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Marleigh looked as if she was about to melt. “So…you’re not just asking me to move in with you because I’m pregnant?”
“What?” I gaped at her. “Marleigh, I’ve been planning to take you with me since the moment you opened your door. I instantly fell in love with you and knew I wouldn’t take anything less than forever.”
“I’m the dream woman you were talking about on the phone with your contractor?” Marleigh sat up straight, and her eyes searched my face as she asked, “You love me?”
“Of course, you are. Who else would I be talking about? I love you, baby,” I sighed, bending my neck so I could rest my forehead against hers. “You really think I would knock up a woman I didn’t love? Spend every available minute with her? Force her to move into my house with me?”
She giggled, and her smile was hesitant when she spoke. “You never said anything. I mean, I hoped. It felt like you were showing me, but I didn’t know if I was interpreting things wrong.”
“Because I’m a fucking idiot,” I grumbled. “I wasn’t sure you were ready to hear it, so I focused on showing you. But I should have just gone with my instincts and told you every chance I got that I am hopelessly in love with you.”
Marleigh beamed at me and chirped, “I love you, too.”
“Damn straight,” I muttered, making her chuckle. Then I lifted my head, and my gaze probed hers as I asked the question I’d been avoiding. “Are you happy about the baby?”
Marleigh bounced in my lap, and her eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. “Yes!” she exclaimed. Then she sobered a bit and placed her palms on my cheeks. “I’m beyond excited to have your baby, Clay. To start our future in a brand-new place with a brand-new addition to our family.”
“Damn, I love you so fucking much,” I uttered before I gathered her close and sealed my lips over hers. I was close to dragging her back to the bedroom for some celebratory sex, but before we did that, I wanted to know for certain that those two little lines were right.
Marleigh mewled in protest when I stood with her in my arms, then gaped at me when I grabbed my keys and walked toward the door.
“Um, Clay?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“The bedroom is the other way.”
I laughed and hugged her close before striding out of the apartment and setting her on her feet near the elevator. “I want to know if this will be celebratory or if I need to buckle down and really get to work on knocking you up. So I’m taking you to a doctor to get an official test.”
“Buckle down? Really work?” she sputtered. “Clay, how could you possibly try any harder?”
I grinned and laced our fingers together just as the elevator doors opened. “I’ll figure out something.” Then I winked, and she leaned into me with a dreamy smile. “Just wait until I get you in our bed at home. Room to roll around is an understatement.”
A few hours later, we celebrated in her old apartment. Then the next day, after the movers left, we celebrated again in our new home. And again. And again…
Epilogue
Marleigh
My college friends warned me about the risk I was taking by dropping out of my degree program after my first year, so I had been thrilled to prove them wrong only two years later when I successfully launched my own line. With Wrenley as the face of my high fashion designs for girls with curves, we had gotten a lot of media attention. Her modeling career had taken off with the Every Woman contract, and she was a hot commodity after she gave birth to Joshua.
It also hadn’t hurt that I was married to a hot, professional football player, and we were often photographed when we were out and about. Or that I had the support of the other Nighthawks wives and girlfriends. But I never expected the kind of offer I had just received.
“I’m sorry. Could you repeat that, Amanda?”
“They want you for the new show.”
I hadn’t known why my best friend’s agent had asked her for my phone number, and I never would have guessed she wanted to call me for this. “As a contestant?”
“Nope. You’d be on the judges’ panel.”
I shook my head. “But how could I possibly be qualified as a judge? My line has only been out for less than a year.”
“Every contestant would kill to be in your shoes. Launching a successful debut line is a dream for any fashion designer,” she explained. “And it doesn’t hurt that you’re a media darling. Casting you as a judge will bring attention to the show. It’s a smart business decision.”
My hand dropped to my still-flat belly. “Um…would me being pregnant make them rethink the offer?”
“What is it with you and Wrenley?” she sighed. “It feels as though every time I call one of you with a big offer, you’re knocked up.”
