I placed his free hand against my belly while I placed my other hand on his chest.
“As long as my two favorite people are okay, I’m okay,” I said.
He smiled. It was a slight grin, but it was there.
“Finish dancing with me.” I held out my arms.
He stuffed the stone in the pocket of his jeans and took the lead, per usual, sweeping me into his arms.
“You know what would make me feel better?” I said after a while.
“What?”
My smile widened. “Sing for me.”
He groaned and tilted his head skyward.
“You want me to feel better, right?” I asked with a mock pout.
“What happened to ‘as long as my favorite two people are okay, I’m okay’?”
I laughed. “What happened to ‘I’ll do anything for you’?” I retorted, reminding him of the many times he’d said that.
He squinted. “I don’t remember that being a part of the vows.”
“They were. Right after you called me your forever,” I lied and giggled.
He groaned again.
“Come on. The baby likes it when you sing.” I poked him with my belly for good measure.
Ace had a beautiful singing voice, even if he hated admitting it. His mother had taken him to lessons when he was a little boy after she discovered he could sing. By the time he turned twelve, she had allowed him to quit, but he sang for me once on our six-month anniversary date.
Ever since then, I was a sucker for his voice.
“I doubt he can even hear me in there.”
I shrugged. “Well, I like it when you sing, and what I like, the baby likes.”
He frowned. “You liked that spicy chili dog you had last week, but from what I recall, AJ didn’t respond too well to it.”
It was my turn to groan. “Don’t remind me.” I was up half of the night after eating that damn chili dog with gas and heartburn.
“Sing. Please,” I pleaded.
“What song?”
“*NSYNC, ‘God Must’ve Spent a Little More Time.’”
He sang it for me once before, and I cried like a baby.
He inhaled deeply and started on a hum before singing the first lyrics. My entire body lit up as he sang. To me, he sounded even better than Justin Timberlake or JC Chasez.
If he hadn’t had his heart set on becoming a fighter pilot in the Air Force, I would’ve encouraged him to go into music.
Ace looked me directly in the eyes when he sang that God must’ve spent a little more time on you. My vision blurred from the tears. They streamed down my face as he continued singing.
I laid my head again his chest and knew I was soaking his shirt from my tears. This always happened when he sang. I closed my eyes and felt the vibrations in his chest as he sang.
