Page 73 of Loving Josy
“What do you mean?” I tease.
“Are you my girlfriend? My wife?” he clarifies, his gaze searching mine.
I arch a brow. “What makes you think I might be yours? What if I’m your cousin? Or your sister?”
He grimaces slightly, then leans back against the pillow, scratching his beard in thought. “That would be a real shame,” he finally says, a sheepish grin tugging at his lips. “Because you are the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen. When I saw you come in, crying, I thought, for just a moment, that you had to be mine.”
I shake my head, laughing softly. “Oh, so as your cousin or sister, I wouldn’t cry after you’ve been asleep for the past eight days?”
“Well...” He pauses, a look of realization dawning on his face. “Yeah, I guess you would.” He chuckles, running his fingers through his disheveled hair. “Okay, fair point.”
For a moment, the tension between us eases, replaced by a flicker of lightheartedness. I watch him carefully, taking in every expression, every movement, as if trying to piece together the man I know from the fragments he doesn’t yet remember.
I stare at him for a few seconds, the playful part of me wanting to keep up the teasing. But his earnest expression, mixed with the vulnerability in his eyes, makes me give in.
“I’m sorry,” I say softly, the corners of my lips curving into a smile. “I was joking. I am your girlfriend.”
Relief and something close to triumph light up his face. His smile widens, filling the room with a warmth I hadn’t realized I’d been missing.
“I knew you had to be someone special to me,” he says confidently. Then his eyes drop to my bump, and his expression shifts into one of awe and curiosity. “Am I correct to assume that the baby you’re carrying is also mine?”
I nod, my hand instinctively going to my belly. The gentle movement feels like second nature now, a habit formed from both excitement and comfort.
“Yes,” I say, my voice softening. “This right here is our baby girl, Everly. I’m six months pregnant. She’s due on June 16th. Does any of these sounds familiar to you?”
“No, it doesn’t sound familiar, but honestly, I’m not surprised that you’re my girlfriend.” Noah flashes a big smile before continuing. “Everly,” he repeats, testing the name with a small smile. “I like it.” His brows knit together as another thought crosses his mind. “And... we’re not married?”
“You should like the name since you chose it,” I say, shaking my head. “And we are not married. We actually started officially dating the day before your accident.”
His eyes widen in surprise. “Really? Why is that?”
I exhale, a mixture of amusement and disbelief filling me as I prepare to tell the story. “It’s... complicated. But I’ll explain.”
I settle into the chair next to his bed, leaning forward slightly as I let my hand rest on the edge of the mattress. Noah listens intently, his gaze unwavering as I recount how we become parents and an official couple.
“But then,” I say, my cheeks warming slightly, “there was this one day—well, let’s just say things happened before either of us fully realized what was going on. And a few weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. That kind of forced me to have a conversation I had been avoiding.”
He tilts his head, a playful grin tugging at his lips despite the gravity of the story. “So, we accidentally made a baby before we even started dating?”
I laugh, nodding. “Pretty much. But it wasn’t as simple as that. You were amazing, Noah. You didn’t run or freak out. You told me you wanted to be there for me, for the baby, for us. And even though it took me a while to get over my own fears and stubbornness, I finally realized something.”
“What?” he asks, his voice quieter now.
“That I love you,” I say, the words spilling out as my heart aches with the weight of everything we’ve been through. “I love you for how patient you were with me, for how you showed up every single day, no matter what. You fought for us even when I was too scared to do it myself.”
His eyes soften and his hand shifts slightly on the bed as though he wants to reach for mine but isn’t sure if he should.
“And the day before your accident,” I continue, my voice trembling slightly, “I finally told you. We made it official. And now, here we are.”
A silence falls between us, heavy with the unspoken truth of how much has changed in such a short time.
Finally, Noah speaks, his voice tender. “Well,” he says, his lips curving into a small smile, “I may not remember any of that, but it sounds like I’m one lucky guy.”
I laugh out loud, the sound bubbling up before I can stop it. Even now, this man has the uncanny ability to make me laugh at the most unexpected times.
“You think so?” I ask, a teasing glint in my eye.
“One hundred percent sure,” he says, his tone certain. “If what you’re telling me is true, then I fought to be with you—and of course I did. Looking at you now, with how beautiful you look carrying our baby, I’d have been a fool not to. The only thing I think I did wrong was waiting so long to make you mine. That Noah was an idiot. Letting ten years go by? Unbelievable.”
