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"We're pregnant," I blurt.
If there's a way to soft sell that statement, I don't know what it is.
He stares at me, his mouth opening and closing, but no sound comes out. I think I broke his brain. But mine was pretty fractured the first time I read the results too. And the fifth time, after thefifthtest came back positive.
He takes the stick, and now he stares down at it. "Two blue lines means pregnant?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"I don't know. My doctor told me that only eight couples in one-hundred get pregnant while using the patch." Because of course I had to have my doctor confirm it and boy did I have questions for her.
"That makes us one of the lucky 8% then." He smiles at me, his joy blinding and unmistakable.
Tears burn my eyes and choke my throat, but I hug him and kissed him so hard our teeth clack together. "I love you so much, Rio. I didn't know how you were going to take this."
I knew he wouldn't blame me, but I didn't expect this. For him to be so obviously, openly happy. And that allows me to let my own delight burble up inside me.
No, this isn't how I planned to start my post-collegiate life, but I’m excited to be a mom. To be a family. With Rio.
Whether or not we get married, we're a family now.
"It was not planned, but every baby is a gift," he says sincerely.
Maybe that's a Sicilian thing, because I'm pretty sure my parents aren't going to be so calm or nearly as happy as he is about this. "My dad is going to freak."
"Because you are pregnant?"
"We aren't married. Not that I expect you to marry me. We can take our time, make this work. He might not understand, but I do." I will make Rio be there for moral support when I tell my parents though.
I'll return the favor with his.
"Why should we take our time?" He sounds genuinely confused. "I have known I wanted you for the rest of my future since you walked away from me that morning in Palermo. I thought I was going to throw up from missing you before your tour bus even left the parking area."
His emotional honesty overwhelms me. "How could any guy be more perfect than you?"
His bright white teeth flash. "Well, this perfect guy has the perfect solution."
"What?"
"We elope. Tonight. My family has a house in the Caribbean and the local priest and magistrate are indebted to my family. The island has no waiting period on a marriage license. We can be married by tomorrow afternoon."
"Isn't that crazy?" But excitement is already filling my veins like champagne.
"Isn't love?"
"But—"
"If we don't elope, our families will get ahold of this, and it will become a circus. It will stop being about us, about the family we're starting and be about the families we come from."
He is so right about that. Relief-driven euphoria and adrenaline poured through me. "Yes, let's elope."
I never wanted the huge wedding, dreading the day my mother and father got their teeth into that milestone event. "You know I always wanted something small on the beach. No reporters, no business or political allies. Just me, the man I love and our immediate families."
His espresso gaze says my dream sounds wonderful to him. "We'll share our happiness with themafterthe event."
"Yes."
