Page 71 of Forever

I pulled on the bow and then lifted the lid. It was not jewelry. I’d never actually seen one of these up close. But the big positive sign in the middle definitely gave it away. “You’re…you’re pregnant?” I lifted my eyes from the pregnancy test.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks now. “Yes. I took like five different tests this morning.”

“We’re going to have a baby?”

She nodded.

Holy shit.I pulled her onto my lap. I buried my face in the side of her neck, holding her tight. I didn’t even know what to say. So I just said the same thing again. But this time it wasn’t a question. “We’re going to have a baby.” I couldn’t believe it.

She kept crying. “I’m so hopeful. But I’m so scared, Matt. What if…” her voice trailed off.

“Don’t go there,” I said. She didn’t need to voice her fears. I knew what she was worried about. “Positive vibes, right?”

“Positive vibes.”

I held her tighter. And then realized I probably shouldn’t be holding her so tight. Or maybe it was okay? I had no fucking clue. But I pulled back so I could stare at her. “We’ve got this,” I said firmly. I’d take her to whatever doctors we needed. I’d travel across the world to make sure this baby was okay. Brooklyn had experienced enough pain in her life. She’d earned this win. And I hated that she was worried. This moment was perfect. She was perfect. “We’ve got this,” I said again. “I promise.”

She wiped the tears from her cheeks and nodded. “We’ve got this.”

I moved one of my hands to her stomach.

She laughed. “You can’t feel anything yet, Matt.”

“Oh, I know he’s in there.”

“A boy, huh?” She smiled up at me.

I dropped my forehead to hers. “Nah, I take it back. It’s a girl. I can’t wait to have a little you running around.”I kept my hand on her stomach. “You’re pregnant.” It came out as a whisper. I couldn’t believe it.

“I’m pregnant,” she said and laughed.

God, I wanted to freeze time.

“I think maybe we should go ahead and plan that wedding for next month,” she said.

I lifted my head.Fuck freezing time.I wanted that wedding. “Really?”

“Really. Before I get huge.”

“You’re going to look beautiful with my baby inside of you.”

She shook her head. “No, I definitely will not.”

“You definitely will.” I cradled her face in my hands. “I should have known we’d have a shotgun wedding.”

She laughed. “We have a lot to plan in a very short amount of time. But we know just the person to help.”

“Justin.”

“Justin,” she agreed with a nod.

I smiled. “We’re getting married. And we’re having a baby. I don’t think I could possibly be any happier.”

“Me either.”

I dropped my forehead back against hers. This was what I’d pictured back in high school. Our wedding. Children. I’d waited half of my life for my dreams to come true. I felt the tears falling down my cheeks. “Us against the world. The four of us.”

She leaned back, wiping away my tears with her fingers. “The four of us. I really like the sound of that.”

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