Rock-a-Bye, Baby

She shrugged and looked away. “You’ve been really distant, and you didn’t want to talk to me, and then I heard that woman—”

I placed a finger on her lips to stop her rambling, then replaced it with my mouth for a long, sweet kiss. “Haven’t I made it clear that we’re forever?” I inquired softly when we parted.

“I just thought maybe you’d changed your mind.”

I climbed into bed next to her and scooted my back until it was supported by the headboard. Then I dragged her into my lap, so she was sitting sideways and leaning against my chest.

“Never,” I reassured her with a tender kiss on her temple. My arms tightened around her.

“If you weren’t sick, I would strip you down right now and remind you that you’re mine. Will always be mine.”

“I’m not sick. I’m pregnant.”

I froze, not sure I’d heard her correctly. “Pardon?” I croaked.

“I’m pregnant.”

“With a baby?” I don’t know what possessed me to ask that question.

Belle sat up and observed me with a wry expression. “No, with a snapdragon. Yes, a baby!”

“Holy shit!” I crowed suddenly, startling her into falling off my lap. “Sorry, baby,” I apologized with a grin as I lifted her back into place. “A baby! Hot damn. The woman I love is carrying my fucking baby!”

Belle gasped, and my gaze whipped to hers. I didn’t understand her reaction. Was she upset about the baby?

“The woman you love?”

I frowned, confused at her tone. “Yeah.”

“You’ve um”—she swallowed hard—“You’ve never told me you love me.”

My eyebrows shot up, probably lost in my hairline. “What?” Son of a bitch. No wonder she hadn’t been convinced I was all in. I cradled her face in my hands and stared into her warm, chocolate eyes. “I love you more than anything, baby. More than my next breath.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks, but she smiled radiantly. “I love you, too.”

“Then why are you crying?”

She shrugged and laughed. “Dumb hormones.” Her expression faltered, and she cocked her head to the side. “Wait, we haven’t figured out the whole living in two states thing,” she said warily.

With a sheepish shake of my head, I admitted, “I wanted to surprise you but apparently, I suck at this shit.”

I explained about rushing to get the album done and ironing out the details of the contract with The Lennox and The Artemis. Her eyes had grown wide and were filled with hope and love.

“What about Rising Phoenix?”

“Believe it or not, the guys are all ready to be settled down, at least for a while. Bex had a weird requirement to add to the contract, so it’s with our lawyer. Otherwise, we would have signed already. We might go on short tours from time to time, three-month stints at the very most. But I’ll only go if you’re able to get away and come with me.”

Her pink lips formed a cute little O, and she stared at me in wonder. “You’d give up touring to be with me?”

“I’d give up everything to be with you.”

Epilogue

Belle

One year later

I barely resisted the urge to swipe my finger through the frosting while I stared in awe at the four-tier cake Ariel had made for my first wedding anniversary. It was the perfect blend of Griffith and me, with lavender flowers, black musical notes etched into the sides, and a guitar-themed, Mr. and Mrs. cake topper. “You outdid yourself this time. I think this is the most gorgeous cake you’ve ever made.”

“Yay! I’m so glad you like it.” Ariel clapped her hands together and grinned. “I was having a hard time coming up with the perfect gift since your hubby loves to spoil you. Then I thought about how I didn’t have the chance to make you the perfect cake when you got married since he rushed you to the altar. Your anniversary seemed like the perfect opportunity to rectify that travesty.”

Coming from anyone else, calling the two-tier cake she’d whipped up for us a year ago a travesty would’ve been an exaggeration. But Ariel was serious about her pastries, which came in handy since she was in charge of all the wedding cakes for The Chapel of Dreams. She loved baking and it showed, which was one of the things that helped put our little chapel on the map.

“It’s not my fault we got married the day after Griffith came back to Vegas.” I pointed towards Knox, who was holding my four-month-old baby girl. “You have your darling niece to thank for that. If I hadn’t been so exhausted when I told her daddy about being pregnant, he would’ve carried me down to the chapel and talked Aurora into bumping whoever else was getting married to another time so we could take their spot.”

“You’re half right. I did wait a day because of how you were feeling, but Cyra wasn’t the reason I wanted to get married so quickly. That was all your doing,” Griffith murmured as he came up and wrapped his arms around me. “After hearing you say you loved me, I couldn’t wait to get my rings on your finger so every motherfucker around would know you’re taken.”