Bought For Love

“We didn’t have sex until our wedding night, a little more than three weeks ago, and my wife was a virgin,” Miles jumped in to explain for me.

“Ah, yes. I can see how the timing would be confusing, then,” the doctor replied with a nod of her head. “We consider the development of pregnancy to start at the first day of the woman’s last normal menstrual period. The development of the fetus doesn’t begin until conception, which is about two weeks later. So it looks like the timing lines up perfectly for conception on your wedding night or shortly thereafter.”

I was in a daze—the conversation between Miles and the doctor swirling around me while I sat there and nodded every once in a while, even though I wasn’t quite following what was being said. It wasn’t long before Miles was helping me down from the exam table and leading me out of the doctor’s office to our waiting car. He helped me into the back before following me inside.

“Are you feeling up to stopping at the bookstore?” he asked as the driver pulled away from the curb.

“Sure. I guess so.”

He leaned forward to instruct the driver to stop on our way home and tangled his fingers with mine when he settled back onto his seat. “You’ve been awfully quiet. Are you upset about the news that you’re pregnant?”

“Upset about being pregnant?” It was almost physically painful to repeat his question. Like a stab in the heart. My hand pressed over my chest for a moment and then drifted down to my stomach. “No. Not upset. Just trying to wrap my head around the idea of being a mom in less than nine months.”

His lips tilted up in a smug grin, and his chest practically puffed up in pride. “I knocked you up on the first try.”

I swatted at his arm. “Did you miss the part where she said it could’ve been during the start of our honeymoon?”

He shrugged his wide shoulders. “What can I say? My swimmers were on a mission, and they didn’t let me down. Even if it took them a couple extra days to get the job done. Either way, I’ll take it, because the important thing is that my wife is pregnant with my baby.”

“So you’re happy about the news? No worries? No moments of doubt?”

“I’m fucking thrilled about it, sweetheart.” He leaned toward me and captured my lips in a sweet kiss that left me dizzy when he lifted his head. “My only worries are for you and our baby. It’s my job to make sure you’re both happy and healthy, which is why I wanted to stop at the bookstore…so I could grab a few pregnancy books. The sooner I know what to expect, the sooner I can fulfill my husbandly and daddy duties.”

“You’re going to be really good at this, aren’t you?”

“The fucking best,” he breathed against my ear. “Best husband. Best dad. Best whatever the fuck you need me to be, so you know you can open up and trust me to take care of the both of you.”

My head jerked back so I could search his face. Determination blazed at me from his blue eyes, and his jaw was squared. There was no denying he meant what he was saying. For whatever incomprehensible reason, he’d set his sights on me being his wife and he was serious about giving me what I needed to get comfortable in our relationship. To depend on him. To fall even harder for him than I already had. The certainty I felt in that moment had me opening up to him about all the worries swirling around my brain.

“I’m wondering how being pregnant will impact my plans to go to college. The decision to go was recent, but I was super excited about it. And now I’m not sure it’ll be possible.”

“Of course it’s possible, Emma,” he interjected. “Whatever you want, we’ll figure out a way to make it happen.”

I dropped my head onto his shoulder and snuggled in. “Maybe possible wasn’t the right word. I think what I should have said is that I’m not sure it’s even what I’ll want anymore. It’s not like I need the degree, and spending my days studying while someone else takes care of our baby would be so difficult.”

“I’ve already made more money than we’ll ever be able to spend in our lifetime. And the new system I’m gearing up to roll out soon will make us even richer.” An odd expression crossed his face, but it cleared up too quickly for me to figure out exactly what it was. “The biggest advantage to all that wealth is the choices it offers us. I’d love for you to be home with our children, as long as it’s what you want for yourself and them, too. And if you want to go to college, I’ll gladly pay the tuition, make a huge-ass donation to NYU to make sure you have as flexible a schedule as is humanly possible, and hire a fleet of the best staff in the world to help us take care of our family around the clock if that’s what it takes. Housekeepers, nannies, drivers. Whatever we need to get the job done.”