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I bristled with excitement, not sure how to tell him without bursting right out with it. I’d only found out for sure that morning and there was no way I could wait much longer. “I’ll probably just finish the one I’m in for now,” I said. “I’ll need to get my footing with this new family business and then pretty soon I’ll need to take things easy.” I gave him a meaningful stare, feeling pretty clever with that little hint.
Clueless, Yuri started discussing a trip he wanted to take in the winter. “If you don’t want to take a cruise, we could always fly to Hawaii. I’ve been thinking about investing in some property out there.”
“Yuri,” I interrupted. “I might not be able to travel in six months.”
He tilted his head to the side. “Do you have something big planned that far out? Can’t Ivan cover it for you?”
“Yes, I have something big that far out, and no, your brother really can’t cover it for me.” I reached over and grabbed his hand and pressed it against my still flat stomach. “I’m pregnant, silly.”
His mouth slowly dropped open and his eyes grew wide. Oh God, was he not as delighted as I was? Then he whooped so loud and full of joy that everyone else at the sandwich stand turned to gape at us. He quickly apologized and called out, “We’re having a baby!”
There was a polite smattering of applause but everyone soon went back to their own lives. Yuri pulled me close for a kiss, then looked at me with wonder.
“I knew.”
“No you didn’t. I had to spell it out for you.”
He shook his head. “I mean, I dreamed about it.” He lowered his voice. “After I got shot, I had a dream that you and I were walking on the beach. And someone was following behind us, laughing. Little kid laughter. That was our baby.”
My eyes filled with tears, and I threw my arms around him, carefully. He’d had a proper surgery and was all healed, but I was still tender around his shoulder. He tugged me closer, kissing me soundly.
“I’ll have a nice dinner ready for you so we can really celebrate tonight,” I said, squeezing his leg suggestively.
He pulled out his phone, tapping at his contacts. “Hell no. We’re going to start celebrating right now.”
A moment later he had his assistant on the phone, telling him to cancel his appointment that afternoon. He beamed at me after he ended the call, and I felt a rush of warmth that he chose me over everything else. Of course, I understood it couldn’t always be that way, and it was childish and selfish to want that. But it was nice that he did most of the time, when he knew how important it was to me. We finished up our lunch, playfully touching under the table and laughing over everything and nothing. We made outrageous plans for the baby’s nursery, already disagreeing about the decor, with me wanting a jungle theme and him insisting it had to be sailboats or nothing.
“What if it’s a girl?” I asked.
He mock scowled at me. “Girls can’t sail?”
“Fine,” I said, leaning close so he could kiss me again.
“Let’s go home,” he murmured against my lips. “We’re making a scene.”
He pulled me to my feet and we walked arm in arm to his car, our faces tipped up to the bright sunshine. I thought back to a time when I used to dream about a scenario like this, feeling like it would never happen. But now my dreams were real.
And they were better than I ever could have imagined.
*****
THE END
