Page 77 of Crossed Up

A small cup of ginger ale is thrust into my hand, and I sip it gratefully. From the corner of my eye, I see Cope watching me warily, but the excitement in his eyes is impossible to miss. My phone dings with an incoming text on the counter, and I snap into action.

Handing the cup back to my friend, I beam at him. “I’ve gotta go!”

I barely manage to hear his call of good luck before I’m rushing out the front door, test and cupcakes safely in my bag. One perk about Copeland’s new house is that it’s literally only steps from ours, so I’m in our garage in under a minute.

The sound of The Princess and The Frog, Crew’s current movie fixation, greets me as I come through the door into the kitchen. Ignoring the anxiety thrumming through my veins, I grab one of our cute serving trays and carefully set the cupcakes out on the island. When they’re all set out, I yell for Aidan.

He strides into the kitchen with a huge grin on his face and immediately sweeps me up into a hug. “Hi, angel. I missed you,” he murmurs, planting kisses all over my face.

“I was only gone an hour!”

His grin is charming as always, temporarily distracting me from the reason I called him in here. “An hour is way too long without my girl.”

I see the cupcakes out of the corner of my eye, and my heart starts racing. “I got us cupcakes,” I blurt.

Aidan raises a single brow but perks up when he sees the treats on the counter. With each step closer to the island, my heart climbs higher in my throat. He’s only a few steps away when his whole body freezes. “Lyla Taylor Black, what is this?”

He whips around, and I almost laugh when I see the shock on his face. I can’t resist messing with him. Just a little. “They’re cupcakes, Aidan Jasper Black. Did you take a ball to the head recently that I don’t know about?”

He stalks toward me, backing me into the wall. When my back meets the plaster, one of his big hands curls around my throat just under my jaw, tilting my face up to meet his. “You know damned well that wasn’t what I meant, angel. Is this a joke? ‘Cause if it is, you’re being meaner than a starving cat outside a fishstick factory.”

I can’t hold back my snicker. I’ve been in this state for two years, and I’m still not used to all the weird colloquialisms they’ve got.

Seeing the desperation in his eyes has me sobering up fast, and the earlier tears spring to the surface again as I hold up the test. “It’s real, Aid. We’re going to have a baby.”

His icy blue eyes dart between mine and the test for a full minute before he whoops in glee, picking me up and spinning us both around. “Holy shit, you’re having my baby. We’re gonna be parents again!”

Crew comes barreling in the kitchen, drawn in by his father’s exuberance. “Why are you yelling, Dad?”

Aidan’s eyes find mine, a question clear in their depths. When I nod, he beams, turning to our son and dropping to sit in a chair so they’re at eye level. “Come here, raptor.”

Our boy looks wary but moves to stand in front of his dad.

“You remember when you were asking for a baby brother for your birthday?”

It takes a second to click, but Crew is smart as a whip and immediately catches on, turning to me with a beaming grin. “Am I getting a baby brother, Mom?”

My smile is watery at best. “Well, we don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet, but yeah, Crew-bug. We’re gonna have a baby.”

He screams, sprinting around the kitchen in excitement and shouting all the things he’s going to teach the baby.

Aidan stands up, moving so that he’s standing at my back, and wraps me up in his strong arms. “You’ve been pretty quiet. Are you happy, angel?”

I turn in his arms, landing a kiss on his stupidly perfect mouth. “I’m scared, but I’m also so happy.”

His smile softens. I’ve talked about my fears of being a mother with him, and he says the same thing every time. “You’re already the best mother in the world, and just because you’re making this one from scratch doesn’t mean the way you love our babies is going to change.”

I release a heavy sigh, the tension from the day draining and leaving me emotionally wrung out. “Love you, Daddy.”

He smirks, pulling me in for a chaste kiss so we don’t traumatize Crew. “Love you more, angel. Always.”

EPILOGUE: PART 2

AIDAN

Eight months later

“And I see you’ve taken on the role of Crew’s mother for two years now, Mrs. Black?” Lyla nods, a nervous grin on her face as one hand cradles her large baby bump.

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