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I set the phone on the kitchen counter and looked down, placing a hand on my belly. “I’m pregnant,” I said to no one. My bottom lip trembled. “I’m pregnant.”
The bolt lock clicked, and the front door quietly opened. Dee’s tiny nails clicked across the floor as he scampered in.
“Shh, buddy,” Josh whispered as he snuck in. He froze when he saw me standing alone in the kitchen.
His expression thawed, and he closed the door. “Hi, baby. I figured you’d still be sleeping.”
“I’m pregnant.”
He dropped the bag in his hand. “Really?”
“Really.”
He stepped toward me. “How … how do you know?”
“My period was late. I took a home test, but it was negative.”
“What? When? Why didn’t you tell me?”
I shrugged, feeling more nervous than I’d expected. “I wanted to be sure. I didn’t want to get your hopes up.”
“But you are?” he asked, still in disbelief.
“Dr. Weaver’s nurse just called me. The blood work came back. I’m pregnant. She wants to schedule an ultrasound.”
Josh took three wide strides across the living room and knelt in front me. He wrapped his arms around my hips, holding his cheek to my belly. “They’re really sure? Like, sure sure.”
“They’re sure. She says I’m around six to seven weeks. The ultrasound will give us a better idea.”
He kissed my belly once, and then three more times, standing to hug me. His arms were so tight and he was so happy, I could almost forget about the plate by the sink. “Say it again,” he said, his voice breaking.
I breathed out a small laugh. “I’m pregnant.” No matter how many times I said it, it didn’t feel real.
He pulled back. Noticing my expression, his brows pulled together. “Aren’t you happy?”
“Yes,” I said, nodding once. “Yes,” I choked out, “of course I’m happy.”
Josh hugged me again. “Just when I think it can’t get any better, it does. I’m so happy, baby.” He took a step back, holding his fists in front of him. “I’m so fucking happy!” He ran to the window, and yelled, “I’m going to be a father!” Then he ran to the door and jerked it open, yelling into the hall. “I’m going to be a father!”
I smiled and shook my head as he slammed the door and strode over to me, his chest puffed out. He wrapped his arms around me again, lifting me up and twirling me around. When my feet touched the floor again, he planted a hard kiss on my lips.
His smile faded. “You’re not telling me something, I can tell. Did the doctor’s office say something?” He blinked. “Is the baby okay?”
“Yes. I mean,” I said, looking down. “They didn’t really say anything except for how far along I might be. They want me to call back to schedule an appointment, but I wanted to talk to you first.”
He swallowed hard. “About what? Them asking for an ultrasound. Is that normal?”
“Yes.” I looked up, scanned his eyes, trying to see if I could read something more—guilt, innocence, fear. I only saw Josh, my Josh, the man who loved me. That hadn’t changed.
“Where’ve you been?” I asked.
Josh let me go to jog across the room, picking up the white sack he’d dropped. It was from JayWok. “You said on the phone last night that you were craving noodles.”
“For breakfast?”
He gestured to the leftover Alfredo on my plate. “Looks like I was right.”
I breathed out a laugh. “Touché.”
He shrugged. “I think it’s kind of romantic.”
I fought a smile. That was the first thing Josh had said to me after the crash, the response that had started it all. “But they’re not open for another hour.”
“I called in a favor.”
“They owed you a favor?”
“We’re good customers. What did you want to talk to me about?”
I glanced at the plate, and then back at him. On our wedding day, I had promised to trust him, just like he’d promised to love only me. He was happy about our baby. I couldn’t jump to conclusions.
“I just wanted to talk to you about your schedule, to see when a good time was to schedule the ultrasound.”
“I work nights, baby. You schedule one, and I’ll be there.”
I hugged him tight, pressing my cheek against his chest. “We’re going to be parents, Josh.”
He exhaled. “No, we’re going to be amazing parents. I was thinking that maybe … maybe we should look into buying a house.”
I leaned back. “We can’t afford a house.”
“If I sold the Barracuda, we would have most of the down payment for something small in the suburbs. We’d get a tax break. It’s doable.”
“How would you get to work?”
He shrugged. “Quinn.”
My nose wrinkled. “Quinn is going to drive to Haddonfield?”
Josh twisted his face, unhappy. “Haddonfield? I was thinking more like Devon or Blue Bell.”
I glared at him.
He held out his hands and let them slap to his thighs. “Okay, Cherry Hill.”
“You want to move to Jersey?” My voice rose an octave, and I rubbed my temple, feeling another headache coming on.
“Okay, don’t stress. We don’t have to talk about it right now. But if I find a nice house in a nice neighborhood … will you think about it?”
