Page 54 of Pregnancy Scandal
“I’m fine.” My blood pressure had stabilized before I left the hospital.
“You sure? I feel like I should keep checking to make sure you and little bit are okay.”
I giggled. He’d taken to calling the baby ‘little bit’ because I’d said I thought I only looked a little bit pregnant.
I still couldn’t believe it was me talking and thinking about pregnancy. I wanted to have a bump and couldn’t wait to actually look pregnant.
“We’re okay, Gilly. We promise.”
“Okay… well, I also came to tell you something, and give you something.” His eyes brightened.
“Sounds mysterious. Do I have to pick?”
“No, I think it will mean more if I tell you the something I have to tell you first and give you that other thing after.”
I laughed again. “I’m all ears.”
“It all hit me today, and I realized I wanted to do both because one without the other didn’t feel right. You remember that beach house we used to admire when we were kids?”
I saw that place in my dreams. It was the last house on the beach and had a mass of space around it. Because it took the corner too, part of the backyard was the beach, and you could walk right out into the sea if you wished.
“My gosh, of course I do.”
“I just bought it.” He nodded like he was talking about buying pizza.
I sucked in a sharp breath. “What? What are you saying to me?”
Carla Donnelly, leading actress of soap operaPart of The Whole, lived there, and as far as I knew, she’d said she was going to be in that house for life.
“The house went on the market on Monday, and I put in an offer. I just closed the deal. There’s a little wait because there are some renovations that need to be done, but I think we should be in the place in the next four to six weeks. I know you just moved from here, but when I saw the house for sale, I couldn’t pass on the chance. I knew you’d love it.”
I stared at him open mouthed. “Gilly, I can’t believe you bought a house. A house for us.”
“Yeah. It was perfect, baby. Where I am now really isn’t ideal for us as a family. It’s a bachelor’s pad. So, I’m trading in the bad boy bachelor lifestyle for a family-sized beach house and a garden.”
I laughed and kissed him. “Thank you. Oh my gosh, thank you so much. Gilly, this is so exciting.” I squealed.
He laughed but then got a really nervous look on his face. “It’s exciting, and I can’t wait to get in there with you. So… that leads to the other thing.”
I looked at him wondering what he could possibly have to give me that was better than the news of owning our dream house.
“What is it? I’m anxious and all antsy now.” I laughed.
He settled me down and stood up, towering over me with his height.
“Abby… one of the best memories I have of us is when we were sixteen. I was running along the beach with you on my back. It was the day after junior prom, and we’d met up for a movie and decided to head out to the beach.”
I nodded, remembering. “That was a really good day.”
Nothing spectacular actually happened. We’d just hung out all day like we usually did, but that day, we talked about all manner of things. Everything from college to what we wanted to do with our lives. It was then that he told me he wanted to play pro ball.
“I remember how it was just us, and I felt like if all there ever was, was us, I’d be happy with that. Like if we were the last two people on earth, it would be okay. Like if I never played football again and didn’t have all the fans and the fame, it would be fine as long as you were there.”
My heart expanded, and warmth glowed within me. He’d never shared that with me before.
“It was the same for me, Gilly.”
“It was the same then, but now I’m crazy about you.” Something twinkled in the depth of his silver eyes, and he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a little black jewelry box.
