And there it was. Tears filled her eyes as she heard the words she’d been terrified to hear. That was it. Done.
“Okay.”
He stepped forward and placed his hand on her belly. “Butthisisn’t an abstract idea of children. This is our baby. I wantourbaby. This is Dylan.”
She looked down at his hand covering her protruding belly and felt like she’d just suffered from emotional whiplash. Her eyes lifted back up to his as she asked a shaky, “What?”
“I didn’t want, Idon’twant an idea. But the second that idea became a reality, everything changed. I want this baby. It’s you and it’s me. And I don’t just want to be a part of Dylan’s life and be the best father I can be. It’s not just about the baby. Whatever happens I want to be with you and be the best husband I can be. I love you. I think I fell in love with you the moment you sat on my lap when we got our picture taken?—”
She sniffed. “Santa role play.”
He smiled. “The Santa role play. Having you on my lap felt like a weighted blanket, it was soothing and exciting, and I don’t know how else to explain it to you except that crowds have always been tough for me, but from the moment you sat on my lap in a room filled with three hundred people, they just disappeared.
“I want to marry you. I don’t know what you feel about me or if you’ve even thought about the idea of a relationship with me. And statistically, we don’t have good odds. Cohabiting couples who begin with an unplanned pregnancy are seventy percent more likely to break up within the first five years than those with planned conceptions. Divorce rates for marriages resulting fromunplanned pregnancies have a ninety percent chance of divorce within the first six years of marriage. One-fifth of couples whose relationships begin with an unplanned pregnancy break up within the first twelve months. I know the statistics are really bad?—”
“Are you kidding me?” Poppy smiled as she placed her hand over AJ’s on her stomach. “Our baby had a less thanonepercent chance.” She smiled and laughed. “Those statistics soundamazing.”
“I want to marry you. I want you to be my wife.”
“Okay, yeah, I think that sounds like a good idea.”
Poppy could see the relief in AJ’s eyes as he exhaled. “I thought that you were embarrassed, that you didn’t want people to know I was the father.”
It broke Poppy’s heart that he’d felt that. She wished she’d faced this discussion sooner to save them both the past week of pain, but Zion was right, she’d been a big chicken. “I didn’t want people to know, and it was because I was embarrassed, but notofyou. I could never be embarrassed of you, Ever. I just, I was scared that you didn’t want this and that I was going to be the single mom of the child whose father wasn’t interested in raising his kid. It was just too close to history repeating itself. I wasn’t going to be like my mom, holding on to a man who clearly had no interest in raising a child with me.” A tear slid down her cheek. AJ wiped it, and she leaned into his touch. “I thought if no one knew who the dad was, then it wouldn’t matter when you left.” Her lips trembled.
“I’m not leaving.” He cupped her face then lowered down on one knee. “I’m never leaving you.”
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
“Proposing.”
“I don’t think…I think it’s bad to propose at someone else’s wedding.”
“I spoke to Yaya and Mr. Santino, and they both gave me their blessing.”
Poppy couldn’t believe this was happening. When she saw the gorgeous, vintage, diamond ring he pulled out, her knees nearly gave out on her. It looked familiar. It was the ring she’d tagged on her Pinterest board.
“When did you get this?”
“The day we named Dylan. When you fell asleep, I ordered it.”
She put her hand over her mouth.
“I know that this wasn’t in the order you planned for your life to go in. Believe me, I understand how upsetting it can be when things don’t go to plan. But with the right partner in each other, no matter what life throws at us, I know we can face it together. That is what you’ve taught me in the short time I’ve known you. Companionship is more powerful than solitude. And peace can be found in connection, which is something I never knew. I’m not asking you to marry me because you’re pregnant. That has no bearing on me wantingyouto be my wife. You are the most beautiful, caring, loving soul I’ve ever known. I love you and I promise to spend the rest of my life being the best man, best father, and best husband I can possibly be to you and Dylan. Poppy Beth Davies, will you marry me?”
All Poppy could do was nod her head as more tears flooded down her cheeks, and AJ slid the ring on her finger, then stood and pressed his lips to hers. As they kissed, Poppy heard cheering. She pulled away, and they looked to see that everyone from the wedding was gathered on the deck and was watching through the glass accordion doors.
Her eyes flew to AJ. “How did they?—”
Poppy’s phone vibrated in the pocket of her dress, and she pulled it out. It was a text from her sister Phoebe.
Phoebe:We’ve all known AJ was the baby daddy. 1) He fixed up the house. 2)it was obvious you two hooked up at the wedding from the pics online of you two dancing and the bouquet and garter toss. We were just giving you time to tell us. Congrats on figuring your shit out and saying YES.
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
Poppy turned the phone to AJ. “Apparently they’ve all known the whole time that you were the baby daddy.”
The doors opened and they walked out to the cheering crowd, who all gave their congratulations. Niko handed AJ a beer.
