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Fresh tears welled in my eyes. “Thank you.”
He wrapped his arms around me. “I love you. God, I love you so much.”
Burying my face in his neck, I pulled in a deep breath, letting his love wash over me. “I love you, too.”
Epilogue
Emma
Light spilled from every window as I pulled into the driveway at Jake’s. No, ours. Our home. I felt my breath hitch in anticipation, knowing he was inside cooking dinner for me. Knowing the night ahead would be just like every other Saturday night if we stayed in. Dinner or take out if Jake couldn’t be bothered cooking. Snuggling on the couch watching a movie. We pretended to take it in turns to choose what to watch, but in reality, it was always my choice. Then Jake would carry me to bed and make love to me. Sometimes gentle and sweet. Other times wild and sweaty. I never knew which I was going to get and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I ignored the exhaustion that dragged at me as I pushed the car door open and eased out. The front door opened the moment my foot hit the top step of the veranda and my heart lurched then started a rapid beat.
“Hey, you.”
“Hi.” I smiled back at my husband, stepping closer and wrapping my hand around the back of his neck, pulling him down for a hard kiss. When I finally pulled away, taking a moment to catch my breath, Jake looked at me closely.
“All good?’
Okay, so I looked like shit, I’d be the first to admit it. I was pale and my cheeks had a hollowed out look to them. “Yeah, just tired, I guess.” I stood passively under his scrutiny for a long moment, barely restraining myself from squirming.
“How’s your dad?”
Blowing out a breath of relief that he wasn’t going to press further, I said, “Really good. Optimistic about the surgery.”
“Can’t ask for more than that.”
“Exactly. Now, are you going to let me in and feed me whatever that delicious smelling dinner is? Or are we going to stand here yapping all night?”
His eyes dancing, he said, “My apologies,” before stepping aside and with an exaggerated flourish, waved me into the house.
Instantly, I covered my mouth with my hand as a wave of nausea rolled over me. Outside, the dinner had smelled amazing. Inside, closer up, not so much.
“Em?”
“Gimme a minute.” I breathed in through my mouth so I didn’t smell the food, waiting for the sickness to pass. “Sorry. It really does smell amazing.”
“Are you sure you’re not…”
“I’m not. Peed on a stick this morning, remember?”
“I know. It’s just…”
It’s just…Six months of trying. Six months of wedded bliss but no baby. No matter how hard we tried. Feeling my throat tighten, I turned my face away so Jake couldn’t see the devastation there.
“Hey,” he said softly, pulling me into his arms and holding me gently.
“Sorry,” I said again.
“Don’t be sorry.” Pressing a kiss to the top of my head, Jake pushed me away slightly so he could look at me. “It’ll happen.”
He sounded so confident that I couldn’t help but feel better. With that, the nausea subsided and I was able to feel hungry again. “Thank you.” I went up on tiptoe to brush my lips lightly across his. With a reassuring smile, I said, “Let’s eat.”
Dinner was amazing, of course. Curling up on the couch to watch an action flick with my honey, also amazing. Being carried to bed afterwards, making sweet gentle love to each other, also amazing.
* * *
The next morning I woke late, with the spring sunshine streaming in through the window. Stretching lazily, I felt Jake stir behind me and turned to him. With his eyes still closed, he rolled onto his back, pulling me with him so I was sprawled across his chest.
