t want them to know just yet. Not until I’ve had the first ultrasound. If Luke is still after my job, then this will be amazing ammo for him. By now, I might even let him take it…
“What is going on?” Luci asks me impatiently. “You have a weird look on your face.”
“I know that you and Jace have sorted things out now, and I’m really glad about that, but there’s something I need to tell you.” This is going to be hard, I’m terrified of her reaction. “Something has happened.”
“Are you married?” she immediately jumps in. “Did you get hitched in secret without me?”
She doesn’t look mad about it, just annoyed that I didn’t invite her to this mystery wedding which doesn’t surprise me. I know she’d want to be there for it. Hopefully the real news will be less bad.
“No, that isn’t it. Actually, I just found out that I’m pregnant.”
I thought that by saying it quickly, it would be easier for her to hear, but now I’m not so sure. As I watch her face race through a range of emotions, I regret my choice. Maybe easing her in would have been better.
“Was this planned?” she demands.
“Er,, no not exactly. We just weren’t always careful.
“Is it good news?” Her eyes run desperately all over my face.
“Yeah… I mean I was scared at first, but Jace was just over the moon.”
“Oh wow, so this is really awesome then.”
I smile widely. “Yeah, it is. I’m really happy about it now.”
She holds my hand and gives me a lovely smile. “I’m happy for you. I’m so glad that you’re sorted out now. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy. I just wasn’t sure that Jace could do that for you. Turns out, he can.”
Having her blessing is amazing. I just love it. It makes everything so much easier. Since I don’t really have my family in my life, she’s the closest thing I have and I’m glad that we’re all good now.
“So, I’m going to be an aunt now,” she teases. “I guess we’re going to have to go baby shopping soon.”
“I need to have an ultrasound first, but yes, I will need you for that.”