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I picked up the picture as my jaw dropped to the floor.
“You’re pregnant?” I asked.
“I’m only, like, two months along. I’m not far. It’s pretty recent. And if you aren’t ready to be a father, I completely understand.”
My heart stopped in my chest as her words graced my ears.
“You were scared to tell me this?” I asked.
“I didn’t want you to be upset. I’m sorry. And we’re out at this wonderful restaurant and I knew you’d start asking questions when you noticed I wasn’t eating my food.”
“Oh my gosh. You don’t like the food.”
“I’m just feeling a little—icky.”
“Holy shit. Your exhaustion. Your aversion to your favorite foods. Wait, you’re feeling nauseous? We need to get you out of here. What do you want to eat? We can go anywhere. Or we can go home. I can cook you something. Do you want soup? They’ve got soup here.”
I launched out of my chair and rushed to her side, then pulled her into a hug.
“Logan, slow down. It’s okay.”
“We’re going to have a baby,” I whispered.
“What?” she asked.
I picked her up out of her seat and swung her around as a smile crossed my cheeks.
“I’m going to be a father!” I exclaimed.
People in the restaurant started to applaud as Ava giggled into my neck.
“So you’re not upset?” she asked.
I settled her down on her feet and knew there was only one proper response to that question. I reached into my pocket and wrapped my fingers around the ring box, then pulled it out and dropped to my knee. People in the restaurant gasped as Ava’s eyes widened, and I cracked open the box before I held it up to her. Tears crested her eyes. A smile unlike any other spread across my face. I took her left hand and brought it to my lips to kiss, then looked into her eyes.
“Ava Leary, you’re everything to me. You’re my best friend, my trusted partner, my better half. And now you’re the mother of my child. I could never be upset about starting a family with you. In fact, a family with you is what I’ve wanted since the day you moved in.”
“It is?” she asked.
“It is, my love. I want a family with you. A home with you, a future with you, a life with you. I want to raise our children at your side and fall asleep next to you all the days of my life. You’ve forever changed my world, Ava, and I can’t imagine a second of it without you here. Ava Leary, will you marry me?”
The whole restaurant hung on baited breath as a smile spread across Ava’s cheeks.
“Yes, Logan. Of course I’ll marry you!”
I shot up from my feet as the restaurant erupted into applause. I scooped her into my arms and kissed her furiously, backing her hips against the table. She smiled against me, giggling as I slid the ring out of the box and onto her finger. The diamond shone against her tanned skin, and before I knew it, I had dropped back to my knees and pulled her stomach to my lips. I kissed the place where our child was growing over and over again as the restaurant continued to clap for us. I wrapped my arms around her body and held her stomach to my cheek, imagining what our child would look like.
“I love you both so very much,” I whispered.
We finished our dinner and got our dessert to go. And as I drove my fiancée and the mother of our child back to our home, the only thing running through my mind was how perfect it all felt. I’d never been this happy in all my life, and I couldn’t wait for the next leg of my journey with Ava.
“Could Camilla be my maid of honor?” Ava asked.
“You can have whatever you want for our wedding, beautiful. All I want is to marry you. That’s it.”
“So, you won’t mind if we wait until after we have the baby?”
My hand migrated down to her stomach before she settled her hand on top of mine.
“Whatever you want is fine with me,” I said.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t very hungry.”
We pulled up to a stoplight, and I used that time to look into her eyes.
