Alexsei and I shared a look.
“We’ve tried,” we said in unison.
That old tip about having sex and counting on an orgasm was nothing more than an old wives’ tale as far as I was concerned.For every day that I was past my due date, Alexsei had made me come multiple times, all of them as potent as ever.
And nothing was happening.
All those attempts to start labor had done was make me more eager to have sex with fewer obstacles in the way, like this belly that had definitely felt heavier with the baby officially dropping for birth.
Any. Day. Now. Please.
“Spicy food, check,” I said.
“Walking up and down stairs, check,” Alexsei said.
“Going for a bumpy ride in the car, check.”
Alexsei laughed. “Weird tea blends, check.”
“Sitting on a balance ball, check.” I sighed deeply, or as deeply as I could.
“But the baby has to come,” Misha said. “There’s so much to do!”
I smiled, thrilled about this new life we’d share. We had picked out a home, but with the changes we wanted to it, it’d be a few months before those renovations were done. In the meantime, we had a nursery ready to go here. The others in the mansion were getting ready to help me after delivery.
We had a bright, happy future to start, but this baby just wasn’t ready.
“We won’t have much time before the wedding,” Misha said.
As soon as the words slipped out of his mouth, his eyes went large. He slapped both hands over his mouth and stared at Alexsei.
“Who’s getting married?” I asked with a slight laugh. I could play along.
“Well, I was kind of hoping we might.” Alexsei chuckled.
“Misha!” Gabriella’s hiss of a whisper sounded from behind a shrub.
I leaned over, or tried to, and saw her peering at us from behind a curtain and next to the tall potted shrub on the patio. “What…”
She held her phone up, like she was going to take a video. Now she was giving Misha a stern look and he cringed.
“Sorry…” Misha said.
Alexsei was still chuckling.
“Ask her already!” Gabriella said, holding her phone up.
He smiled, turning to face me as he got down on one knee. “I was hoping to ask you when the baby was born.”
Now I was laughing. “Who knows when that’ll be!”
With love shining in his eyes, he took my hand and held it. “Hopefully soon. But now that the secret is out…” He held up a ring box and revealed a dazzling diamond ring. In the low light of the setting sun, it sparkled like the rarest gem on earth.
“Even though it’s not the big moment I had been waiting for, I would love to ask you something important.”
My cheeks hurt with how wide I smiled.
“Kalina, would you make me the happiest man in the universe and be my wife?”
