Page 150 of Paper Hearts

“Whatever I want…”

I can’t help the tears.

Ender doesn’t express his love through words very often. Words don’t mean nearly as much as the actions. Smirking, he stands up and pulls me closer. We stare at each other for a long moment, watching, when he leans in to kiss me. “I love you, Hads.”

I bury my head in his shoulder. “I love you too,” and then I’m crying.

Eddie comes into the kitchen and snatches the pregnancy test and holds it up. “What’s this?”

Ender smiles at her but doesn’t say anything.

I kneel next to her and take the test, wiping my tears away. “It’s mine. Mommy’s gonna have another baby.” I stare at her, waiting to see what she’s going to say.

Her eyes drop to the test, and then she glances over her shoulder at Booker who’s crying now. “With one of those?”

“I don’t know if it’s a boy, or a girl, but a baby, yes.”

Eddie’s eyes move to her dad. “Oh.”

Ender leans down and picks her up. He motions to the ring on my finger. “I’m gonna marry your mama too. Is that okay with you?”

“I am not wearing another white dress. No way,” she grumbles, squirming out of his arms and walking away.

Ender stares at the test and then me. “Another one, huh?”

“Is that okay?” My throat tightens and nerves hit me. I’m busy working on my book nearly every day, Ender’s working out of town, coaching T-ball, and our life has fallen into place together, but a new baby? I never considered he might not want to have another baby, but then again, I didn’t plan this.

He bites his lip, pulls me closer and fists my dress in his hand at my hip. “Baby, I’ll have ten kids with you if it meant you were mine forever.”

“Please not ten.” I laugh, holding him tighter. “I don’t think my girly parts can handle that.”

“Let me be the judge of what they can handle,” he growls into the curve of my neck and then carries me to our room. “I need to consummate the engagement.”

“I don’t think it works like that.”

He lays me down on the bed and starts unbuckling his shorts. “Sure it does.”

And we do, consummate our engagement despite our family still being over. A few times that night.

It’s when we’re in bed that night that I start thinking about the last time I found out I was pregnant and how different my life is now.

This time Ender’s with me, and I have more than his summers. I have his fall, winter, and spring.

56

WHEN WE GOT MARRIED ON THE DOCK

Three Months Later

I’ve waited for today for what seems like forever. The day Ender and I say “I do.” In truth, I never thought we’d get here.

“Why did you pick the hottest day of the year to get married?” Arya asks, fanning herself as we stand in the den, me in my wedding dress, her in a maid-of-honor dress. I still can’t believe she bought her parents’ house on the lake, but it makes sense. Just like Ender and me, Roman and Arya started their love here on the banks of Lake Lanier.

“You’re not any better. You got married during hurricane season.”

“True.” She tugs on her dress, trying to make room for her swollen belly. It doesn’t work.

I think about when I was pregnant with Eddie at eighteen, and how alone I felt. Nobody else was having babies at the time and now here we are, six years later, best friends, bringing our second-born kids in the world, our due dates exactly a month apart to the day.

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