“Nope!” Parker, Rylee’s friend, shouted from down the table. “Send it here. Nadia and I already said?—”
“Iam paying,” Gannon said over everyone. “Andthatis final.”
By that point, debating ensued, everyone stating why they should settle the bill. All of them on their feet except Rylee, Xander, and the giggling kids who found humor in the exchanges.
Rylee peeked up at the server. “I’m so sorry.”
“Oh no,please.” The server giggled, pressing a hand to her chest. “What a beautiful problem to have. We usually see the opposite.”
Xander laughed.
The server smiled. “You guys take your time figuring it out. I’ll be back.”
Over the voices that traveled around the table—everyone stating why they’d take care of it—Rylee locked eyes with Xander.
He leaned in and kissed her softly before rubbing his nose with hers, making her giggle.
“What a beautiful problem to have, for real.”
“To be so loved by stubborn people.” Rylee leaned her head on his shoulder.
Xander’s hand moved to her stomach to rub as they listened to everyone around them. “Definitely.”
Rylee’s chest swelled with gratitude as she listened to everyone playfully arguing, wondering... could the night get any better than this?
“The fact that they split that bill all them ways just so they could all pay,” Rylee said as she shut off the water in the bathroom. “These people.”
Xander laughed from inside of the bedroom.
She chuckled, reaching forward to pick up one of the folded face towels on her vanity.
Rylee felt a slight ache in her lower back and pressed a hand there while stretching back and sighing.
Before she could feel the dull pain for too long, Xander was right there, pressing a hand to the area, gently massaging it.
“Thank you.” She smiled. “He’s getting heavy.”
“I seen this thing online,” Xander told her, moving in closer behind her. “Let me know if this helps.”
Xander grabbed her belly from its underside and gently lifted it, slowly, balancing the weight of it in his hands.
Rylee gasped at the sudden wave of relief that washed over her. The comfort of feeling several pounds lighter was instant and overwhelming. Her head fell back as the weight lifted—off her body and off her shoulders—giving her a glimpse of the relief she hoped to feel once she gave birth.
She was in the last day of her eighth month and this was around the time she started to feel fed up with being pregnant. This pregnancy had been the easiest of them all, though, as Xander promised.
Mostly because if he heard a complaint or heard Rylee express a craving, he was right on it.
Like right now, holding her belly up carefully so she could experience the bliss of weightlessness only for a few breaths.
“Oh, I love yousomuch,” she whispered and he snickered behind her, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
“Go ahead and lay down,” he directed, gently releasing his hold on her belly. “I’ll be there in a moment to get back to rubbing your back.”
She moaned. “I am so spoiled and I love that for me.”
He kissed the top of her head and Rylee turned to leave the bathroom as advised.
She made her way to her side of the bed, still beaming from the day. Rylee really enjoyed herself at their baby shower. It was unconventional but dressed insomuch love, she was still buzzing from the energy.
