Obsessed with a Daddy

?

“About that…” She turned her phone away from the door and lowered her voice. “I just met this—amazing guy.”

“He must be pretty amazing if he’s taking a shower at your place!” It was my turn to look surprised.

“Check this out…” She moved the phone towards the bed.

“Is that a kilt!?” I blinked in surprise. “Where did you find a guy that wears a kilt in Georgia?”

“That’s a really long story—I’ll have to tell you sometime.” She grinned and then immediately looked towards the bathroom door. “He’s done—I gotta go. Can I call you later?”

“You better!” I laughed and shook my head. “I want to hear all about this!”

“I want to hear more about Everette…” She batted her eyelashes.

“We’ll talk.” I reached down to end the call.

Two weeks later

“Merry Christmas.” I crawled over and put a present in Everette’s lap.

“I told you not to get me anything,” he groaned and picked up the box.

“Just open it…” I gave him a nudge.

“You have to open your present first.” He pushed a box towards me.

“Somebody open something.” My father leaned forward and motioned to the two of us. “We can’t have breakfast until you do.”

Everette decided to join my family for the annual Christmas morning present exchange in the Pierce household. We were going to his parents’ house after lunch to do presents with them. He told me not to buy him anything, but I couldn’t resist the urge to buy him something. I got him a new stethoscope that had was engraved with the word Daddy. It was innocent enough, but nobody would know that there was more behind it than the baby that was growing inside me. My parents thought it was cute. Everette knew what it really meant—and then he urged me to open my present. It was a locket with our first sonogram picture—and a place for our baby on the other side when it was actually born.

“Thank you; I love it.” I leaned over and hugged him.

“Alright, can we have breakfast now?” my father growled under his breath and started to stand.

“Hold on.” My mother put her hand on his arm.

“What? Oh!” He seemed to catch whatever drift she was sending his way.

“Holly…” Everette shifted to his knees and reached into his pocket. “I’ve got one more gift for you.”

“What?” I blinked in surprise. “I already got my present…”

“Not this one.” He pulled out a small square box—and then he shifted so that he was on one knee.

“Oh my god!” I jerked my hands to my mouth when he opened the box, and I saw a beautiful diamond ring.

“Holly Abigail Pierce.” He cleared his throat. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes!” I didn’t hesitate—at all.

I held out my hand, and Everette slid the ring on it. It was amazing, and the way it reflected in the lights from the Christmas tree made it look like it was surrounded in a kaleidoscope of color. I finally got enough composure to look towards my parents. My mother was beaming—my father was actually smiling. I hugged Everette, and he pulled me to my feet. My parents were the next to demand hugs. I hugged both of them, and then my mother hugged my brand new fiancé.

Everette extended his hand to my father—a handshake was probably better than a hug considering the lingering tension, but to my surprise, my father actually pulled him in for a hug. It was brief, but it was a start. I let my parents leave the room first and kissed Everette as soon as they were out of sight. It was just a short, sweet kiss—anything more than that, and the baby hormones would have taken over, and we would have been skipping breakfast entirely.

“Perfect timing on this…” I looked down at the ring.

“Oh yeah?” He raised an eyebrow.