Page 142 of Uniquely in Love

This apartment was large, but the house had more space. A yard for Zamboni. Room for a nursery. Bedrooms for our future kids.Kids,because we both wanted more than one. I’d grown up the youngest of three, and Owen had always been close with Penelope. I wanted that for this baby, too. Our families would always be big—overwhelming, considering the sheer amount of aunts and uncles they were going to have—but there was so much love.

Owen shifted his position, sitting on the bed and wrapping his arms around me to press me into his front. “I’m so happy that we’re going to have a place that’sours.”

Shutting my eyes, I leaned my head back against his chest. “Me too.”

As much as this apartment was home, it had always been his. He’d lived here before me. This new place would be onethat we always shared. We’d picked it out together, and everything in it wasours.

“You know, my mom sent me up a package,” I said, resting my hands on his arms.

“Mhm?”

I tilted back my head so I could look at his face. “Yeah. She found one of my boxes from high school.”

He raised an eyebrow, the question obvious on his face. “And what did she find?”

Turning around, I straddled his lap, lowering my lips to his ear. “Your old hockey sweater from high school. The one I always used to wear to your games.”

“Fuck.” He shuddered. “Don’t tell me that right before I was going to take you for a surprise.”

“I could put it on for you,” I said, fluttering my eyelashes. “We could live out whatever fantasies you had in high school.”

“Don’t need to,” he grinned, dragging his lips down my neck. “They all already came true.”

I tilted my head back, luxuriating in the sensations of his mouth on my skin. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Owen Harper.”

“Ellie Harper, my wife, the love of my life, my everything… I think it’s safe to say, without a doubt, that you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

How could I argue with that? Still, I laughed. “You could have just saidditto.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” He kissed my neck. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” I murmured, relaxing into his hold. He kept both hands over my middle, over where our baby was growing, and I shut my eyes, the warmth of his touch lulling me to sleep. It didn’t take much these days. Between the all day sickness—whoever called it morning sickness was a liar—and everything else that came with growing a baby, I was constantly exhausted.

When I woke up a few hours later, feeling well rested after my nap, Owen was no longer wrapped around me. He’d draped a blanket over me and tucked an extra pillow under my head.

That was my husband. No matter what, he always took care of me.

Yawning, I stood up, walking into the living room. Everything was pretty much packed, so we’d been going out to dinner the last few nights and just getting takeout instead. I was about to ask him what we wanted to order, but… I blinked a few times. The entire room was full of candles, and there was a vase of daisies sitting on the counter.

When had he had time to do all of this?

There was also a spread of breakfast food—because he knew that was my favorite—sitting on the counter. I let out a moan. It smelled amazing. “Okay, I’mstarving.”

“Now, don’t go making that sound yet,” Owen said, padding up behind me and wrapping his arms around me. “I have to feed you first.”

A girlish giggle slipped free from my throat. “I can’t believe you did all of this.”

“Of course I did. It’s our last night in our first apartment together. The apartment that brought us back together. Even if it was because yours flooded.” He kissed the crown of my head, leading me over to the barstool. “We got our second chance here, and that means more to me than you’ll ever know. So I wanted to celebrate this place. Us. Even if we’re about to embark on a new chapter, I don’t want to forget this one, either.”

I leaned my head against his shoulder as he sat down next to me, moving his barstool close enough to mine that our thighs would touch. “Thank you.” My emotions were all over the place, and I was definitely blaming that on the tears that sprung from my eyes as he plated me pancakes, eggs, and perfectly cooked bacon.

Owen wiped the tears away from my face, and I just laughed. “Sorry you have to deal with all of this. I know I’m a lot right now.”

“You’renota lot.” He shook his head. “You’re pregnant, and carrying my baby, that’s the biggest miracle ever. So I don’t care if you want to cry while you eat your eggs, as long as you’re eating.”

Laughing, I took a bite of the pancake, moaning at the flavor as it hit my tongue. My husband watched me eat with heated eyes, and I licked every tong of the fork as I pulled it out of my mouth, knowing it was driving him crazy.

By the time I finished eating, he threw me over his shoulder, carrying me back to our bedroom, and for the last time in our apartment, made me come so hard that I saw stars.

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