Page 52 of The Wedding Planner's Manny
Rhys looked at her as if surprised by the question. For a second or two, he mulled it over in his head before finally saying no. “I think I want it to be a surprise.” He glanced at me. “Would you like to know?”
Why was he making it sound like I had any say in this? “It's entirely up to you,” I said. We chose to find out with both Nathan and Caleb, but I could see how the mystery might appeal. Laura and I wanted to be prepared. Internally, I laughed at that younger version of myself. Seriously, if you thought finding out your kid's sex was going to prepare you for anything in any way you were in for a rough ride.
“I like hearing your input,” Rhys said. “It's nice not to feel like I'm totally alone in this. I mean, I neverwas, because I have my family, but...”
He didn't have to explain further. I understood. Leaning in, I gave him a quick kiss to the cheek. “If you really want to know, I think we should let the little one surprise us.”
“Okay, it's decided then. We're not finding out,” he told the doctor. And then he turned to me and kissed me full on the lips. The presence of the doctor seemed to bother him just as little as the presence of all those people in the waiting room. He was a treasure, and I wanted to take him home with me—which I did, as soon as we were done with the appointment.
Rhys got a print-out from the ultrasound, which he kept studying at as he sat in the passenger seat of my car. “Did you know that within three months after conception, babies can hear and pick up your accent? A baby in America will cry differently than a baby in Spain.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Fetal development is amazing.” Rhys sounded truly awed as he said that.
I had to smile at him. “I think you’ll have a lot of time to study the way your baby cries when he’s born.”
“I guess.” Rhys went back to staring at the print-out. “I think I'm going to scan this and send it to my mom. I haven't really told her or my dad anything yet.”
I took my eyes off the road only for a second to glance at him. “How do you think they're going to take it?”
He shrugged. “I don't know. We haven't really been in touch since I married Jeremiah. They weren't happy about that.”
“I can imagine. I mean, because he's Vinist,” I added quickly, since it wasn't my place to criticize Rhys' past relationship choices. “That must have been a hard pill for your parents to swallow if they're not following that belief.”
“I realize that now,” Rhys said with a hint of regret in his voice. “I used to think they were being unfair, judging my husband without even knowing him... I can see now that to them, I wasn't just marrying Jeremiah. I was marrying this whole different set of beliefs and ways of living that they couldn't agree with. My mom's an omega too, you know? It must have been hard for her to see what sort of beliefs I was willing to adopt.” His voice turned thick, as if there was a lump in his throat he couldn't quite swallow past.
“You should give her a call,” I suggested. “I'm sure she'd be happy to hear from you, and I'm saying that as a parent. God knows my boys can drive me crazy, but I'd never want them out of my life.”
Rhys nodded and we spent the rest of the ride in silence until I pulled into the driveway in front of my house. The moment I killed the engine, Rhys spoke up again. “What are we going to tell your boys?”
Good question. One I'd managed to avoid thinking about so far. But Rhys was right. Nathan and Caleb were going to be back tomorrow and we couldn't keep our relationship a secret from them forever.
Especially now that the rumors were going to be flying. I rubbed my face. “I guess we should sit them down and talk to them tomorrow evening if you have time.” The sooner the better.
“I can come over anytime.”
“How about having dinner together then? I'll order pizza to celebrate the boys coming home.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Rhys chewed his lower lip. “How do you think they'll take it?”
“I'm sure it'll be fine. They love you.”
Just like I love you.
But it was too soon to say that, wasn't it?
1 8
R H Y S
I was really going to put on a hoodie when I went over to Ethan's place the following day, but I forgot. I only noticed when I'd already knocked on the door and the dog started barking and there was no turning back.
Time to face the music.
Or rather, the one hundred and one questions of a pre-teen and a small child.
Nathan opened the door to let me in, and the moment he did, the dog came shooting out past him to jump up my legs. “Hey there,” I greeted the little fur bundle. It must be an exciting day for him, seeing his whole family reunited.
