Page 51 of Uxpectedly Ever After

"I'm sure." I unbuckle and swing out of the truck, my eyes fixing on the navy blue house with its wide front porch and white oak tree in the front yard that’s perfect for a swing. The 'For Sale' sign still sits in the front yard, but if everything goes according to plan today, it won't be there much longer. "She'll love it."

I hope.

Two hours later, I’ve scrawled my name on about a thousand forms, handed over the biggest down payment check of my life, and now I’m staring at keys in my palm. My hands won’t stop shaking.

"Congratulations, Mr. Priestly." She shakes my hand with a firm grip. "The sellers are thrilled with the quick close—you can move in immediately."

I thank her, but my gaze stays fixed on the place that’s now mine. Ours, if Clover will have it. The house we’ll raise our kidsin, if she says yes. "I really appreciate you pulling this together so fast."

"Not a problem. Let me know if you need any recommendations for movers or contractors for the modifications you mentioned."

I nod, but my mind’s already buzzing with possibilities: the nursery in that upstairs room with the bay window that will fit so many of Clover’s plants, an office for her across the hall, a fenced yard out back for summer BBQs. I can see it all. The bones of this place feel like the start of something huge.

Now all I need is for Clover to feel it, too.

“Where are we going?” Clover shifts in my truck’s passenger seat, one hand resting on the small but definite baby bump now visible beneath her sweater. She's sixteen weeks along now, and the hyperemesis has finally started to ease, though she still has rough days. "You know how I feel about surprises."

"You hate them," I acknowledge, reaching across the console to squeeze her hand. "But you'll like this one. Promise."

"That's what you said about the 'pregnancy superfood smoothie' you made me last week, and I threw it up all over the bathroom floor."

"Low blow, Freckles." I grimace at the memory. The kale-and-beet nightmare was not my finest moment in pregnancy nutrition. "This is better than a smoothie."

She arches an eyebrow, still wary as hell. “It better be. I’m skipping a nap for this.”

The fact that she's admitting she needs a nap is progress. A month ago, she'd have rather died than acknowledge anyweakness. Hyperemesis, however, doesn’t really give her a choice.

All I can do is hope that what’s waiting at the end of this drive is enough to show her exactly who I am—and exactly how serious I am about our future.

I turn onto the quiet, tree-lined street, and my pulse skyrockets. This is it—the moment of truth.

“Close your eyes,” I say as we near the house.

She shoots me a wary look. “Banks—”

"Please? Just for thirty seconds."

With a long-suffering sigh I've come to find adorable instead of irritating, she closes her eyes. “This better not be another baby thing. If you’ve ordered more—”

"It's not." I pull into the driveway and cut the engine. My stomach feels like it’s hosting a circus, and I take an extra second to breathe before hopping out. "Keep ‘em closed. No peeking."

I circle around to her side, open the door, and help her out of the truck. Her hand grips mine as I guide her up the stone path to the front porch. The early spring air is crisp, carrying the scent of newly bloomed flowers from the garden beds I've spent the past week filling with perennials.

I know how she feels about her plants.

“Okay,” I say once we’re at the perfect spot, my hands on her shoulders. Fuck, I hope she likes it. "Open."

Her eyes snap open, those pretty blue eyes of hers that I hope the baby has widening as she takes in the house in front of us. The fresh navy blue paint with white trim. The big front porch I could see us rocking in chairs on when we’re old.

“What is this?” Her voice is so soft I almost don’t catch it. "One of your firefighter buddies' places or something?"

My heart’s about to bust right out of my chest. “It’s ours,” I say, the words nearly sticking in my throat. “If you want it to be.”

Her head whips around so fast I'm surprised she doesn't hurt herself. "What?"

"I bought it," I say, fishing the keys from my pocket with fingers that won't stop shaking. The metal catches the sun, throwing light across her shocked face. "For us. For our family."

"You bought a house?" Her voice climbs higher with each word, her eyes going wide. "Without telling me? Without even asking me? Banks, what the actual fuck?"

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