Page 138 of Crazy Love

She opens one eye and flicks her tail again, as if to say,Well, that’s a you problem, isn’t it…

“I know. I know. It is a me problem. I’m just not ready.” I rub my hands over my face, groaning. “I’m just too soft, huh.”

“Way too soft,” a voice says behind me.

I turn to see Addy standing there, wearing one of my old sweatshirts and a teasing smile. Her hair is piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and she looks so effortlessly beautiful that my heart does that jolting flip it does whenever I see her.

“Not always,” I say, eyes heating as I look her over. “In fact, not feeling soft at all now that I see you.”

She giggles and sits down next to me, pulling her legs up onto the couch. Jezebel stands, stretches, and slinks over to curl into Addy’s side. Shadow and Elsa follow like magnets, jumping up and then settling next to her. Gizmo, still perched on my shoulder, lets out a loud meow and rubs his snout against my ear.

“They’re kind of hard to give up, aren’t they?” Addy says softly, running her hand down Jezebel’s back.

“Impossible.”

Her gaze flickers to me, and for a second, there’s something guarded there…like she’s trying to figure out how to say something.

I sit up straighter. “What is it?”

“I have some news,” she says finally, her voice quiet. She breathes out a laugh and shakes her head. “I don’t know why I’m nervous. It’s good news.”

“Okay,” I say, reaching for her hand. “Now I’m nervous.”

She shifts closer, until we’re about an inch apart. Her eyes are shining.

“We’re pregnant.”

My brain short-circuits. Pretty sure my heart stops for a second and then slams back into gear at double time.

“We—what?”

She’s smiling now, but her eyes are wide and still nervous. “Pregnant. You’re going to be a dad again...to a baby this time.” She grins at Gizmo nuzzling my ear. “A human baby.”

A sound leaves my throat that I don’t think I’ve ever made before. I place Gizmo on the couch and surge up, hauling Addy into my arms. She lets out a startled laugh as I lift her off the ground and spin her in a circle.

“OH MY GOD!” I yell.

I’m laughing. She’s laughing. Jezebel stands on the couch, bowing her back. The kittens scatter, meowing indignantly.

I press my mouth to Addy’s neck and then to her cheek, feeling the happiest kind of terror flood through me.

“We’re pregnant?”

“Yes!”

I spin her again. “Holy—Addy, this is—fuck, what is this life?” I cackle.

And then it hits me that I’m swinging my wife around like a sack of potatoes.

“Wait, am I hurting you?” I come to an abrupt stop, lowering her carefully to the floor. “Oh, God—are you okay?”

She laughs, still breathless. “I’m fine.”

“No, but seriously. Are you?”

She puts her hand on my chest. “Penn. I’m okay. We’re okay.”

My hands are shaking when I cup her face, my thumbs brushing her cheeks.

---