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“Yes, I’m great.”
I raised a brow.
“No, really. I’m good. This precious little monster sleeps through the night already.” She was whispering by the end of that sentence.
“Why are you whispering?”
“I don’t want to jinx it. Mama needs her sleep.”
I grinned, cuddling little Eva-Grace to me.
“Are you ready for this?”
I looked up and nodded. “I can’t wait. I just hope the transition from one to two doesn’t sink our battleships.”
“It will at first. New routines are killer, but you’ve got this. It’s not like you don’t know what to expect, for the most part anyway.”
“True. Lola is going to be an amazing big sister.”
“Well, duh.”
We stood there, me holding the baby and Danni looking into the bags, making sure I hadn’t forgotten anything. She was just being nosey really. She knew, but they didn’t know she did, so she too had a bag.
I was most nervous about the gender reveal. I wanted a boy; James wanted another girl… We were going to love this baby no matter its gender.
When everyone else came in, we moved to the conference room. The sleek room was so much bigger than the other. A long mahogany table sat in the middle. Danni set the bags on the end of the table, and I sat holding Eva. She was keeping me calm. If I got nervous, well, I wanted to keep my breakfast down today.
A few hours later, we had a new game plan. The newest employees of Whitman Publishing would be here in a few hours for a tour and the initial, how we do it. My afternoon was booked.
I had given Eva back to her mama a bit ago, and as I stood to make my announcement, my heart started to thunder.
“I know everyone is ready to go get lunch, but if I could have the floor for a few minutes.”
“Of course, dear. What is it?” Althea smiled down the table at me. James’ hand wrapped in mine as Danni, who had placed a sleeping Eva in her car seat, started passing out bags to the family and a cake pop with a card attached that said ‘eat me’ to everyone else.
“What is this?”
“Open it, Grandmother,” James chuckled.
The room was quiet until the first T-shirt came out. Carmen, James’ mother, jumped up out of her chair and gasped, looked at us, then gasped again. That was followed by Althea and Quentin tearing up.
“Surprise,” I said, my hand resting on the barely-there bump. In a few months, I would be huge. Just like before. I couldn’t wait.
“Oh, sweetheart!” The hugging started then. Everyone in the room was happy for us. This family, and yes, that was what we were, were going to be great additions to this baby’s life.
“Now, will everyone please take the cake pop and give it a bite? Someone has either a pink or blue center. Let’s see what this little nugget is going to be.” Danni clapped her hands.
She already knew the gender. She was the one who took the info to the bakery. I knew she would look. She just couldn’t help herself. I wasn’t even mad. I knew she would… But for once in her dang life, she’d kept the secret.
I was bouncing on my toes as I held my belly.
Everyone took bites, and it was Jessica who got the pink center. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I fought to get myself under control. More hugs and tears were shared as that news settled in. I was wiping my face when the room went quiet.
I was so overwhelmed at the news that it took me a minute to realize something else was happening. My gaze met James’ where he was down on one knee, a turquoise ring box sitting on his open palm.
“Shaylee McKnight. My love. My light. My heart. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? I pledge, here and now, before our friends and family that I have loved you for so long. I know you don’t need a ring or a wedding to know what your heart knows, but I want us to have this. To be a family with our daughters—” His voice broke, and the tears he’d been trying to hide rolled down his cheeks to land in his unshaven scruff.
“Yes. I will marry you today, tomorrow, and in fifty years.”
