And now that we’re just a few months away from starting our own family, she gives me perspective on what matters in life. The money and success are great, but they mean nothing without her. I didn’t realize how empty life was before Olivia. How much I craved companionship. Thank God we worked things out.
The sip-and-see party continues. Aunt Chloe takes her turn holding Cami. She and her husband ooh and ahh over the newest member of our family then look at their own daughter.
Uncle Derek gave me a hard time when we first told him about the pregnancy. Not because he wasn’t happy for us, but because although I’d call him progressive in almost all aspects of life, he still would have preferred his little girl was married before having her first child. And I can’t say I blame him. I’ll feel the same way about my daughter.
My twin sisters wander back to where I’m sitting. Adam remains in the kitchen, hovering over the shoulder of anyone who holds his daughter.
I catch on to their conversation as they join me at the table.
“Don’t you have a meeting with Corey Johnson tomorrow?” Heather asks. Her massive engagement ring catches the light shining in through the bay windows. Nero trails after them. Seeing our group, Olivia slides off her stool and makes her way over.
“I do, but he’s flying up here,” Avery replies. “So I don’t need to go to Texas.”
“Wow, that’s lucky.”
“Not really,” Avery smirks. “His team’s social media coordinator arranged for all pre-season interviews to take place at different ball fields around the country. He’ll be in Detroit,sitting through a day of press before meeting with me to discuss his PR strategy following his latest scandal.”
“Corey Johnson.” Olivia joins the conversation, eyes bright with excitement. “As in,theCorey Johnson? The baseball player?”
“The same one,” Avery confirms.
“How’s he handling the trade down to Texas?” I’m not the biggest MLB fan, but growing up, Dad took my sisters and me to at least one Detroit game every season. I have good memories of spending time with them in that ballpark.
“I’ll find out tomorrow,” Avery answers.
“I can’t believe you’re already back to work after having Cami,” Liv says. “You’re superwoman."
"It’s not so bad considering most of my work can be done from home. Just one perk of being my own boss.”
My fiancée nods. “That’s true.”
Olivia works at a biomedical company in California. I’ve expressed concern about how often she’s on her feet, but nothing I say can dissuade her from running around while conducting laboratory tests and helping to devise protocols for new lab techniques. After not utilizing her lab skills, she’s scratching an itch that’s been irritating her for years.
Knowing that, I try to keep most of my concerns to myself. For now, at least. I can’t promise I won’t object to her crazy work hours once she enters the third trimester. Or when we have a newborn to take care of. But that’s a problem for later time.
Avery and Heather begin to discuss a mutual acquaintance, a designer by the name of Josiah Johansson. He’s a well-known actor turned fashion designer. Apparently, he’s hosting a fashion show for charity in the future, and they’re discussing how to help him for the event.
Olivia sidles up next to where I sit. I rest a hand on her waist, fighting the urge to caress her stomach. Both of us struggledduring the first trimester. Even after receiving a clean bill of health after the genetic testing, it wasn’t until Olivia reached week fourteen of pregnancy that we both felt like we could relax about a potential miscarriage. There’s still a risk something can go wrong, but we’re choosing to hope everything will turn out okay and that we’ll be able to hold our child in our arms soon.
Olivia leans down and whispers, “What are you thinking about?”
“How excited I am to become a dad.”
“Really?”
I tighten my hold. “Absolutely.”
She presses a chaste kiss to my lips. “You’re going to be a fantastic dad.”
“And you’ll be the best mom.”
She smiles. “I love you, Derek Lawson. More than you know.”
“I think I have a good idea,” I reach up and caress her cheek before bringing her back down for another kiss. This one is more heated than the first.
A decade of separation never dulled my feelings for the woman in my arms, and I thank God every day that we made it through all the trials and misunderstandings that threatened to keep us apart.
My childhood best friend became my adult love and now the mother of my children. Just like I’d always dreamed she’d be.
