Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 17631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 88(@200wpm)___ 71(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 88(@200wpm)___ 71(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
His hands settle on my hips, warm and secure. I place mine on his chest, feeling his steady heartbeat beneath my palm.
"Can't I just miss my husband?" I ask, tracing a finger along his collar.
"You can. And do. But that's not why you're here." His eyes search mine. "You've been crying."
"Happy tears."
"Still tears. Talk to me, Meredith."
I take a deep breath. "Can you come with me to the doctor?"
His body instantly goes rigid, hands tightening on me, eyes sharpening with alarm. "Why? What's the problem?"
"Nothing's wrong," I say, unable to keep the smile from spreading across my face. I reach into my purse and pull out the white stick, holding it up so he can see the two pink lines in the result window. "I just thought we should go together … for the first appointment."
Cole stares at the test, his expression frozen somewhere between confusion and dawning realization. His eyes flick from the test to my face, then back again.
"You're pregnant," he whispers.
I nod, tears welling up again. "Found out this morning. I couldn't wait until tonight to tell you."
For a moment, he's completely still. Then everything happens at once. He stands to his full height, lifts me effortlessly, his arms banding around me as if I might float away. His face presses into my neck, and I feel the tremor that runs through him. My strong, controlled husband, undone.
"A baby, Meredith. Our baby." He pulls back and brushes stray hair sticking to my forehead. Then a slow smile breaks across his face—the full, unguarded one so few people ever get to see. "You're going to be an incredible mother."
"You think so?" Despite everything, this new territory fills me with equal parts joy and terror.
"I know so. You're the strongest person I've ever met, Meredith. Our kid is lucky to have you."
"And you. Though God help this child when they start dating. You'll be impossible."
His laugh rumbles through his chest. "Damn right. No one gets near our kid without a background check."
"Cole!"
"Fine, two background checks." He kisses me then, deep and possessive. "I love you. Both of you."
"We love you, too."
Cole pulls me close again. "When do you want to tell people? I'm totally fine if you don't want to."
"I'd like to tell Dorothy first, if that's okay? She's been like family to us."
Cole nods. "She'll spoil this kid rotten. Between her cookies and Dex being the 'fun uncle,' we're in trouble."
"The best kind of trouble," I say, grinning.
My father once told me that true partnerships make both people stronger. "Find someone who sees all of you," he said, "and loves you not in spite of it, but because of it."
Cole brings my hand to his lips, and I know I've found exactly that. And as one journey ends, another begins. Messier, louder, and infinitely more wonderful than anything we've faced before.
I can't wait.
The End