Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64527 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64527 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
I smacked his arm, pointing to the black-haired head of our son, who now sat on the floor with Bucky.
“Oh, come on. First of all, he didn’t hear anything, and secondly, he wouldn’t understand it even if he did.”
I still shook my head, moving him off to the side. “Get out of my way, you rogue, while I finish dinner.”
I pushed him out of the kitchen anyway, maneuvering my way around the stove as I made the Bolognese sauce, pasta, and salad. It had quickly become one of his favorite dishes that I made, and Nick loved it too, taking after his dad in yet another way.
I got everything ready, setting the sauce to reduce and pulling the pasta out of the pot as Dillon told me about his newest gig, and I told him about some of the newest clients I’d gotten from some neighboring towns. Finally, everything was ready, and I had to pee like a racehorse. “Hey, babe? Will you come here and keep an eye on the sauce while I go to the bathroom?”
“Sure.” He came over behind me, kissing me on the shoulder as he stirred the sauce while I went over to the bathroom.
I shut the door and pulled out the package I’d gotten at the pharmacy, feeling a new kind of fluttering in my stomach. When I’d found out that I was pregnant with Nicky, the only things I could feel were overwhelmed and terrified, and not just because I had no idea how Dillon was going to react to the news. I’d known Alex was still out there, and the thought of bringing a baby into the world while I was being hunted had been such a horrifying thought that I couldn’t even feel excited about the news, even though underneath it all, I had been excited.
I’d always wanted to be a mom, and as shitty as the timing was, I’d just found out I was going to be one, but Alex had stolen that feeling from me along with everything else he’d taken.
Now, things couldn’t be more different. Dillon and I had talked about having another baby for a while; we didn’t want there to be too big of an age difference between Nicky and his sibling. And even though we’d only started really trying a few months ago, I was already late enough for it to make a difference.
I knew that Dillon wanted a girl, but personally, I didn’t care. I just wanted the baby we were meant to have.
I took the test and set it on the sink before washing my hands and setting the timer for two minutes. Whatever happened would be okay; if I was pregnant, it would be great news, and if I wasn’t, we’d just keep trying. I couldn’t help wringing my hands, though, as I waited for the timer to go off.
When it did, I bit down on my lip hard as I left it there and walked out of the bathroom, heading back to the kitchen, where Dillon and Nicky were playing some kind of game on the floor of the kitchen.
“Hey, babe, there’s something up with the toilet,” I said, keeping my face as straight as I could as I took my spot at the stove. “Would you please go check on it?”
He headed down the hallway toward the bathroom. I stirred the pot a couple more times as I heard the toilet flush, and I heard him call, “The toilet’s fine! What—”
His sentence cut off, and I finally allowed myself a smile.
He came out, holding the pregnancy test with a disbelieving look on his face. “Babe? This is for real, right?”
I turned to him, smiling, and nodded without saying a word. He came up to me and picked me up, pressing his face to mine as my tears started flowing, mingling with his. He kissed my tears away, before pressing his forehead to mine. “Try to make a girl.”
I laughed. “I’ll get right on it.”
He laughed too before setting me down and calling, “Nicky!”
Our son toddled over to us, looking confused.
“Nicky, how would you like to have a baby sister or brother?”
His eyes widened, and he looked from his father to me. I leaned down and took his little hands, setting them on my belly. “Mommy is going to have a baby. Does that make you happy?”
“Baby!” The shout was so loud and happy that it shocked us, but we both started laughing and crying happy tears, sweeping our son up into our arms.