Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
When Chloe stopped in front of me, I shook my head slowly and took her into my arms, trying to be careful not to mess her up.
“This is a dream. You’re so beautiful, baby.” Tears stung my eyes.
“You look so handsome,” she said as we pulled back to face each other. Chloe straightened the silver tie I’d worn with my dark gray suit.
“Daddy, look at the bracelet I made Chloe.”
Chloe lifted her wrist and smiled. The bracelet had purple and white beads with letters that spelled out Stepmommy.
I ran my finger along the beads. “I love it, baby.”
“It matches my dress and Chloe’s flowers.” Effie beamed.
“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue…” Chloe said. “This bracelet is my new, Effie…”
My daughter smiled. “What about the rest?”
Chloe reached for one of her earlobes. “The old are these earrings your dad gave me that used to belong to your grandma, Carmen.”
That squeezed at my heart. I’d given those earrings to Chloe a while back and hadn’t expected her to wear them today. She’d never mentioned that she planned to. It felt good to have a piece of my mother here with us, though, and I was grateful for the gesture.
Effie looked up at us. “Something old, something new…what’s the rest?”
“Something borrowed, something blue,” Chloe explained again. “My something borrowed I can’t show you because I can’t lift my dress. But let’s just say they’re a certain pair of yellow underwear I borrowed off a scarecrow and pinned to fit me.” She winked.
“No way.” I chuckled.
Effie giggled.
“I couldn’t not do it.” Chloe laughed, then looked at me for several seconds before she said, “And my something blue…” She reached beneath the neckline of her gown to take out a small silver necklace. I hadn’t noticed it before since it was tucked inside. She faced the pendant part toward me.
“Is that supposed to be blue?”
“It’s a locket.” Her face lit up. “Open it.”
Inside was a tiny ultrasound photo of the baby we were expecting in five months. Effie was beyond excited to have a sibling. I’d wanted to know what we were having, but Chloe had been debating whether to read the gender the ultrasound tech had written down or to let it be a surprise. I’d left it up to her.
Then it hit me.
Oh my God—blue.