AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I took the ring out of the box and slipped it on my finger.
Then I climbed into our bed and waited.
Hearing his truck pull in, I glance at the clock, seeing it’s almost nine at night. A jolt of fear runs through me as my mind immediately jumps to conclusions on where he’s been since it’s too early to come home from the bar if he was working, and it’s rather late to be working on houses with Adam.
I shake my head, pushing the destructive thoughts to the side, knowing I have to learn that I can recover from this, too.
“Adley!” He shouts across the house, his footfalls thundering closer. “Ad!”
“In here!”
He pounds down the hall, pulling up short as he walks into the bedroom and sees me in the bed. “Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
He pauses briefly, then walks further into the room and comes around to my side and I move my legs so he can sit next to me. “What are you doing here?”
“I was trying to go to bed, but someone came through the front door yelling my name.” He’s looking at me in confusion, opening and the closing his mouth, a couple times before I laugh. “Speechless, Bill? Guess there’s a first time for everything.”
“What’s happening here?” He’s eyeing me and when he places his hand on the blanket draped over my leg, I lay mine on his. He laces his fingers with mine and freezes, looking at my hand, then back to my face as his mouth drops open and he sputters, “You put it on-”
“So, I was thinking we could get a bassinet and place it in here for the first six weeks. That way, we can both be close to the baby.” He’s watching me silently, so I add, “And then I thought that the room across the hall could become the nursery. I can move my desk andbooks to the laundry room. It will be cramped for a bit but I’m thinking I won’t be doing much writing for a while once the baby is born and-”
“I’ll buy us a new house,” he interrupts. “We can move to those new renos on Gum Drop I’ve been working on.”
Laughing, I sit up straighter and wrap my other hand around his. “No, I don’t want to move. I want to stay here. With you. And fill this house to the brim. Let’s see how much it can take.”
His eyes drop to my belly, and he moves off the bed to the floor, kneeling beside it, lifting my shirt, and kissing my stomach. My throat tightens, my mind going back to when I saw Adam do the same thing to my sister back when I first found out and wondered if Billy and I could make it.
“I want to make it here, Bill.”
He looks up at me, leaving his lips pressed against my stomach as he whispers, “We’re going to make it, Ad.”
“I’m sorry,” I choke out, and he crawls onto the bed, wrapping me in his arms, and I exhale as he says, “Don’t ever apologize. I’m a pushy guy. I want what I want. And I want you. I’ve always wanted you.”
“You’ve got me now. Both of us.” His hand drifts down to my stomach once again. “Billy, it was never about not telling you. And I wasn’t going to leave. I just had to wrap my head around it. This is a huge surprise. I’m still shocked, but after speaking with your mom, I-”
“Good ol’ Janet to the rescue, huh? I bet she knew before all of us.” He teases me and it makes me feel better.
“I think you’re right. I walked in and within minutes she was asking how far along I was.”
His fingers tickle my stomach as he rubs small circles on my skin, and a feeling of complete peace and security washes over me. “Where were you tonight? It’s too early to be home from the bar.”
“I was with Adam. We ended up working late and then sat and talked for a bit. He warned me aboutnotcoming to get you.” He raises a brow when I look at him, his fingers still stroking my skin. “It still kills him that he didn’t go after Chelsea when she left. It’s one of hisbiggest regrets. He warned me to avoid that same mistake, to take back a future loss before it happened.”
“But you already knew to come to me, didn’t you?”
“And obviously you knew to come to me. With my ring.” He leans in and kisses me, sweetly, gently, and it sends sparks through my body. I grip his shirt a little tighter and he chuckles. “I’ll come for you every day, my queen.” His body tightens and his hand freezes on my stomach. “Oh my god, did I hurt you the other night? We can’t do that anymore. I don’t want to hurt the baby!”
I urge him to get back on the bed and push him up against the headboard, climbing onto his lap and smile. “You can’t hurt the baby, Bill, and you most definitely did not hurt me.” I place his hand back on my belly. “Haven’t you heard them all talking about pregnancy sex?”
“So that’s what that was the other night.” He grins. “I thought I was just the King.”
“You are. You’re my king. And now we’ve got a little prince or princess to raise.”
“I sure hope it’s a princess. One of me is enough.” He turns his head and smiles at me. “Well, technically, I guess there’s already two of me.”
“We’d be lucky to have a son like you.”
