Page 156 of Blush Crush

"But," I start, clasping my hand in Cole's, "I'm pregnant."

There's a silence that lasts enough to feel like time froze until a massive eruption goes off at once.

Cristina bursts into tears, moving to stand and pulling me into her arms before I've fully processed what's happening. Bill gets teary-eyed and embraces Cole in a big bear hug, clapping him on the back. Nora screams, and Blake immediately starts pointing at Cole sayingI knew itover and over, while Wela silently asks permission before placing her hand on my stomach and murmuring a quiet blessing in Spanish.

Wyatt wasn’t able to make it but he was ecstatic for us over the phone. Along with Danny, who’s very excited to not be the only kid in the family anymore.

On my family's side it's no quieter. My mom has her hands pressed to her cheeks, wearing a watery smile. I already told her and the girls, so they're not shocked by the news. My dad starts to shake Cole's hand and then thinks better on it, and it turns into a hug. Ethan, who has never been known for his affectionate side, also hugs Cole after he hugs me, saying his congratulations. Shane declares he'll be the fun uncle, but something tells me Blake will give him a good run for his money.

"Wait," Nora says, cutting through the commotion, hands raised. "How far along?"

"Eight weeks," I reply loud enough for everyone to hear.

"And—" Cole begins, his tone shifting slightly. "There's more."

He looks at me and I look at him and I feel the smile break across my face before I can stop it.

"We're having twins," I say, my hands instinctively settling on my stomach.

From there it's absolute pandemonium.

I'm so swept up in it—in the excitement and new wave of congratulations—that I almost don't notice Cole is no longer standing beside me.

Instead, he's down on one knee.

And my own knees almost give out, my hand cupping over my mouth as a new set of tears make their way to the surface.

"I had a whole speech." He reaches into his pocket and produces a velvet ring box. "But now I can't remember one word of it." He takes my hand in his, exhaling slowly. "I've been hanging onto this ring for over a month." He opens the box, revealing an oval-cut engagement ring—a single pink diamond with delicate rose detailing along the gold band. But it's not thebeauty of it that renders me speechless. It's that he bought it over a month ago. Before the pregnancy. Before I was even sure he loved me the way I love him.Yesis already on the tip of my tongue, but now I know without any doubt—he's not asking me to be his wife out of duty or obligation. He loves me. Pregnancy or not, he's choosing me, seeing me, loving me. Just for me. "Ariana Lorelei Ledger, will you marry me?"

"Yes," I tell him through the emotion lodged in my throat.

He slides the ring onto my finger and stands and I throw my arms around his neck as he lifts me off the floor, his face buried in my hair.

There's a chorus of cheers surrounding us, but the sound of it fades into the background and all I hear is the beating of our hearts, completely synced. One and the same.

What started out as a fake relationship has become the realest, most precious thing to me on Earth.

I think our love was there long before we realized it ourselves, tucked between the things we thought we wanted. A crush on a guy who was all wrong for me. Staying a hidden wallflower, too afraid to go after what I wanted in life.

Cole saw me when no one else did. The shy girl constantly blushing as she fumbled her way through life and the guy next door with a crush and a half-assed plan.

I've read thousands of romances and dreamed of the day I'd get my own love story.

And none of them come close. Ours is by far my favorite.

CHAPTER 46

Cole

WE’RE A FAMILY

Thirty Weeks Later

“Okay, Dad, are you ready?” Doctor Sandy asks me.

I have never been less ready for anything in my life. But I nod anyway because Ariana is looking at me from the operating table, doing the actual hard part, so I have to be the one who holds it together.

Though I’m not sure it’ll be possible when I know what’s coming. They’re going to cut her open. You’d think in this day and age there would be a less barbaric way to deliver twins.