“You’re going to be the best mother, favorite. And I already love this kid more than anything.”
That’s it. That’s the part that undoes me.
Any anxiety still hanging on? Gone. Any doubt trying to find a foothold? Obliterated. Because he means it. Every word.
I pull back enough to see his face. “You sure you’re ready for 3 a.m. feedings?”
He grins. “I’m ready.”
“Changing diapers?”
“I’ll figure it out.”
I laugh—relieved and overwhelmed all at once. We hold each other again, forehead to forehead, the moment stretching into something soft and sacred. Then he kisses me. Not wild kisses but slower. Sweeter. A kiss that tastes like home.
This wasn’t part of the plan. But then again, neither was Alex. And look how that turned out.
I didn’t see him coming, didn’t expect him to crash into my life.
And now, here we are—standing in our bathroom, holding hands and holding our breath, with six pink lines and a future that just rewrote itself.
I don’t know what’s coming next. We’re not ready. Not really. But we’re in this together. And right now, that’s all I need.
We’re tangled in each other—arms, smiles, soft breath between kisses—when Alex brushes his lips along my jaw. Then lower, to the place just beneath my ear that turns my spine into melted sugar.
He’s always been affectionate and generous with touch, but this is different. His hands slide beneath the hem of my shirt, slow and confident. I don’t stop him.
“You realize that this is how we got into this mess?” I say, tipping my head to the side for more.
“Well, you’re already pregnant, and it isn’t possible for me to cause any more mischief,” he says, tugging the shirt up and over my head in one easy motion.
His gaze drags over me like a touch, and he grins. “No harm, no foul, sweetheart.”
I laugh, pulling him in by the collar of his shirt.
“You’re really leaning into the whole ‘too late now’ energy.”
“Babe, it’s not possible for me to get you more pregnant.”
I barely have time to roll my eyes before his mouth is on mine—slow and deep and persuasive in a way that short-circuits every protest I could have possibly made.
He lifts me with no warning and carries me straight toward the bed.
The bathroom light glows behind us, and I can still see the three tests sitting on the counter.
I should be overwhelmed. Spinning. Worried about timing and careers and everything else that comes next.
But right now, I’m wrapped in the arms of the man I love. And I’m carrying the start of something we made together—something real. Something ours.
We’re a family now.
Chapter 34
Alex Sebring
Magnolia’s lying on the exam table, the paper liner beneath her crackling every time she shifts. Her shoes are off, the tips of her toenails painted in glossy white polish. Her leggings still sit high on her hips, her shirt knotted at her ribs. The curve of her belly is still flat but somehow already different.
I’m sitting beside her, close enough to hold her hand, not that she’s asked me to. She’s casual as ever, but I can sense it—the nerves, the energy, the buzz beneath the surface.
