“Over the top?”
“Yes. Kinda. But you never do anything by halves.”
“Not when it comes to loving you. And I figure you can use them in the shop and around your apartment. Maybe even for your photoshoot.”
I turn my head to reach up to him, and we kiss slow and deep. There’s always that promise of more with him, and it sends little flutters to my stomach, and lower. “That and everyone else’s apartment I’ve ever known.”
He only laughs at this. “Hey, you said you girls wanted to have a bakery celebration and film the cakes for the magazine with some props. I just brought the flowers and balloons.”
“You’re so perfect.” I turn in his arms, and he picks me up off my feet as we canoodle right in the doorway of the minivan. If my mom, son and my friends weren’t inside right now, I’d try to make some space between the flowers and balloons and pull him in here onto the back seat. I want to show him exactly what this soccer mom has in mind for the remainder of the evening.
He shakes his head and kisses my nose. “Nope. You are, Mama.”
Bradley
One year later
I’ve been pacing outside the bathroom door to my ensuite for what seems like an eternity.
Finally it clicks open, and Chelsea appears in the doorway, staring up at me with large eyes that look like she got caught in headlights. Her face looks flushed and her eyes a little glassy. I hold my breath for a second, not able to gauge her reaction.
“Babe?” My brows lift, my feet rooted to the spot. But then a huge smile slowly tiptoes over her face, lighting her up like the Fourth of July.
Her hands come out from behind her back as she steps into the bedroom, waving the little white stick in the air. “It’s official,” she lets out a breath like she’s been holding it for too long, “I’m pregnant!”
“Holy shit!” My hands press into my hair for a brief second and take hold. My heart skips a beat and then continues to bang hard in my chest cavity. I reach for her and she immediately folds into my arms. Her tears start to spill, I feel them instantly soak into my shirt. “Are you sure?” I whisper.
She nods. “I’ve had all the symptoms. And this just confirms it. Oh my god, Brad! I’m going to be a mom again, and you’re going to be a dad!”
I hold her to me, my own tears threatening to spill at any second. We’ve been wild at it ever since we got together, neither of us can get enough of each other. But this still comes as a shock. Chels has been feeling a little off lately, and she was late, very late. So, as she says, the signs were there.
Chels and Deat have been living with me since they moved in six months ago. We’ve just finished re-decorating Deat’s new room here. He loves it, especially the pool area and the tennis court. The house feels way more homey now they’re both living here.
I love coming home to them every day. And it’s still a short drive to the bakery, so it’s not far for Chels to go to get to work or Deat to get to school.
The new bakery manager, a dear woman called Eadie, is renting the little apartment above the bakery.
“Do you know how amazing that sounds?” I squeeze her tight and pull back so I can kiss my beautiful girl. My hand finds her stomach immediately, I flatten my palm over it and stare at her in awe. “Fuck, this is going to be the wildest ride yet.”
Chels laughs. “You’d better believe it.”
We’ve talked about getting hitched and having kids over this past year, I’ve always pictured having a family down the road somewhere, I just never believed it would happen this soon. But I’m over the moon. We may have known each other for a very long time, but getting to know each other as lovers has been the most amazing experience.
“Now we’ve gotta break the news to Deat after school.”
“I wonder how he’s going to take it.” Chels bites her lip, her teeth making an indent while she considers it a little more deeply. Of course we’ve discussed that too, what would happen when this time came around. I guess we’re not going to know until we break the news today.
“I’m sure he’s going to love being a big brother,” I say. “He’s a great kid, Mama. And you did all that, raising him the way you have.”
She reaches up on her tiptoes and presses her mouth to mine in a long, deep kiss. “Thank you. I love you, baby. I’m so glad we took the plunge.”
I wipe her tears with my thumbs and pick her up by the waist. She squeals, but wraps her arms and legs around me as I walk over to the bed and place her ass down on the edge of the mattress. “I think we have just about enough time before the school run.”
“You better be careful, this is what got us into trouble in the first place,” she laughs, scooting back as I kick off my shoes and crawl over to her.
“You think I’m gonna knock you up for a second time?” I smirk.
She laughs, the sound of her obvious joy lights up my world. It always will. “You never know.”
