AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m telling you I’m pregnant,” I grin.
He lets out an enormous whoop, kisses me and sweeps me into his arms, spinning me around as he lifts me off the floor. “You’re pregnant!” he echoes again, then adds, “And you’re going to be my wife!”
As he lets me back down, one of his palms comes to rest on my stomach. There’s a comforting weight to it, and even if I’m nowhere near showing yet, the idea of Lucas fussing over my baby belly makes me smile. I pull him in for another kiss, relishing the feeling of him against me, happy in the knowledge that I get to do that again and again however many times I want.
“We’re going to be bridesmaids?” asks Chloe, sticking her head into the room. Clearly Lucas’s joy has brought them running.
“No, I’m going to be agroomsmaid,” corrects Noah.
Lucas reaches out to ruffle his hair, trying not to laugh at him. “You can be whatever you want, kiddo. You’re all invited, obviously.”
“We’ll need someone to hold the flowers,” I say, trying not to get too carried away with the fantasy image of the kids in cute little wedding outfits, fighting over scattering flowers and rings. “But it might be a little while away yet, the actual ceremony.”
“Why?” asks Chloe, her whole face crumpling in that classic Adler confusion.
“Well, I don’t want to be pregnant in all my wedding photos,” I say, squeezing Lucas’s hand. Chloe and Noah both frown at me, not as quick to decode hidden messages as their uncle.
Meanwhile, Ava has decided that the best place to be is clinging onto Lucas’s leg. They’ve been playing this game lately where he carries her all around the house like that, and I keep telling him to stop if only because they’ll both be disappointed when she gets too heavy.
I crouch down a little to their level, holding out both my hands for them to take. “How do you both like the sound of a new cousin to play with?”
“Ababy?” asks Noah. “But they’re no fun.”
“You were a baby once,” Chloe reminds him. “And you grew out of it — but you’restillno fun.”
“Hey!” Noah flaps his hand at her, making a feeble attempt to hit her.
I push myself between them before it can escalate any further. I’ve been witness to way too many wrestling matches between the two of them, and it always ends in tears. “Hey, hey, you guys, calm down. You’re right, Noah, you do have to be careful around babies. But when she grows up, you can play with her as much as you like.”
“She?” Lucas butts in. “How do you know?”
“I don’t. But I have a feeling about it. Wouldn’t you like a daughter?”
Finally, the penny drops for Noah. His mouth drops open in a wide O, his eyes growing big as the realization strikes him. “Uncle Lucas and Auntie Sophie are having a baby? Together?”
“Yes, stupid,” says Chloe, reaching around me to smack him. I push her away gently, not wanting a bigger scene than this already is.
“Stupid,” echoes Ava. “I want a new sister.”
“She’ll be close enough,” says Lucas, swinging Ava about to make her giggle. “She’ll be perfect.”
“It’ll all be perfect,” I say. “Now, who’s up for ice cream?”
The kids all cheer, as does Lucas, and I don’t hold back my joy as I head for the freezer, stealing a look at them all together over my shoulder, Chloe and Noah already wrestling with each other again, even as Lucas holds their heads while Ava squeezes his leg so tightly that I’m surprised he can still feel his foot.
This is it, finally. This is the kind of moment I couldn’t ask more from: the people I love all laughing in the kitchen together.
This is the family I’ve always wanted.
The End
