Page 118 of Perfect Pairing
The last sentence gutted me to speak, but Ezra needed all the facts. He deserved to know where I stood, and while it would kill me if he wasn’t interested in having more children and chose to walk away, I’d understand. His last baby mama hadn’t exactly been in it for the long haul.
But I wasn’t Shannon, and I could only hope he loved me enough to realize that, and that maybe our desires for the futurelined up in a way so I could have my cake and eat it too.
When I finished, I was breathing heavily, having used all my air to get the words out before he could interrupt me or I lost my nerve. But my gaze stayed locked on his face; I forced myself to resist the urge to look away in case I didn’t like what I’d see in his chocolate eyes.
A thousand emotions I couldn’t name flitted across his face until finally, his gaze softened, and a small grin graced his perfect mouth.
Backing me against the wall, his hands came up to cup my cheeks. His touch was gentle, reverent, as though I was a treasure that needed to be handled with care. I appreciated him—loved him—so much more in that moment. Because Iwasfragile in that moment, and that he understood that and comforted me instead of running spoke volumes about the kind of man he was.
“Listen to me very carefully, Brie Anne Delatou,” he said slowly, punctuating each of my names with a light kiss to my lips. “Shannon and I didn’t work out for a number of reasons, the least of which being she just wasn’t cut out to be a mom. Butyouare going to make an amazing mother one day, and the fact that you’re choosing me to be the man to give you those babies? I’m fuckinghonored. I love you more than anything in this world except for Hansen, and I’ll get you pregnant as many times as you want.”
My eyes watered and spilled over, and I let free a sound that was something between a laugh and a sob. I settled my hands over Ezra’s on my face. “You mean it?”
He nodded emphatically. “I’d give you the world if I could. Whatever you want, honey. All you have to do is ask.”
I was full on sobbing now, and he pulled me into his chest to muffle the worst of it. They were tears of joy, sure, but also of relief—and a little bit of mourning. Mourning the loss of the child we could’ve had together, but relief and joy over the fact that he was willing to try again with me. Exactly as we’d given our love story a second chance, we’d give ourselves a second chance to be parents together.
He pulled away and swiped the tears from my cheeks. Then his mouth kicked up at the corner in a little smirk. “You wanna start trying right now?”
I barked out a laugh and shoved him away, lifting the hem of my shirt to dry my face before we went back into Chloe’s room.
“Not yet,” I said, and he hooked his arm around my shoulders, pressing a kiss to my hair as he led me back down the corridor. “But soon.”
The ringing of anoutgoing call filled the bakery kitchen as I waited for my sister to pick up. I moved around the island, tidying up the mess I’d made putting together more take and bake mixes and prepping for the next day. Though tomorrow was Valentine’s Day, I was operating at shortened hours because I had a special surprise planned for Ezra, and I wanted to make sure I had enough time to execute it.
“Hey, Bee,” Amara said when she answered at last, sounding a little out of breath.
“Hey, Mar. You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said, sucking in some air. “Just disgustingly pregnant. My phone was downstairs, and I was up in the nursery.”
“How’s that going?” I asked.
“It’s pretty much set up,” she said. “But I wanted to make sure the furniture was put together before the baby shower next weekend so I have places to put all that shit.”
I chuckled. Thanks to my insider knowledge, Amara wasn’t prepared for all the “shit” Mom, my sisters, and I had bought for that baby. It was a good thing the nursery had plenty of space, because she and Cal were going to need it for the baby.
“Are you nervous?”
“A little bit,” she admitted. “Seeing Chloe and Logan with Aleah… It’s hard to imagine something that size has to come out of my body, but they’re so tiny and fragile. And then we’re just going to leave the hospital with them? And be responsible for keeping them alive forever? That’s…daunting, to say the least.”
“You and Cal are going to be amazing parents, Mar. And you’ve got the whole family to help you.”
“I know,” Amara said, sniffling a bit. “The baby isn’t even here yet, but I already know we couldn’t do it without you all.”
“Auntie Brie will happily come over for snuggles whenever you want.”
I could hear the smile in Amara’s voice as she said, “Love you, Bee.”
“Love you more.”
“Now, there’s a reason you called?” my sister asked, suddenly all business.
I chuckled and said, “Yeah, actually. I was wondering if it’d be okay for me and Ez to stay at the Villa tomorrow night.”
“For what exactly?”
“I…have a surprise planned for him to celebrate, but my apartment is too small, and his house is too full of other people.”
