I put her down on her feet, both of us dizzy from the spin. “Are you sure?” I question, desperately pushing her hair back off so I can see that beautiful face.
She nods, and I pull her in, crushing her against my chest. “This is incredible,” I say in amazement. “You’re really having my baby? You and me, we’re really doing this?”
Amelia’s nodding becomes quicker as she bites down on her lip, holding back a wolfish grin as she tries to work me out. “You’re really not mad?” she questions, struggling to believe what’s right in front of her very eyes.
“No, Angel. Why the hell would I be mad? We’re going to have a baby. The second I saw you, all I could envision was you having my baby one day, and now that day is here.”
“I know, but with Jessa also being pregnant … you know? I wasn’t sure if this is something you’d want, or that you were ready for.”
“Screw Jessa,” I say, unable to hold back my delight and end up spinning her around again. “Why are you letting her ruin this for you? Enjoy it. You should be celebrating, not coming here with tears in those beautiful eyes. We made a baby. Coby and Ryan are going to have another sister or brother. This is the best news I’ve ever heard.”
“Really?” she laughs, finally letting that grin spread wide across her face. “You want this with me? We’ll be a real family.”
“Yeah, babe. I know we’ll have some kinks to work out with Jessa, but we’ll make it work.” My hands fall to her stomach. “Fuck, Angel. I feel as though I already love this little guy.”
“Little guy?” she laughs. “Are you hoping for a boy?”
“I don’t know,” I say. “We’ve already got two girls. A boy would be cool, but I can picture myself being surrounded by girls who insist on making my life difficult.”
“Who knows?” she grins with her eyes beaming. “Maybe you’ll end up with one of each.”
“That would be incredible, but really, I’m just blessed to be having any kids of my own, especially one with you.”
“You think we can handle two babies?”
“We can handle anything,” I tell her. “There’s no doubt that at times it’ll be hard, especially those nights where we have both babies. But you’ve gone through two of your own and know exactly what you’re doing. You can teach me along the way, and I swear, I’m going to be the best daddy to all four of our babies”
Amelia sinks into me, throwing her arms around my neck. “Oh, thank God,” she sighs. “I was so worried. I thought you were going to freak out like you did when you found out that Jessa was pregnant and then I was worried that you’d run because it’d be too hard.”
“Never. I could never leave you like that. Hell, I couldn’t leave Ryan and Coby either. I love them as though they were my own. You guys are my family now, even more so now that we’re having a child of our own.”
Amelia pushes up onto her tippy-toes before crushing her lips to mine, and just to make things a little easier, I curl my arms around her waist and lift her to me. I kiss her deeply, unable to tear myself away from her as she wraps her legs around my waist.
Fuck me, if only I could show her my appreciation for what she’s about to go through so we can have this baby. There’s no doubt that pregnancy isn’t easy, and she’s proved that already with the way she’s been throwing up over the last five days. Maybe she never had food poisoning at all. Maybe Zoey isn’t as shit of a cook as we’ve all accused her of. Though, I’m sure she’s bound to come searching for a grand, over-the-top apology now.
When Amelia and I finally come up for air, she leans her forehead against mine. “You realize you just stuck your tongue down my throat after I threw up my pickled cucumbers?”
“Really? Is that what that taste was?” I tease.
“Yuck,” she laughs, swatting my chest. “You’re so gross.”
“You love it,” I grin. Amelia nods before a strange look crosses her face. “What is it?”
“I just … I guess I’m just curious why you freaked out so much with Jessa, but you’re not freaking out now?”
With Amelia’s legs still wrapped around my waist, I turn and start walking back to the station. “Because you’re not Jessa. She comes with a world of uncertainty, and I’ll have to deal with not knowing my baby is safe every time she has custody. She’ll make every pick up and drop off hell, just as Bryce does to you, and she’ll do whatever she can to turn my baby against me just for something to do. Co-parenting with her for the next twenty years of my life is going to be the worst ride of my life, but it’s worth it because I get a child out of it. But with you …” I say, pausing long enough to annoy her.