“Milo, don’t repeat anything that Uncle Chase says,” she coos at the baby.
Uncle Chase.
I’m honored to be this little guy’s uncle, but I want to be a daddy. I want that more than I ever knew possible. Maybe once this all blows over, when Colton comes home, I can convince Gabby that we need to start a family. Right after I ask her to marry me.
“What are you thinking about? You have this goofy happy smile on your face.”
“You.”
“Uh-huh, sure, Casanova.” She smiles and rolls her eyes playfully. “What time do we have to be at your parents’?”
“Mom said she’ll have dinner ready at six. She has some sort of surprise for me. My guess is they’re going to offer to take Milo for the night. Give us a break.”
“I don’t really want a break,” she confesses.
“Yeah,” I agree. “He’s out. I’m going to put him in his bassinet and then maybe we can catch a quick nap as well.” I stand from the bed, carefully lifting Milo into my arms and placing him in his bassinet.
“I’ll set the alarm for three. He’ll need to eat again and that will give us time to get him fed, changed, and get ourselves together before we leave.”
Glancing at the clock, I see it’s five minutes until two. That gives us an hour. “Good plan,” I say, climbing back into bed and holding my arms open for her. She doesn’t hesitate to cradle her body against mine, allowing me to wrap her in my embrace. It feels right. She feels right. This is how I want to spend every day—with her in my arms. “Marry me.” The words are out before I can think about what I’m saying. It’s not how I thought I would propose, but it’s us.
“Wh-What?”
“Marry me. I want you here in our bed in my arms for the rest of my life.” My hand slides down to rest on her belly. “I want to make babies with you. Give Milo lots of little cousins. I want you to be my wife, Gabby.” She rolls over to face me. Cupping her face in my hands, I ask her again. “My sweet Gabrielle, will you do me the incredible honor of becoming my wife?”
Tears run unchecked down her face. “Yes,” she whispers.
It takes a couple of seconds for my brain to compute that she said yes. That Gabby is going to be my wife. Mine forever. “I love you,” I mumble against her lips before kissing her. It’s a kiss filled with promise and love. I don’t take things further; instead, I kiss her like we’re teenagers. My hands roam her body, tracing every curve that I’ve taken upon myself to memorize in such a short amount of time, while getting lost in the taste of her lips. All with the knowledge that she’s forever mine.“Shh, Uncle Chase is sleeping.” I hear Gabby whisper to a fussy Milo. “I know, let’s get this diaper changed, and get your belly full. We’re going to go see Grandma and Grandpa.”
“Hey,” I say, sitting up in bed.
“Hi, we were trying not to wake you.”
“It’s fine. I need to get up anyway. What time is it?”
“Two thirty. This little guy’s hungry. He is also in need of a diaper change. There’s a foul odor coming from his diaper.” She laughs.
“I’ll change him.” I stand to join them at the bassinet.
“It’s okay, I can,” she says, sounding funny.
I study her and realize she’s not breathing through her nose. “Why are you not breathing through your nose?”
“It’s a bad one.” She swallows hard. Her face is pale and a small bead of sweat is starting to form on her forehead.
“Let me take him. You don’t look so hot.” I take Milo from her and she’s right; the smell is foul. The worst one yet.
“I’m—” She stops talking, slaps her hand over her mouth, rushing to the bathroom before I can ask her what’s wrong.
I stand still, not sure what to do, who to take care of first. I want to help her, be there for her because she’s obviously getting sick, but the stench coming from Milo’s diaper along with his cries tells me he needs my attention too.
“Shh, it’s okay, buddy. Let’s go check on Gabby, and then we’ll get you changed.” Walking to the bathroom door, it’s cracked so I push it open with my hip. Gabby is sitting on her knees in front of the toilet. Her elbows are resting on the seat. Her color is back, but she’s still looking haggard. “Gabby, what can I do?”
“Nothing. I’ll be fine in a minute. I’m actually going to take a shower.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Yeah, it just hit me all of a sudden,” she says over Milo’s cries. “Go take care of him, I’m fine. I promise. If I need you, I’ll yell.”