“You're pregnant,” I say, and my voice cracks on the word.
“I'm pregnant,” she confirms, and a tear spills down her cheek when she nods. “I know we didn't plan this. I know the timing isn't perfect. I know that we still have so much we want to do, but I-”
I spring up from the floor, cup her face, and kiss her so hard that she gasps against my mouth. Neither of us deepen the kiss, but we stay with our lips pressed together as seconds and minutes pass. When I pull back, I'm pretty sure I'm crying too.
“Are you kidding me?” I ask, my voice rough and full of emotion. “Sage. Dollface. This is… Fuck, this is everything.”
“Really?” Her voice is so small, so uncertain, and it breaks my heart that she thought I might react any other way.
“Yes, I promise.” I press my forehead to hers, my thumbs stroking her cheeks. “You're having my baby. We're having a baby. Holy shit, we're having a baby.”
She laughs, and it's watery and so fucking perfect. “We're having a baby, Hotshot.”
“I love you,” I say, and I can't stop saying it. “I love you so fucking much. You're going to be the most amazing mom. Our kid is going to be so lucky. I'm so lucky. Fuck, Sage, I-”
She kisses me this time, her hands in my hair, and I can taste the salt of her tears mixed with mine. Everything about this moment is perfect.
Yes, we’ve only been together for eight months, but I have been in love with this woman for more than half my life. In October, she will be my wife. Soon after that, we are going to have a baby we made out of the love we have for each other.
“I love you too,” she whispers against my lips. “I was so scared to tell you. I didn't know how you'd react.”
“Scared?” I pull back to look at her. “Sage, you just gave me the second best news of my entire life. Better than winning the Stanley Cup.”
“Better than winning the Cup?” She raises an eyebrow, smiling through her tears. “Wait, you said the second best? What’s first?”
“This is way better than anything hockey related. And this is second only to the day you agreed to marry me.” I slide my hand down to her stomach, pressing my palm flat against the silk of her dress. “There's a person in there. Our person. Half you and half me.”
“They're going to be so spoiled,” she says, covering my hand with hers.
“Damn right they are.” I lean in and kiss her stomach, then look up at her. “I don’t care if we have a boy or a girl. They're going to know every single day how much they're loved. How much I love their mom. How lucky we are to have each other.”
Sage's face crumples, and she pulls me up into another kiss. This one is slower, deeper, and full of promise for our future and everything we're building together.
“We're really doing this,” she says when we finally break apart.
“We're really doing this.” I grin at her, and I know I probably look like an idiot, but I don't care. “You, me, and baby Georges.”
“Baby Georges,” she repeats, and she's smiling so wide now. “That sounds perfect.”
I kiss her again because I can't help it, because she's everything. We're about to become a family.
Sage breaks the kiss and her eyes go wide. “How are we going to tell your mom that she’s going to have another grandbaby?”
I laugh, “You say that like that woman wasn’t made to be a grandmother. She already has a bunch. She’ll love this one too.”
“Fair, Mama Georges was a grandma back before your siblings had kids,” she agrees, nodding her head.
“I love you,” I say one more time, just because I need her to hear it. “I love you so much, Sage. Thank you for this. Thank you for everything.”
“I love you too,” she whispers, and rubs our joined hands over her stomach. When she looks at me, I see our entire future in her emerald green eyes, and it's more beautiful than anything I ever imagined.
Bonus Epilogue Four
Daemon
The sound of Gianna’s soft giggle as we enter the cabin brings back memories of the first night we spent together. I can’t help the way being with this woman makes me smile all the damn time.
Why did I try to fight this connection? We deserve to be happy and see where this love takes us.
