“Situationship?” Bishop asked. “What is that?”
“Undefined friends with benefits,” Lincoln offered.
Josie blew out a breath. “Anyway, she shared her secret, so I shared mine. We were together when I took the test.” She looked up at Lincoln. “I wanted to tell you, but I was going to wait until I’d had a blood test to confirm it, so I didn’t get your hopes up.”
“Oh, Josie…” Our mom stepped forward, wrapping her in a hug next. “Oh, I’m so happy for you.”
As our family took turns prying Josie from Lincoln’s grip, Bishop stared at me, open-mouthed and still on one knee. “Wait, so you’re not…?”
“No, you idiot,” I said, leaning forward to kiss him. “If you’d just talked to me?—”
“I wanted to surprise you,” he mumbled, pushing to his feet. “I wanted to show you I was serious about us, about a future.”
“Baby… I don’t need all this to know,” I said, following suit and wrapping my arms around his waist. “I just need us to talk to one another.”
“That I can do,” he mumbled against my hair.
I grinned at him mischievously. “You sure? You seemed pretty prepared.”
“I was rising to the occasion! But that’s a big occasion.” He swiped at his forehead. “Phew!”
“What? You don’t want to marry me now?” I asked, pulling back to stare at him.
Bishop winced. “No, no! I do!”
“I’m just messing with you,” I said, laughing. “I love you, but it’s way too soon for that. We can start by moving in together. Orange couch and all.”
He placed his finger beneath my chin and tilted it up. “I do want to marry you, though.”
I leaned in for a kiss, enjoying the tenderness of his lips moving against mine. “I think I’d like that very much.”
“Yeah?” he asked, green eyes sparking.
“Mmhm.”
“Hate to break up this moment,” Dad said, stepping closer. He observed Bishop and me. “But I think you and I need to talk, son. Especially if you’re gonna ask to marry my daughter without so much as a warning. I have a weak heart, ya know.”
Bishop smiled, dipping his chin. “Yes, sir. I think that’s warranted.”
“I’m gonna be a father!” Lincoln whooped, throwing one hand in the air as he kept the other on Josie’s back. We all laughed as he pressed a sloppy kiss to my sister’s temple. “Bishop! Did you bring the present?”
All eyes turned to us. I watched Bishop’s cheeks turn the deepest shade of red as he walked over to his chair by the fireand picked up a small yellow bag with a ribbon. He held it out to Josie. “Here you go. I, uh, think this is yours.”
“What is it?” I asked, trying to peek.
Josie’s brows furrowed as she reached into the bag, pulling out a small wooden box. “Is this my pregnancy test?”
I turned toward Bishop. “That’show you found out? You dug that out of the trash?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I thought it was yours and wanted to make something for us to remember…” He cleared his throat. “Lincoln helped.”
Be still my heart. What a freaking man.
“Oh Bishop…” Josie said, lip trembling as she ran her fingers over the simple oak box. “This is perfect.”
“Let me see,” I said, stepping out of Bishop’s arms toward my sister. She handed it over, and the thoughtfulness of the project stole my breath. The casing was simple. The oak border was plain but beautiful. Inside was a different matter entirely.
Bishop had chosen a beautiful rustic red fabric as the background. The pregnancy test was laid diagonally across the space, still showing faint, positive lines. It wouldn’t stay that way forever, but it didn’t matter. At the top, Baby Hayes was spelled out in loopy cursive with twine, ending in a lasso at the end of the last letter. And there was a small, yellow frame for the first sonogram picture.
