Page 194 of First in Line

Her jaw drops. “How?! I didn’t even know until October!”

“Your taste changed. Like it did with Ophelia.”

“My ta—” When she realizes what I mean, her pretty blush returns. “Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“Becauseyouweren’t saying anything. I wanted you to tell me, but I figured you probably had your reasons not to.”

She becomes a little reticent again, twisting her hands together. “I think I know what this means. And you were having such a fantastic season, I didn’t want to take that away from you. But before you make a rash decision, Jax, I want you to know I’mperfectly healthy. My blood pressure is normal, and there hasn’t been anything worrying or alarming.”

I can’t stop myself from resting a hand over her stomach, a gesture I’ve been craving to do since I realized. “How far along are you?”

“Three and a half months. I was hoping you’d think I was a little bloated.”

“Well, you have been gassy.”

She answers the jab by shoving me away. “It’s the pregnancy,” she defends herself.

I keep her against me and smile down at her. “Which I knew all along, but I wouldn’t mind either way.”

The playful teasing brings grins to our faces. But then they slowly fade.

Three and a half months. A baby. Mine and Evie’s.

My hand remains over her belly, unable to leave it now that I have permission. There’s nothing to feel yet. No kick. No movement. Just the knowledge that our child is there. A strange emotion settles over me, so large I can’t quite make sense of it.

When Ophelia came into our lives, everything happened too quickly. One moment we were kids, then Evie was pregnant, and when we were finally ready for our baby girl, we ended up saying goodbye.

Actually, I didn’t. I never even got to hold her, too scared to take that risk. But this time will be different. This time, I’ll be there for the birth. And I’ll be there for Evie, attentive to her every need, devoted entirely to her well-being.

My chest tightens, not with grief but with hope. This time, I’ll get to hold my child.

I’ll become a parent with the woman in my arms. The mother of my firstborn and bearer of the second one.

Evie notices the shift in me. Of course she does. Her hand settles over mine, where it rests on her stomach. For a moment,neither of us says anything. We don’t need to. But for the first time since Ophelia, we’re allowing ourselves to imagine it. A nursery, first steps, birthday parties, family vacations, the tooth fairy…. A future that goes beyond loss.

And God, I want it. I want all of it.

I lower my head and press a kiss against her temple. “Thank you for telling me,” I murmur.

Her fingers tighten around mine. “I’m still a little annoyed that you guessed. But I should have known better.”

I chuckle and bend down to kiss her on the lips this time.

Before I can get there, the door beside us rattles. “Jackson, are you in there?!” Justine shouts from the other side of it. “I swear to God, I will strangle you if you are. We’ve been looking everywhere for you. The entire conference room is waiting!”

“Fuck,” I mumble, releasing Evie.

Reluctantly, I unlock the door and open it. I give Justine a forced smile while her eyes throw daggers at me. She looks away, only to stare at Evie, who’s still a little red in the face.

“Were you two snogging in here?”

“Uh… Yes. That’s exactly what we were doing,” I lie.

“Ugh. Go now, you insufferable man-child,” she orders, pointing in the direction of the media pen.

“Can she come with us?” I ask, taking Evie’s hand.

After a blank stare at me, she turns to Evie. “Darling, if you need a way out of your marriage with that ridiculously obsessed husband, blink twice.”