More than Friends

“Me neither, but that’s how things work with us. Are you happy?”

“Of course, I am, Kitten. I’m still in shock, I guess.”

“Do you want to see the sonogram?”

“Yeah, hand it over.” He holds out his palm to me. “This time, everything will be different. I’m not missing a single doctor’s appointment.”

“Unfortunately, you missed this one, but I swear I wasn’t keeping a secret from you. I suspected I was pregnant again after I missed a period or two. Noah keeps me so busy that I couldn’t even remember my cycle. I thought it would be a fun surprise for you to have Noah announce that you’re going to be a father again.”

I pull Dean’s print out of the sonogram from my back pocket and place it in his palm. He brings it up to his face to study the picture, grinning like a fool. With Noah, I was so afraid of ruining Dean’s life that I hid the truth. Underestimating Dean was the biggest mistake I ever made.

“What is that other dot?” Dean points at the paper, holding it out to me.

“Your child.”

He peeks up at me. His expression is unreadable. “Are we having twins?”

I sigh. “Yes. Can you imagine two more just like Noah? Or like my brothers?”

Dean laughs. “I don’t know about two more like Theo and Tucker, but I want more babies like Noah.”

“Twins are a handful; I would know. I’m so glad your mom finally sold her house and is moving here to help us.”

“Me, too. Wait until I tell her. She will flip out but in a good way.” Shifting Noah to his left hip, Dean hooks his arm around me and pulls me into his chest. “Are you ready to be a big brother?” Dean asks Noah, who smiles up at him.

I never expected to fall in love with my best friend. When I met Dean our freshman year of college, I thought he was another one of my father’s fanboys. That much is still true, but he became my friend, the one person who I could talk to when I needed someone most. Now, we are a family.

After dinner, Dean offers to watch Noah, while I sink into the couch cushions and close my eyes. Dean takes Noah into his bedroom to play on the floor with some of his new toys, giving Mommy a much-needed break. Sleep has been non-existent since Noah was born. I love him to death, but I had no idea I would never sit down or get a decent night of sleep ever again. Maybe in a few years, I had told myself—until the doctor confirmed my pregnancy.

Dean is a huge help when he’s home. Too bad we spend a lot of time apart because of his hockey schedule. And I need my sleep. Now that we have two more babies on the way, I am looking forward to Dean’s mother coming to live with us now more than ever. Family is the most important thing in both of our lives.

I doze off for what I swear is only five minutes before I hear Dean talking to Noah in his baby voice. Dean is so adorable when he speaks to him in the tone he reserves only for our child. Pretending to sleep, I keep my eyes shut, but Dean has other plans. He drops to the floor next to me and places Noah on my stomach.

I turn my head to look at him. “Dean, c’mon. I need a few more minutes.”

With a good grip on the baby, he holds him in place and leans in closer. “Noah has something he wants to show you.”

“What do you want to show me, sweetie?” He has no idea what I am saying but giggles at the sound of my voice. I grab Noah’s little fingers. A silk pouch falls from his hand and onto my chest.

I look at Dean, with a curious smile on my face. “Did you get me that hockey charm we saw at the mall?”

“Nope, I got you something better.”

I tug at the tiny strings holding the bag closed, and a diamond engagement ring slides out and into my hand. My mouth widens in shock as Dean takes the ring from me.

“I…” I have trouble getting out the words. “Are we? Are you?”

He nods. “I had the perfect engagement all planned out before you told me about the twins, but you made me realize that we don’t need a grand gesture to show each other how much we love each other. Plus, Noah should be here when I ask you the most important question I will ever ask you.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” I wipe away the tears that slide down my cheeks.

Dean holds Noah with one hand and the ring in the other, staring into my eyes. “I wanted to be more than your friend after the first time we kissed. I always knew you were the one but was too afraid to ruin our friendship.”

“If not for Noah, who knows where we would be right now.”

“I would have fought for you, Kitten. I never gave up on you. I never gave up on us. Time was all we needed.”

“And now look at us.” I smile. “Can you believe we’re only twenty-five and about to have two more babies? This was not at all how I thought my future would turn out.”