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He looked into her eyes and glanced down at her midsection before meeting her eyes again. “Uh…at least after we tell the boys, and everyone else, we’re married. That’s the main thing. Then we should take a few months to fully immerse ourselves in wedded bliss…right?”
“What about next year?”
For whatever reason, he kept trying to hide how hard he wanted to smile, like they both didn’t already know how much he wanted this. He chewed on the inside of his lip, his grin larger than the train station.
“Next year, then.”
Depending on how the gynecologist appointment she needed to make, ASAP, went, she might not have to wait long.
She danced in her seat—hopefully, her excitement would ease his doubt.
Laughing, he bit into his pretzel and stared at the station’s interior. Then he faced her again, his gaze darting from her belly to her eyes.
“God, you’re so cute like this.” She leaned back, took his hand, and set his palm on her lower abdomen. “Here. Practice.”
His face flushed, and his hand settled in place.
CHAPTER23
Joel crouched and scooped Theo, who came running at full speed, up into his arms. Even Josiahranto them, locking his arms around Ayesha as if he never wanted to let go. They’d talked to the boys before leaving for the train that morning, and it had eased Ayesha’s worry that they’d been in better spirits.
Aleksi, who didn’t want to be left out, toddled over and held up his arms.
Joel scooped him up as well.
They thanked Mo and Giorgio, endlessly, and said their goodbyes. When Aleksi realized he wasn’t leaving with them, he bawled and squirmed in Giorgio’s hold as they walked out the front door.
The four of them made a pizza together and watched movies.
Josiah snuggled up against Ayesha for the entire movie without a book, tablet, or e-reader in sight. After their movie afternoon, which led to a movie night, they prepared for bed.
Behind the closed bathroom door, Joel overheard Theo telling Ayesha how much he helped on the swing set and how much Aleksi loved it. A chatty Theo was a happy Theo.
He went to Josiah’s room and found Josiah sitting on his bed, staring off into space.
“Hey, Siah. Everything okay?”
Josiah nodded. “Yeah. Everything’s great. You got a minute?”
“For you? Always.” Joel took a seat next to him. “What’s up?”
“I want you to know that I don’t feel bad about you spending so much time with Theo. He’s going through a lot right now, and he’s never had a dad, so he’s still learning what it’s like. Me, I have a little more experience in that area.”
Joel smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Do you, now?”
“Well,yeah,” Josiah emphasized, smiling himself. “I’m practically an expert.”
“Break it down for me, then.”
“Well, I was talking about it with one of my friends at school. She asked me if the guy who drops me off sometimes is my father. I said no, he’s my dad.”
Joel cleared his throat. “Really?”
“Yeah. Like, when Dad was still alive, I remember laughing a lot. I remember being excited to come home so we could talk or play games together. Dad was different from Ma, but in a good way. Ma makes you feel loved. Dad made me feel safe. When you put those two together, you get this feeling like you can do something you thought you never could because they’ll have your back.” Josiah’s head fell, and he studied the striped pattern on his comforter. “When Dad died, and this isn’t saying I don’t feel safe with Ma or anything, things felt different. Ma cried a lot. She tried to hide it, but I still heard her.”
The bathroom door down the hall opened and closed, and Theo’s chatter echoed until it was muffled by the door to the owner’s suite.
“Do you think she was sad a lot?” Joel asked.
