Page 119 of Doing It for Love

“All right, Tumbles. I like the L theme.” I reach out to tickle her, but she slides off the bed. Guess it’s been two minutes.

I throw myself back on the mattress, rest my head on my hands, and call after her, “And we can have lots of runts running around and no shortage of names. Lydia, Lisa, Laura, Lance, Levi, Leon—”

“Well, you’re going to have to wait,” she says, stepping inside the room. I sit up just as she chucks the pregnancy stick into the garbage. “Nothing yet.”

Something sinks in my gut, somewhat shocking me. I guess…I guess I was hoping for a positive. Holy shit.

Liz gives me a tiny smile and folds into herself. It feels different from last time. We’re married now. This is my wife, and I know she wants to be a mother. I want to give that to her. And selfishly, I want to give that to myself, too.

“I really need to get a refund on those birth-control pills,” she jokes. I get up and close the gap between us, wrapping my gorgeous wife in my arms. Her hands lock behind my back, and I feel her smile against my T-shirt. I love that I can do that for her. “I’ll call the doctor tomorrow,” she says. “Find out what other options there are. Seriously…”

“We could always use a condom.”

“No offense, but it’s just not the same with a bag on it.”

“Tell me about it.”

She laughs against me, and I take in a shaky breath, give her two tight squeezes, and wait for her to squeeze back once. She does within almost the same second.

“What if instead of going to the doctor I take you out?”

“Landon…” She leans from my hold and gives me a look. “You know that if you’re funny and sweet and romantic on that date we’re going to have to ‘put a bag on it.’ ”

“What if we didn’t?”

“I don’t trust those pills.”

“I know.”

“And you don’t want me to go to the doctor.”

“Right.”

Her green eyes widen, and a glint of hope flickers behind them. I want to kiss the apples of her cheeks, hold her in the palms of my hands, and capture that gaze forever and bask in the fact that I put it there.

“You…you want to try?”

“Yeah.”

“You think we’re ready?”

“Absolutely not.”

She lets out a soft laugh and I cup her cheeks, hold this angel of mine in my hands just like I wanted to, and she grasps on to my forearms.

“I don’t think anyone’s ever ready,” I say, “but I want to give you a baby.”

She smiles, revealing that gap. “I want to give you a baby.”

“Then I think we should start right away, don’t you?” I hoist her over my shoulder, feeling pretty damn awesome that I don’t drop her when I feel her hands jam down the back of my pants and grab my ass so hard I’m pretty sure she leaves marks.

I toss her on the bed just to watch her boobs bounce as she lands. She’s on my belt in a flash, and I’m kissing the pulse on her neck.

“Let’s make up for all those times we could’ve done it while we were engaged,” she says, ripping my belt off. “Think you’re up for the challenge?”

“Sex every day till you get pregnant?” I laugh against her throat. “I’ll bet you the names you back out.”

She pauses in her frantic movements to get my clothes off, leans back, and gives me that look of competitiveness I find sexy as hell. We’ll go with the L names, I know it because she has me whipped to the bone, but I feel pretty damn victorious when she dips her hand into my pants and grins.

“I hope Lord Landon is ready to set up camp in the Land of Liz.”

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