Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 108636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Our spot.
The place we always came together as kids.
I pull her close and kiss her deeply, tasting her tongue and mine together a million little times. Her hands pull at my hips under my jacket, and I sink mine into the pretty red hair at the sides of her head.
We breathe each other in, the lapping ocean telling its story behind us.
“I love you, Beau.”
“I love you, Juni. At midnight and ten a.m. and every other minute of the day until the end of time.”
“You know, it’s getting close to midnight right now, actually,” she whispers, and I tilt my head to the side.
“Is it?”
“Mm-hmm,” she says with a nod, her forehead moving against mine as I refuse to back up more than an inch.
I kiss her again, lingering this time and nipping at the flesh of her bottom lip with my teeth.
“And what are you going to do with this midnight that you haven’t done with the others? You’ve landed me, enthralled me, married me… What exactly are you going to do now, Mrs. Banks?”
She smiles, just a hint of excitement I can’t place behind her eyes, and then kisses me again. When I feel her rustling something out of the top of her dress, I pull back to find her holding a photo between us. She lifts it up to show me, and instantly, I realize what it is—a sonogram picture.
“Is that… Are you…? You can’t be serious.” My eyes bounce back and forth between June’s beautiful face, her belly, and the picture. “June…are you going to have my baby?”
“We’re having a baby, Beau.” Tears kiss her eyes as she nods, and I scream my excitement into the silence of the night, lifting her off her feet and swinging her around. She laughs, but me…I cry.
The two of us, we’re getting everything we’ve ever dreamed of.
June…June is getting the thing she always wanted most in the whole entire world. A family.
And I get to be a part of it.
“I love you so much, Juniper.”
“Not as much as I love you.”
“Maybe when you were thirteen that was sort of true…” I pause to kiss her again. “But not now, baby. I love you just as much as you love me. I love you more than anything.”
Three Years Later…
Juniper
Avery lifts the teacup to her lips, sipping on the imaginary tea her niece made for her. I look on from my spot in Neil and Diane’s kitchen, and Beau, Neil, and Diane work on hanging the final stocking on the mantel.
Christmas is coming up, and just like always, we’re celebrating at the Bankses’ house. Beau and I live in the house he built while we were falling in love, and our two-year-old daughter Addy is already a little beach bug. We take her paddleboarding on the weekends when she isn’t having tea parties with Aunt Avery, and by and large, all of my dreams have just about come true.
My parents still aren’t around often, but after a conversation with Beau last year, my dad is making more of an effort. For me and for Addy. We know what it’s like to have a loving support system, and we want the same for her—as many people as we can get. My mom is still too preoccupied with her search for…something, but she did visit for Addy’s birth and her first and second birthdays. She even called me on my last birthday. Not a text message, but an actual phone call that lasted for over an hour and included her taking genuine interest in my life. It’s still not a lot, but it’s more than she’s ever given me in years.
“How’s that look, Addy?” Beau asks, pointing to the stocking they’ve just hung for her soon-to-be-announced little brother.
Everyone else thinks they’re hanging it for Addy’s imaginary friend, but the truth is, in five months, he won’t be so imaginary.
I smile to myself as Beau waves me over, and I wipe my hands on the towel beside the sink to dry them before heading toward him.
Addy gives the thumbs-up while everyone chatters, and I take my spot under Beau’s strong arm as he clears his throat.
Diane and Neil look in his direction first and then Avery, and I don’t even bother to hide my smile as Beau starts to talk. “Well, now that we’ve got the stocking hung, we’ve got a little bit to be thankful for today. For family and love and midnights.”
“Oh yeah.” I nod. “Have to be thankful for midnights, especially now that we’re looking at even more midnight feedings.”
Avery narrows her eyes. “More midnight feedings? What are you guys talking about?”
“Well,” Beau says. “We know we told you this stocking is for an imaginary member of the Banks family, but next year, he’ll be pretty real.”
“What?” Diane whispers, tears hitting her eyes. “You’re… Junebug, you’re going to have another baby? And he’ll…? It’s a boy?”