Deacon put an arm around her as they left the hotel and walked outside into the bitter chill.
The scents of woodsmoke and seaweed filled the air. They were among the scents of “home” to her since she’d lived full time on Gansett, where she and her siblings had spent idyllic summers with their grandparents as kids—in the very hotel where she now worked, doing the thing she loved the most.
Deacon held the door to his police department SUV for her and then helped Pupwell into the back seat, clipping him into his seat belt for the ride home.
The second they pulled out of the parking lot, Deacon reached for her hand, the way he always did.
She wrapped his hand inside both of hers.
After the dreadful scare of him being missing for hours during the storm, she’d never miss a chance to hold on to him with everything she had. The horror of those endless hours, of fearing she’d lost the love of her life, would stay with her forever. Every second with him felt like a miracle after that, and she loved him even more than she had before—if that was possible.
“When we get home, I have a surprise for you.”
“Oh yeah? What kind of surprise?”
“The kind you’ll like.”
“I already knew that because I like everything with you.”
“This is an extra good surprise.”
“You have my attention, Mrs. Taylor.”
Keeping their marriage a secret until the wedding they had planned for next summer had made being married even more special, because it belonged only to them and the few people who knew they’d tied the knot after he’d been found. They’d wanted to be married right away after learning how quickly they could lose everything.
Since she’d be hugely pregnant by the summer, she planned to scale back the wedding to a big party to celebrate with their family and friends.
At home, Julia went directly to the bathroom to retrieve the positive pregnancy test she’d hidden three days ago. She’d wanted it confirmed by Victoria before she told Deacon the happy news.
Deacon and Pupwell were curled up together in a snuggle on the sofa when she joined them.
“Where’s this surprise I was promised?”
Julia held up the stick with the two lines.
His eyes went wide. “Yes?”
She smiled and nodded. “Confirmed today by Victoria. We’re due in late July.”
Deacon let out a loud whoop that scared the dog. “Sorry, buddy, but Mommy just told us we’re having a baby. You’re going to be a big brother!” He reached for her over the dog and kissed her soundly. “This is the best news ever.”
“We did a crap job of family planning, though. The baby will arrive during our busiest time of year.”
“Who cares? We’ll figure it out.”
Pupwell got tired of being squeezed between them and got down from the sofa to settle in his bed on the floor.
Deacon brought her in closer to him, placing a hand on her still-flat abdomen. “I can’t believe our baby is in there. He’ll be close in age to Adrian.”
“Or she will be.”
“I think he’s a boy.”
“How come?”
He shrugged. “Just a feeling I had when I was holding Adrian that I was going to have one just like him before long.”
“I’m thinking she’s a girl, but either way, the cousins will be best friends.”
