Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 53717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
“Yes,” he and Charlotte said at the same time, and Jared held her hand tighter.
Chuckling, the doctor moved the wand around and paused. “And there she is.” Dr. Messing went on to explain how they knew what they were looking at, but Jared had stopped listening at the word she.
“Another girl,” Charlotte said, turning to face him. “We never talked about it. What did you want?”
“I—” He found it difficult to speak over the lump in his throat. “I wanted a healthy baby.”
“And you have that,” Dr. Messing said, stripping what looked like a condom off the wand.
Jared hadn’t cared about the sex but now that he knew, he had visions of holding a tiny, bundled little girl in his arms. Taking her small hand and going places. And not letting any boys near her.
The doctor hit a button and a few seconds later, she handed Charlotte the printed photo.
“I’m going to leave you two alone. When you’re ready, get dressed and meet me in my office and we can talk.” With a smile, she strode out of the room.
“Oh my God,” he said, once they were alone.
“What?” Charlotte asked.
“Three girls.”
She laughed at what must be a panic-stricken look on his face. “I’ll handle them just fine,” she assured him.
She didn’t get it. He wasn’t talking about her three girls. It went deeper than that. During the last two weeks, when he’d been laid up, spending much of his time on Charlotte’s couch once she returned home from work, Jared had gotten to know each of the twins and their individual personalities. He loved them.
“You don’t have to handle it alone,” he told her.
She nodded. “Oh, I know. I have Noah and Fallon with the twins and you with our girl. Who will need a name.” She was smiling wide, her happiness evident, and he wanted her to always have that glow.
“No, I mean, you don’t ever need to tackle life alone.” He slid his hand into his pants pocket and pulled out the box he’d been carrying around since he’d felt steady enough on his feet to go ring shopping.
She gasped at the obvious-looking box. He’d been waiting for this exact day and time.
“Marry me, Charlotte, and we can raise this baby and the twins together.”
Her mouth dropped open, her surprise clear. “What did you say?”
“Marry me and we can raise this baby and the twins together. Be a real family, though I have to tell you it already feels like we are one.”
“Jared,” she whispered as he popped open the box, revealing a three-carat round stone with two not-so-small pink sapphires on either side.
“A match to the necklace, except now we know the jeweler can add another pink sapphire to each. And every time we have another baby, we add another stone.”
Her mouth parted and she was obviously speechless.
His heart skipped a beat. “I need a yes, Charlotte.” Because there’d been a time he wasn’t certain he’d get one. If he’d asked her at the wrong time, she’d assume the question was more about wanting her because of the baby than wanting her.
And then it dawned on him. He pulled the ring from the box, aware she was still in stunned silence. “I love you, Charlotte Kendall, and I want you to be my wife. Be by my side until death do us part.”
“Yes.” Her hand started to shake as he slipped on the ring. “I love you too.” Tears flowed from her eyes, but he knew they were happy tears.
As happy as she made him, today and always.
* * *
Charlotte, because that’s how she thought of herself now, couldn’t stop the tears any more than she could stop staring at the exquisite ring. She lay in the gown she’d changed into for the appointment and now had a huge ring on her finger.
“This is an engagement story our children will love.” She held up the ring and the diamond sparkled in the sunlight streaming in from twelve floors above the street.
When she’d discovered she was pregnant while in Egypt, this happy ending was the last thing she’d expected.
He grinned. “I aim to please. Actually, I’ve been planning this since I fell asleep with you wrapped around me at the hospital. I thought it would be the perfect time.”
“It is. But I really need to get dressed and we need to get to the doctor’s office before they come banging on the door to see what we’re doing in here.”
He chuckled. “I wish. Before you get dressed, I have something I want to say.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “What?”
“Thank you.”
“For what?” she asked, utterly confused.
He rose to his feet. “For your trust. I know how hard it was to give and I’ll never do anything to make you regret it.”
“I know,” she whispered. Sitting up, she swung her legs over the side of the examination table.