Page 28 of With Every Breath

“Not here.” He stepped over the threshold and planted a deep kiss on my lips. “I’m going to grab our bags, and I’ll meet you in the bedroom,” he murmured against my lips as he slowly set me down.

“Sure thing, stud.” I sighed as I shuffled toward our bedroom. I was so tired that all I did was kick off my shoes before climbing onto the bed and passing out from exhaustion. Dex would have to wait until morning.

Chapter 13

Bailey

It felt kind of odd getting back to normal. Normal wasn’t really normal anymore. There were things I didn’t really consider in the past, that now seemed like a big deal. Things like how Dex felt about some of the decisions I made. We’d been together for five years now, but I’ve always been independent, and never wanted to rely on anyone for anything. Since he was my husband now, it kinda seemed like I was supposed to.

“Coffee?” He handed me a mug as I sat down at the kitchen table. It was a rare day off for me.

“Thanks.” I sipped it and thumbed through the mail sitting nearby.

“Dr. Bradley called again yesterday. Are you gonna call her back?” Dex sat across from me.

“Maybe.” I shrugged. I didn’t want to talk about this right now, and I was trying not to lose my cool.

“What’s wrong? Talk to me.” Dex reached across the table and placed his hand over mine. “I thought you wanted a baby, like right now.”

“I did. I mean, I do.” I sighed. “You don’t get it. I’m afraid of what she might say,” I mumbled as I stared at my lap. “Not going means there’s a chance that everything will be fine.” One shoulder rose and fell. “I don’t want her to tell me that there’s no chance of us having a baby.”

“Ok.” Dex slowly nodded. “So don’t go.”

“Just like that.” My head snapped up as I stared at him. “I thought you wanted kids.”

“I do, but I can see that you want to do this on our own for a while, and I’m ok with that. We’re young. We have plenty of time to try.” He stood, moved closer, and squatted down beside me. “Some couples try for years to have a baby. We’ve been trying for two weeks. We have time.” He leaned into me, kissing my temple. “Enjoy your breakfast.”

“Where are you going?” I glanced at the clock in the kitchen.

“Work. I have a layout to approve.” He smiled, grabbed a pastry off the counter, and headed out the door. Dex had been working a lot lately. As the assistant editor of the local paper, I knew he wanted to take over as soon as he could.

I spent the morning being lazy. I’d normally be at the soccer field right now running drills with my team, but I gave them the day off. It’s hard when you’re working with the best. The parents expect perfection all the time. They don’t understand that their kid needs to be a kid every now and then. Even the ones who grow up to go pro had days off. When I saw the exhaustion on some of their faces yesterday, I decided we all needed a break.

ooooooooo

I’ve never been good with down time, and as the morning turned into afternoon, I found myself calling Madi to come over. I still had a party to finalize, and I knew my best friend would want in on that.

“S’up, Chica?” Madi burst through the door like she owned the place.

“I thought you might want to help go over these final plans?” I tossed my notebook on the table. “I need to go for a final fitting tomorrow night, stop by the venue to approve the menu later, and make a decision on these flowers.” I leaned back and closed my eyes.

“Isn’t this shindig supposed to happen next week?” Madi flopped down beside me.

“Yep.” I refused to open my eyes. I knew what was coming.

“Bailey Slone! Why are you waiting till the last minute?” she all but screeched.

“It’s not. I have a week,” I whined. “This is why we eloped. I didn’t want to do this.”

Madi reached over and grabbed my notebook. “Go get dressed. We’re taking care of these things now.” She shoved me.

“But I have appointments set,” I scoffed.

“Well, I’m changing them. Go get dressed.” She pointed toward the bedroom with a stern face.

“Yes, ma’am.” I laughed because Madi was anything but mean.

oooooooo

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