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Oh, God! That sounds so promising but…can this really work? Honestly? Who am I kidding? But this would be the miracle I’ve been wanting for my child. For her to have a father.
“Oh, Jules. I…I love you, too. I really want us to work. I…I’m so glad, I hope anyway, that we’ll be married before,” she lovingly glanced down at her baby bump as she gently rubbed her beach ball belly, “she comes along into this world.”
Her daughter deserved to have a father’s name on her birth certificate.
“So am I. I agree with you. I love you and want to spend my life with you and our little girl. And I do think it’s best that she’s born to us as husband and wife.”
Did he say spend his life with me? Could they even stay married together?
“Thank you for understanding, Jules. It wasn’t easy for me growing up, feeling different from the other kids because my real dad wasn’t married to my mother or even in the picture. When she married my stepfather, it was a dream. I’ve always dreamed and prayed that my daughter, my child would be born into wedlock. It’s just something that meant the world to me. When I became pregnant I thought I’d lost that dream, Jules. Thank you.”
“That’s what love is all about, right?” Jules lifted her chin to his and kissed her lips so softly.
He had already given the thumbs-up to the pilot of the plane who did the skywriting proposal and soared off into the distance.
“I know,” she agreed quietly. Her baby kicked a few times and Jules melted into a grin. He placed his hand over Amber’s and both soothed the belly together.
“I’m going to be the best daddy to our little girl, Amber. It doesn’t matter that I’m not the biological father. Blood is thicker than water, but love is thicker than blood.”
She tingled at the sound of his empowering words. Sure, Jules would be a great daddy. But she didn’t know if she could be a good wife to him. Would they end up splitting up again?
“That’s so true. I like that.”
“It’s the truth, but they aren’t my original words. My brother got it from some wisdom website.”
She grinned again. Oh, Jules. Always the one to lighten what could be a serious or intense moment. “I still agree, Jules. It is so true.”
“Anyway, we’d better move quickly with the date if you want to be married before our little princess makes her grand entrance.”
“I know.” Amber felt a pang of guilt. She didn’t want Jules to feel let down by her. There was so much about herself she could never reveal to him.
“I’ll speak to Carl and we’ll see what we can do to expedite things at City Hall. We need to get some paperwork completed.”
“Okay. That sounds like a plan.” A lump climbed into Amber’s throat again.
He smiled. “I like the sound of that,” he purred in a low, sexy voice.
Jules traced the outline of Amber’s jaw with his fingers and she tingled at his soft touch. Waves of pleasure tumbled through her veins.
Oh, Jules. That magic touch.
A part of her was glad her daughter would have a father’s name on her birth certificate. Part of her was terrified that Jules and she would regret they rushed into this marriage.
His fingers touched her chin and tilted her head up to his and he pressed his soft lips to hers, brushing her flesh with his. Despite her inner turmoil, she enjoyed the soft erotic touch of his lips as she inhaled the delicious scent of his cologne.
She moaned with ecstasy as he moved his lips to her ear and nibbled on her sensitive flesh. Oh, she loved when Jules did that! It was so magical. So amazing. He then slid his lips to her cheek and kissed her lovingly. His mouth moved to the tip of her nose and she tingled with delight when he pressed his lips to her skin.
“God, you’re so beautiful, Amber. Every single inch of you,” he murmured as he brushed his soft lips over one of her scars resting on her shoulder. At first she was nervous; her belly exploded into what felt like a thousand tiny butterflies scattering inside her. But then she remembered, he was nothing like her ex. Nothing at all.
“Hmm,” she responded as she embraced his body, feeling his warmth and his genuine affection. His feelings for her were almost palpable.
She moaned into his lips as he kissed her passionately, sliding his tongue between her lips and gently twirling his tongue inside while she felt her body throbbing from his desirable stimulation. They kissed hungrily and passionately as he slid his hands down her back holding her firmly as she leaned against the rail of the yacht.
Panting hard, she pulled away from him.
“What is it?”
“Nothing. I just…I love this moment.” Amber glanced down lovingly at her baby bump before giving it a good rub. She didn’t want to progress any further. Not that anything could happen out there in the open anyway. She just wasn’t ready yet.
She turned around to face the water. Jules snaked his strong arms around her. “Okay, beautiful,” he said, as if he could read her mind. “We’ll take it one step at a time.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head as he continued to hold her from behind. There was something soothing and calming about being near the water. Amber closed her eyes for a moment and enjoyed the feel of Jules around her, loving her.
They embraced and held each other glancing up at the beautiful early evening purple sky, the coolness of the water from the lake breezing onto their skin as they savored the moment.
The water might have been calm, but Amber felt anything but serene inside. Why did she feel as if Jules proposed under the excitement of the baby? She felt as if there was something missing. A marriage would not change things. If anything it might reveal things.
* * *
“He said what?” Venus asked Amber over the phone the next day, sounding excited.
“He asked me to marry him, Venus. I’m still reeling with shock. I’m so overcome with emotion, you have no idea. Unless, you knew about this?”
She was overcome with emotion all right. All kinds of emotions.
Venus’s voice grew excited. “Oh, Amber, I’m thrilled for you and Jules. I had no idea! Carl didn’t say a peep. That’s amazing. Welcome to the family, sister-in-law.”
Amber sat on the plush patio chair soaking in the warm weather at the cottage at Romero Manor.
“Jules is at City Hall right now. He’s applying for the marriage license and seeing what he can do to expedite the ceremony for next week or the week after since I’m due in a few weeks.”
Amber’s heart pounded hard and fast at the thought. Her nerves were getting the best of her again at the thought of getting married in a few weeks before the baby’s due date.
“They’re lining up a minister and everything. I just don’t know how they’re going to find a dress that can accommodate my baby bump. I hope I look all right for the wedding photo. I wouldn’t want to ruin that for Jules.”
“Oh, you won’t. And about that maternity wedding gown, that’s nothing to worry about. Believe me, you’re not the first one to be married with a bun in the oven! Besides, Pamela’s super connected in every walk of life. She’s good at finding stuff. In fact, she got my wedding dress at the last minute when Carl and I flew to Vegas on a whim to get married.”
“Oh, that’s right. I remember you telling me that.”
“And besides-”
Amber let out a scream!
“Amber?” Venus cried over the phone. “What is it? Are you all right?”
Amber’s heart thumped erratically in her chest. She felt fluid ooze down her leg.
Oh, no!
So much for Amber’s dream of having her baby born into wedlock next week. “Venus, I…I need to call Jules. I need to go to the hospital right now. I think my water just broke!”
CHAPTER NINE
“Well, congratulations, bro. Welcome to the wonderful world of wedded life.” Carl playfully slugged Jules’s arm. Jules had just applied for the marriage license so that he and Amber could exchange vows before the baby arrived. They hoped to tie the knot sometime next week.
The two men were in his office at City Hall following Carl’s chamber meeting with the council. Carl then leaned back against his desk and folded his arms across his chest with a proud smile on his face. “Man, I’m so glad you decided you’re going to do the right thing. You know Granddad is going to go crazy,” Carl continued.
“The right thing?” Jules asked, perplexed.
“Yeah. You know Amber is the right woman for you, I just wasn’t sure how you were going to handle this situation with biological kids and everything that you were talking about.”
“Well, you know, Carl, I thought about what you said and you’re right. I don’t want to miss out on something amazing with Amber because of this situation. I already lost her once. I’m not making the same mistake twice.”
“What did she say when you told her about…?”
“She looked a little stunned at first but then she shrugged and said it didn’t really matter.” Jules wiped a smudge off his belt buckle as he stood in front of his brother. “What matters is that we can be a family—together. And we can always adopt if we want more kids.”
“Nice. Amber really has a heart of gold.”
