When Constellations Form (Light in the Dark 4)

“Deal,” he echoes, shaking my hand and grinning, his eyes bright.

I think I just got pregnant again from that look alone—five kids might be out of my control.

Xander

We shake on it, and the deal is done.

Thea doesn’t know it now, but I’m confident we’re going to have to more than two kids. Once this baby is here, she’s going to fall in love and want a house full of babies, I know it, and I’m going to be more than happy to give them to her.

She wipes her crumbs off her hands and stands up. “What’s upstairs?”

I smirk, looking her up and down—because she’s my wife, and she looks cute in a pair of shorts and a tight white top that stretches over her growing belly.

“You’ll see.” I stand and lead her up the stairs.

Her eyes scan the cabin as we go upstairs—I splurged renting it for the weekend, but I wanted to check the place out, because I think maybe, if Thea’s on board, I want to buy it.

I want a place for us and the baby to be able to go, and our friends and family too. Sometimes you just need to get away from the craziness and this place allows for that. It’s quiet, and in the middle of the woods.

In the summer, there are pools and spas on the main property, and in the winter you can go snowboarding.

Sounds like heaven to me.

Normally, I’m the more practical one, while Thea’s not, but I know in this instance, chances are she’s not going to agree with me.

I lead her down the hall and to the master bedroom. It’s large, not as large as ours at home, though, with an attached bathroom. It has double doors leading out onto a deck that looks out back to a lake. Thea hasn’t even seen the lake yet.

“I’m getting spoiled. First Greece and now this.”

I smile back at her. “My first game is soon, and this is our anniversary, so I just wanted to get away.” I shrug. “Chances are, we won’t get away again before the baby’s born.”

She inhales a soft little gasp. Anytime I mention the baby being born she does that. I think it scares her to realize how close we actually are to having a baby—she’s still in the early part of her second trimester, which makes it seem like we have time, but when you start looking at everything, we really don’t.

“Things are going to get busy soon,” she says instead.

I wish she wouldn’t do that—I wish she’d be honest about how she feels instead of bottling it inside. She’s going to explode one of these days. But that’s Thea, always thundering ahead.

I take her hand and lead her to the bathroom.

I don’t turn on a light, because covering the bathroom floor and counters are hundreds of little candles.

They were a bitch to light, but seeing the look of awe on Thea’s face makes it all worth it.

I wanted to curse and stomp around trying to do it, but I kept my cool so I wouldn’t ruin the surprise.

It was worth it.

The look on her face is everything.

“Xander,” she murmurs, looking around the space, her skin glowing from the reflection of the candles. “This is amazing.”

Her eyes land on the bathtub, it’s large, room enough for the both of us. I’ve filled it with warm water—but not too warm, since her doctor said that was a no-no—added bubbles, and peony petals on top. I know roses are the norm, but peonies are Thea’s favorite. There’s a small wooden table stretched over the bathtub and I’ve managed to sneak some snacks up here without her seeing. I even have a lemon and a knife to cut it. The rest of the snacks consist of cheese and crackers. Glasses of ice water round out the display, since Thea can’t drink and I don’t like rubbing it in her face. Plus, she wouldn’t take too kindly to it.

“I love you.” She wraps her arms around my neck and stretches up on her tiptoes to kiss me.

“I love you, too,” I whisper back, rubbing my nose against hers. My fingers graze her back where her shirt has ridden up and she shivers.

Her eyes are bright and happy as she looks up at me, and I feel an immense sense of satisfaction because I put that look in her eyes.