It's Our Time (Carolina Rebels 3)
“Wait. What are you hoping for?” I’m confused now.
“What do you want it to be?” he asks, running his nose from my ear to the crook of my neck.
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “On the one hand, I worry about the timing. On the other hand, I worry I’ll be disappointed. I love being a mom and I want Savannah to have a little brother and for you to experience everything you missed with me and another baby, but fuck, Ian. What if it’s too soon for us to handle something like that? We’re solid, but what if we’re not that solid? And we’re supposed to get married while I look like a whale? Tell me what you’re thinking.” I turn sideways in his lap to look at him.
He’s quiet for all of a second. “A little brother, huh?”
I hang my head dramatically before lifting it. “That’s what you took away from that? Were you even listening to me?”
He laughs. “I was listening. I heard a bunch of nonsense. Babe—”
“You know what?” I interrupt. “Don’t say it. I’m just anxious, tired, nauseous, and ready to find out one way or another. We’re going to be fine because you love me, I love you, and neither one of us are going anywhere. So, just hold me until it’s time to look.”
The most brilliant smile overtakes Ian’s face. He leans forward and kisses me hard. He drives me insane as his tongue moves slow and leisurely and then fast and almost rough. I’m so lost in his kiss that I jump when the timer on his phone goes off. I glare at him when he laughs.
“Do you want to do the honor or should I?” he asks.
“Us together.”
I lean forward, take a deep breath, and grab the test. Ian grabs my chin, forcing me to look at him. I expect him to say something, but instead he kisses me quickly just once. Then, we glance down.
Pregnant.
“We’ll have to move,” Ian says.
“What?” I look up at him. That’s such an odd thing to say.
“It’s a two-bedroom apartment, babe.” He grins. “Baby Rhett needs a room, too.” Oh, right. Duh. “This is going to be so much fun.”
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I laugh. “Yeah. Me being miserable for a few weeks at the least is totally fun.”
“I’ll be your butler, gorgeous, don’t you worry. When do we get to tell Savannah and everyone else?”
“Let’s wait until after I go to the doctor. We’ll tell Savannah once I start showing, I guess. So, you’re excited?” It’s obvious to me, but I want to hear him say it.
“Honest answer or the tame answer?”
“Since when do you give me a tame answer?”
He laughs. “Good point. I think I’m more excited about this than you marrying me.”
My eyes nearly pop out of my head. “Ian! That’s just wrong!” Isn’t it?
“What? You were a sure thing that I knew was going to happen. I didn’t know I was going to have another kid. If you don’t want to be a whale when we get married, then you better get moving on finding a dress. If it’s going to be really small, then we don’t need to do a lot of planning, right? Whenever the season ends, we’ll give everyone a few weeks notice and get married then. Why are you frowning, babe?”
“Because it kinda sounds like we’re rushing so no one will know that I was pregnant when we got married.”
“That’s not why. You know it. Everyone who will be there will know it. Anyone else doesn’t matter.”
I sigh. “You know the woman is supposed to always be right and not the man?”
The stupidest grin ever appears. “Can’t help it, gorgeous. Some days, it’s you. Most days, it’s me.” I laugh and he takes the test from my hand, putting it back on the counter. “So, we have a plan?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” He kisses my forehead. “Come take my nap with me.”