“One would have been plenty.”
“But they have false negatives sometimes, right?We might need to take two.”
With the bags in one hand, I offer her the other to help her off the couch.“Let’s do this, Ells,” I say, smiling at her.
“You’re still smiling.”
I stop walking to look at her.I need her to see my face when I say this.“Of course, I’m smiling.My wife might be pregnant with our first baby.I love you, Ellison.This is the life we dreamed of.It’s a different timeline, but it’s still coming true.You’re my dream come true, and if we’re lucky, this baby will be a bonus dream come true.”
“Fiancée,” she corrects me.“And we don’t know if there’s a baby.”
“Same thing.And if it’s negative, we’ll keep trying.Now, let’s go see if baby James is on the way.”
“You’re really okay with this, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
She studies me.I don’t know what she’s looking for, but I hope like hell she finds it.When she steps close and kisses the corner of my mouth, I heave a sigh of relief.“Let’s go take one of these tests,” she says, and leads me back upstairs to the bathroom.Stopping at the bathroom door, she releases my hand and opens her palm.“Test me.”
“What?We’re not doing it together?”I ask.
“Copeland, you don’t need to be in there with me while I pee on a stick.”
“Why not?I don’t want to miss this.”
She shakes her head, but her lips tug up in a grin.“Let me take the test, and then we’ll wait for the results together.”
“Fine, but take three.We have plenty.”
“I don’t need three.”
“Humor me,” I tell her, reaching into one of the bags and handing her three boxes.“I’ll be right here.”
“Go wait in my room.I don’t need to know you’re out here, listening to me pee on a stick.”
“Three sticks, and it’s normal.”
“I know, but… just no.Go.I’ll be right there.”
“Fine.”I kiss her softly.“Love you, baby momma.”
“Copeland!”She giggles as she disappears into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
I hear the lock click and grin.If I wanted to get to her, that lock wouldn’t keep me away.However, she asked me to wait for her in her room, so that’s what I’m going to do.Kicking off my shoes, I sit down on the bed, dropping the bags to the floor, and wait.It feels like hours have passed when she steps back into the room.
“Three minutes.”
“Come here.”I hold open my arms, and she comes to me, settles on my lap, and allows me to hold her.“I love you.”I place my hand over her belly.“I want this with you, so if we’re not pregnant, I want us to be.”
“We should probably plan the wedding before we start planning for a baby.”
“It might be too late for that.”I grin.“But, fine.Let’s plan it now.When can we do it?How much time do you need?”
“What kind of wedding do you want?”
“The kind where at the end of the day, you’re Mrs.Copeland James.”
“We always said we wanted something small and intimate.”Her voice is soft, and I don’t need to look at her to know that she’s smiling.
