“Well, I guess you have at least a fifty percent chance of being right.” I drifted my hand up Nick’s arm.
“We’re having a baby.” Nick’s mouth split with a grin. I spied the pucker of a dimple behind the scruff on his cheek.
I cradled Nick’s face in my hands and kissed his lips. The room spun, and I fell back onto the table.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” Nick hovered over me and cupped my cheek.
“Yeah, the room started to spin.” I rubbed my forehead and took deep breaths.
“I still got it?” Nick arched an eyebrow.
“Always,” I chuckled. “That, and I don’t want to puke all over the equipment. I’d like some nice anti-nausea meds. Once I’m settled, you can go home.”
Nick’s eyes rolled before he leveled them at me.
“Really? I’m staying with you until they discharge you. I already called out of work for the next couple of days.”
“If you say so, Lieutenant.” I winked at him before I shut my eyes.
I drifted off to sleep and didn’t even remember being moved to my room. All I saw was a tiny, olive-skinned girl with freckles across her nose, giggling on her daddy’s shoulders.
MY EYES POPPEDopen but then cinched shut from the rays of sun leaking in through my curtains. I rolled over and glanced at the clock on my nightstand.Eight-thirty a.m. Since I stopped puking three days ago, all I did was sleep. My regular gynecologist assured us all looked great, but Nick took off from work for a week to nurse me back to health. My stomach rumbled in a good way at the smell of bacon wafting into my room. I was finally ready for something heavier than toast.
Pregnant. The word still made me take pause. I religiously took birth control without a clue that it was recalled, which matched my luck. But what surprised me more than anything was how . . . okay . . . I was with all of it.
My last pregnancy was spent, from the moment we decided on it, on dreadful eggshells. It wasn’t my only shot at having Jack’s child as we banked enough sperm, but we both knew it was the only way he’d everseehis child. Failure was never an option for me. I was happy and relieved it took the first try but did I really enjoy my pregnancy? No. Jack and I both wanted our son in the worst way, but looking back, having a baby was the only thing I felt I had left to give my husband before he passed away. I plastered on a smile, played the part of the glowing pregnant woman for everyone—all the while filled with grief and dread.
This baby was already different in every way possible. Excitement stirred in me for what was to come, because this time—I wouldn’t be alone.
I pulled on my robe and trudged into the kitchen. Nick and Jack sat at my kitchen table engrossed in conversation, and a smile ghosted across my face as I watched them both. Jack was as miserable as I was missing Nick. I loved seeing the light back in his eyes and the adoration he had for Nick. I could’ve stared at them for hours.
I drifted my hand across my belly, still flat but not vacant. Nick was going to be an amazing dad, but in a way, he already was.
“Mommy!” Jack jumped up from his seat at the table and rammed into me. His arms clenched around my legs as he peered up at me.
“Easy, Jack,” Nick called from his seat at the table. “Your mom is still a little weak.”
“Meh.” My mouth split into a grin as I ruffled Jack’s hair. His dirty blond locks were hanging low off his ears. In my pregnancy sickness, I missed getting him a haircut. “I always want a hug from my son.” I kissed his forehead before he sprinted into the living room.
Nick’s mouth curved as I sauntered over and climbed into his lap.
“Good morning, sweetheart.” He wrapped his arms around me and pressed a kiss behind my ear. “Ready for the land of the living again?”
“Well.” I sighed as I feathered my hand down his stubbled cheek. “I’m at least ready to eat again, I think. Any bacon left?”
“No, but I’ll make you some.” His fingers wove through my hair. “What else do you want? Eggs? Pancakes? Both?”
“Both?” I laughed. “I’m not going to ask you to make all that.”
“Hey.” Nick raised his eyebrows. “What my baby mama wants, my baby mama gets.”
“Ugh,” I groaned as I crinkled my nose. “I hate that expression.”
Nick gaped at me. “I can’t call you my baby mama?” He tickled my side, and I giggled. I still didn’t have enough strength to push him away.
“It’s what I am, right?” I took Nick’s face in my hands and brushed my lips against his.
“You sure are. Glad to see you’re feeling better. Would you mind coming with me to see my grandmother? I’d like to . . .” He brushed my stomach with his fingertips. “Tell her in person.”
