“Jesus, Lana, you’re so fucking beautiful.” He sets a steady rhythm and, with easy thrusts, pushes me forward a bit. God, I need to feel owned right now. I need to feel like we belong to each other. I rest my cheek on the bed, put both my hands on my lower back, and let him take over.
He wraps his large hands around my wrists, holding them in place as he slaps my ass and takes me faster. An unexpected orgasm rips through me, and I moan and pant into the comforter as he follows suit and comes deep inside me.
Heaven.
That’s the only way I’d describe being with him. He knows my body so well. He knows my likes and dislikes, and he knows not to be selfish. I can’t let him move out here for me. I think of the story Eloise told me about her and George and how I shouldn’t be afraid. I can see myself living on that ranch, being there with Tristan and his family. Raising our child in a simpler part of the country where he or she can have the experiences that aren’t available around here.
I want to move to Wyoming with Tristan and make this work with him. I don’t want him giving up everything to be here in Boston. He would hate it, and I would be miserable because he was.
I feel lighter than I have in weeks, and I want to tell him before he wastes his time going on the interview. Tonight at dinner will be perfect. I have the whole thing planned in my head. We will go to the ultrasound, get excited to see the heartbeat and such, then I will suggest we go out to dinner to celebrate. Of course, he will say yes, and then I will tell him during dessert.
I’m giddy as I plan this in my head. I’m trying to keep my expression neutral because I don’t want to tip him off.
Tristan Ellis, you and I will finally get our chance.
Chapter 22
Tristan
Lana’s up on the table with the paper sheet over her lap when the sonographer comes back. The room’s lights are dim, and it smells like a hospital. Sterile. Lana takes in a deep breath as the woman presses what looks like a probe into her. I scoot the chair a little closer to the padded table and hold her hand in mine. She glances at me with a huge smile on her face and then focuses on the black and white screen in front of her.
“There’s your baby’s heartbeat,” the woman says, pointing to the small fluttering on the screen.
I’m floored as I watch. That’s my baby in there. Lana is going to be the mother of our child. She continues to speak, talking about the size of the baby and the progression. I’m not sure how she’s able to make out anything on that screen. It just looks like a bunch of black blobs to me, but if she tells me there’s a baby there, then there is.
“Do you want some pictures?”
“Yes,” I blurt out before Lana can speak.
She smiles at me and looks at the sonographer again. “Please, thank you so much.”
I can hardly contain my excitement when she hands the small photos over. “Can I take a picture to send to my parents?”
She nods, and I snap one real quick and send the text to both of them.
“Everything is looking great. We’ll have to meet with the nurse to go over the next steps with you.”
She leaves, and Lana gets her pants back on. “Wow, it’s crazy, huh? I mean, I don’t look any different, and I don’t feel too different, but there it is. Baby Ellis.”
My head snaps up to look at her, and her smile is infectious. Baby Ellis. I like that. I’ll like it even better if she decides to be Mrs. Lana Ellis. I pat my pocket where my mother’s ring is nestled in a box for safekeeping. I’ve been paranoid about losing it all day, especially when she all but attacked me at her apartment.
We are ushered into another exam room and wait for the nurse to come in and see us. I can tell she’s excited but a little anxious as well. She keeps playing with her fingers and the bottom of her shirt. I reach over, take her hand in mine, and kiss the back of her knuckles.
“It’s going to be fine. She said everything looks great. There’s nothing to be concerned about.”
Lana nods and gives me a smile that warms me from head to toe. I can’t stop looking at her.
“You know, you keep looking at me like that, we won’t make it out of this room,” she jokes, but I can tell she’s actually quite serious.
The nurse comes in and tells us all about the ultrasound. What we were looking at and how far along she is. She’s a little under ten weeks, which means she probably got pregnant one of the first times we slept together.Damn.If this isn’t fate pushing us together, I don’t know what is.
The nurse hands her a stack of papers and a list of dos and don’ts while pregnant. We stop at the checkout desk and set up all her appointments until the end of her pregnancy. My heart sinks a little. I know she’s staying here, and I know I’m going to look for a job out here to be close to her, but I kind of hoped she would tell them she wouldn’t need it because she’s moving. A small part of me hoped she would say something like that, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen.
I have an interview tomorrow in downtown Boston at the Prudential Center, and I hope it works out. It’s for an entry-level project manager position. I feel too damn old to be taking an entry-level position, but since I’ve only had the ranch experience, I figured it was safer to start lower in hopes someone would recommend me for a higher position. I could work my way through the ranks quickly.
“I’m starving. Want to go to dinner?” she asks as we step into the parking garage.
I smile. “Sure, what are you in the mood for?”
