Page 161 of Only Fate

“Yeah,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose in nervousness. “Of course.”

For some reason, some weird dread flows through me.

This feels almost like a bride walking down the aisle and then telling the groom they need to talk. I actually attended a wedding where that happened once.

Essie’s hand is clammy, and her boots click against the floor. My steps are slow, my body tense, as she guides me out of the room. She walks us into the employee room and shuts the door.

Her back rests against the door, as if she doesn’t want to risk anyone else coming in.

“Essie,” I say, taking a startled step toward her, “what’s going on?”

“I don’t want us to find out with everyone else.”

I squint, unsure what she means. “What?”

She sticks her hand inside her bra and whips out a small envelope. It looks the same as the one we gave to Callie—the only person, other than the doctor, who knows our baby’s sex.

“I want us to do this privately,” she says with full certainty. “Just me and you. I know it was important for our families to plan this, and I didn’t want to break their hearts.” She inches closer, putting the envelope in both our hands. “This should be intimate. Let’s do it right here, right now, and then we’ll go back out there and pretend we didn’t know.”

A smirk stretches across my face. “Sounds good to me, babe.”

I’m cool with whatever she wants.

She slowly exhales a breath. “All right, on the count of three.”

We count together, “One, two, three.”

The noise of the envelope ripping open sounds like my future is bursting through it. We hold the paper in our hands, neither of us looking before the other.

I run my thumb along her hand, our gazes locking, and she nods.

Her hands tremble, and mine shake as we open the paper and read it.

“A girl,” she whispers.

I’m glad she wanted us to experience this moment in private.

Because, damn, do emotions take over me.

We’re having a baby girl.

A baby girl.

My face softens as happiness washes through me, and I swipe at my nose to hide how I’m getting choked up.

She climbs on her toes for a kiss. “We’re having a baby girl.”

I kiss her back. “I can’t wait to meet our little angel.”

She shoves her face against my chest. “Now, we need to go back out there before we worry everyone.”

As she pulls away from me, I keep her at arm’s length. “Wait, how is my surprised face?”

I pinch my face together, then open my mouth, then clasp my hands over my cheeks—veryHome Alone–style.

“It’s terrible.” She laughs. “But it’ll have to do.”

The first room we paint in our new home is the nursery.

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