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He placed his hand up in the air. “I barely talk to Autumn these days. If she’s had a crush on me, I haven’t noticed.”
“Great, let’s keep it that way.”
“Christian, are you threatening me?”
“No.” I smiled. “Just a warning.”
“A warning for what? To stay away from Autumn?”
“You said it. I didn’t.”
“You didn’t have to. Subtle, you’re not.”
“Why are you getting so defensive?”
“I’m not. You’re the one who came over to me to bust my balls about your little sister.”
“She’s off-limits, Julian.”
“I didn’t know she was suddenly an option.”
“She’s not, and let’s keep it that way.”
“Duly noted.”
“Christian!” Kinley hollered from the slider door. “Can you help me open this jar of salsa? It’s stuck!”
“Be right there!” Looking back at Julian, I questioned, “We good?”
“Yeah. Just fucking dandy.”
We clinked our beers together, and I went inside to help Kinley, keeping an eye on Autumn for the rest of the evening. The last thing I wanted to worry about was my best friend with my little sister. I had enough on my plate with constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop when it came to Kinley’s mother.
Don’t get me wrong, I was happy for her to have her mom in her life again, but it didn’t stop that little voice in the back of my head that continuously had me worried that one day she would fuck her over yet again.
I hated that after three years I still felt this way—trying every day to tell myself she’d changed, it wasn’t going to happen, that I needed to start trusting her.
My instincts about her wouldn’t go away. One thing was for sure though…
When it happened, I’d be there to catch Kinley when she fell.
Chapter 21
Kinley
Now
“Christian, where are we going?” I asked with a blindfold over my eyes.
“I told you. It’s a surprise.”
It was official, our first trimester was over, and our baby was thriving inside of my belly. I couldn’t find the words to express how relieved I was that we’d got to this point and everything was still alright. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified I’d miscarry. It was a miracle I was even pregnant.
I still remembered our first ultrasound after we found out we were pregnant. Christian brought me into his office after closing hours.
Once I was laying on the exam table, he ordered, “Spread your legs for me, baby.”
“I hope you don’t say that to all your patients, Dr. Troy?”
I didn’t spread my legs fast enough, so he did it for me, winking at me. “You get the special VIP treatment, Miss Troy.”
I smiled. “Good to know.”
“Just try to relax for me.”
I inhaled a deep breath, but going to the gynecologist was never a pleasant experience, even when it was your husband who was in between your legs.
After he was done, he stated, “Everything looks good, sweetness.”
Seeing him in his doctor form was doing all sorts of things to my core, and of course he called me out on it.
“Things are getting awfully wet down here, baby.”
I grabbed my face. “Christian…”
He laughed, kissing my lips. “Stop being so delicious.”
The moment we heard our baby’s heartbeat through the speakers, I started crying. It was such an overwhelming, beautiful sound that I never wanted to stop listening to.
I didn’t know it then, but he was recording it. Later that night when I walked out of the shower, there on our bed was one of the stuffed animals he’d won me from the carnival all those years ago. I had no idea how he found it, but there was a sticker on his belly that said, “play me.”
As soon as I touched it, our son’s heartbeat filled our the air. For the rest of the night, he held me in his arms while we listened to our baby growing inside of me.
With my hands in his, he guided me on what felt like a boat dock.
“Stop trying to guess where we are, Kins.”
I laughed, he knew me so well. “I can’t help it.”
He led me to walk forward, and I followed as close as I could to his warm body. I was overthinking the possibilities of what he had planned in my mind when I suddenly felt him shift. He let go of my hand, moving to stand behind me. Wrapping his arms around my shoulders, he pulled me close to his chest before removing the blindfold from my eyes.
“Open them,” he whispered in my ear.
My eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the bright light. We were outside, and the fresh air and cool breeze hit all my senses.
The sun on my face.
The dock beneath my feet.
I smiled when I realized we were standing in front of a boat, named New Beginnings.
“You didn’t.”
He grinned. “I told you I wanted to own a yacht one day. I figured now was the right time to start making new memories as a soon-to-be family.” He nodded to the front of the bow where there was a makeshift picnic like there was the night we went to the carnival all those years ago.
