That makes her smile. “I was just… What happens if you’re at practice, or traveling, and I need you for baby purposes. And just to let you know, we’re talking about a major emergency. I’m not going to try and get a hold of you just because I want those cajun fries you got me addicted to. I’m talking if—God forbid— something bad happens. Or, the more real possibility, that I go into labor and you aren’t here.”
Shit. In all the things I looked up and wrote into the baby notebook, it didn’t even dawn on me that I could be away from here when she goes into labor. “In meetings we can have our cell phones, so always text me first. But like, with a code word.”
“Considering I never came up with a code word for when I wanted to sing in Vegas, I’m not sure that’s our best plan of attack.”
The memory makes me smile. “I nearly forgot about that. How did you remember?”
She shrugs with a coy little grin on her face. “I remember a lot from that night.”
I groan into her neck, which fills the room with her laugh. “What do you remember the most?”
I can tell she’s trying to keep her composure, but the open mouth kisses I’m leaving on her neck aren’t helping.
“Focus, Gallagher. But it’s the way you ripped my dress when I was pinned against the door.”
“Fine…” I say as I’m already planning a babymoon in my head where I can recreate this for her. “We’ll figure out a word. Or a signal. Or just text me in all caps MADDOX IT’S TIME. I’m going to find someone on staff who will always have their phone with them and make them your emergency Fury contact. An equipment manager or someone from the social team. That’ll be the first thing I do tomorrow. And if I don’t respond to your message in four seconds, you call them.”
Her smile softens as she runs her hand down my cheek. “I love you.”
I place my hand over hers. “Not nearly as much as I love you.”
We come in for a kiss, and I refuse to rush it. Every year before I leave for camp, I’m always excited like it’s the first day of school. That another season is starting. But for the first time in my professional life, there’s a little bit of sadness. Because I now have someone I’m leaving. Sure it’s only for a few weeks, and I’m going to talk to her every day, but…it’s hitting me that this is not just about me. It’s about Gabi. My son. Our fam?—
“Oh! He’s kicking!”
I pull away as I hurriedly put my hand on her stomach. I swear I miss it every time.
“Where? I can’t feel it.”
Gabi moves my hand to the right, and the second she does, Tiny Tot gives me a good one.
“Oh…that’s…oh my…”
I couldn’t keep the tears from my eyes if I tried. It’s like he knew I needed to feel this before everything changes.
“We’re having a baby, aren’t we?”
She chuckles as the tears come for her too. “We’re having a baby.”
CHAPTER 27
GABI
Maddox
I miss you.
The sound of Maddox’s text pulls me from my deep concentration as I’m about to add a peanut butter drizzle over a batch of chocolate peanut butter brownies. I’ve never had them on the menu until today and that’s only because I was craving them.
Owning a bakery and having massive pregnancy cravings is a win-win situation if there ever was one.
Gabi
You’ve been at camp for four hours.
I still miss you.
You realize that if it were this time last week, you’d have not seen me for the same amount of time?
