We went to my parents’ house that evening because Josh was anxious to talk to them about us before they found out from someone else. I reminded him that my mom already knew and had likely told my dad, but he was still insistent about speaking to them both. I knew how much they meant to Josh; they had practically been second parents to him with the amount of time he’d spent at the ranch as a kid, and having their blessing was important to him.
I was surprised to find out that my mom hadn’t told my dad, and to say he was shocked would be an understatement. He was pleased though, as I’d known he would be. My parents both loved Josh, and I smiled as I saw him let out a sigh of relief as my dad shook his hand and clapped him on the back. My mom pulled me to the side and asked where we’d been; apparently, she had been to the cottage early that morning and had gotten no answer when she’d knocked on the door. I filled her in on our date in Austin, from the suite at the Four Seasons to the boat ride on the lake. She ooed and aahed, telling me how romantic it all sounded, and pulling me into her arms, she told me how happy she was for me.
We spent the rest of the evening with my parents before heading back to the cottage. I was exhausted after the amazing day and night in Austin, and after a quick shower, I fell asleep wrapped in Josh’s arms.
The rest of the week passed by in a blur of happiness. We got up each morning and ate breakfast together before I headed to Austin for school and Josh went to work. More often than not, Josh was home before me, and dinner or a bath was awaiting me when I arrived. I’d had no clue he could cook, but it was a good thing he could since I was useless around the kitchen.
On Friday night, Josh planned to go out for a drink with Mason and Brody. Libby was coming to the cottage and we were going to order pizza and watch DVDs. Since returning from Austin on Monday, other than the odd text message, I hadn’t had time to really talk to her, and I was looking forward to catching up.
I was lazing on the sofa while Josh was getting ready upstairs. I was just over nineteen weeks pregnant and my bump was growing daily. The sickness had thankfully passed and I was feeling great, although I was guessing being head over heels in love made you feel good too. The more time Josh and I spent together, the more I fell in love with him, if that was even possible.
A knock on the door tore me from my thoughts and I got up, swinging the door open. “Hey guys,” I said, seeing Mason, Libby, and Brody standing in the small front garden. “Come in.” I moved slightly to the side to let them pass.
“You won’t be able to do that for much longer Sav!” Brody exclaimed as he passed me.
“Do what?” I asked him, confused.
“Hold the door open while we walk in.” He gestured to my stomach. “There won’t be enough room soon,” he said, laughing.
“Hilarious Brody,” I said sarcastically, swatting him on the shoulder.
“What’s going on?” Josh asked as he came down the stairs and crossed the room, his arm going around my shoulder.
“Oh nothing, just Brody thinking he’s being funny,” I told him, rolling my eyes.
“Are you picking on my girl Brode?” Josh asked, kissing me on the side of the head.
“Always,” Brody replied, still laughing to himself.
“Go on, take my idiot brother out with you and leave me and Lib to our pizza.” Josh chuckled and snaked his arms around my waist. He brushed his lips against mine and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me and losing myself in his kiss. As I deepened the kiss, I heard Brody groan.
“Urghh, I do not want to watch my best friend and my sister making out. Put her down and let’s go!” I smiled against Josh’s lips and pulled away slightly, seeing Brody heading for the door, shaking his head.
“You’d better go. Have a good night,” I told him.
“You too baby.” He kissed my lips once more before heading outside to find Brody. Looking to my left, I saw Mason kissing Libby goodbye.
Once the boys were gone, Libby squealed and threw herself at me. “You two are so cute!” she exclaimed excitedly. “I want to hear every detail. How did it all happen? What made him change his mind? Is he going to move in here with you?” She looked at me expectantly, waiting for the answers to her questions.
I laughed and walked into the kitchen. “Let’s at least order the pizza, and then I’ll tell you everything,” I promised, looking in the kitchen drawer for the takeout menu.
“You better tell me everything Savannah Parker,” she said, raising her eyebrows at me.
“I seem to remember someone holding back on me when you first got with your boyfriend,” I teased, tossing the menu at her. “I’m not sure if I’m the kind of girl to kiss and tell.” I smirked at her and she laughed.
“Sav, we both know you are definitely the kind of girl to kiss and tell!”
I tried to look shocked but just ended up laughing; I knew she was right. “You’re right, I am!” I squealed, dragging her back into the sitting room and flopping on the sofa. “God, what that man can do with his tongue!” I gushed, my head dropping back as I sighed. “He’s amazing though Lib.” I sat up, turning to face her. “He wants us to live together and be a family—do you think it’s too soon?” I asked, frowning.
“No Savannah, I don’t think it’s too soon. You’ve known Josh your whole life, and you’ve been waiting for this forever. I know it wasn’t quite how you’d imagined.” She paused and glanced down at my stomach. “But you love him and I know he loves you.”
“How do you know he loves me?” I asked.
“It’s written all over his face.”
“He did tell me he loves me,” I told her quietly as I played with the throw on the sofa, picking at the loose threads.
“Savannah, what’s wrong?” she asked, concern lacing her voice. “You’ve waited for years to hear those words from him, I thought you’d be happy.”
“I am!” I rushed out, my head flying up to look at her.
“You don’t seem it.”
I sighed loudly. “There’s something you don’t know Lib, but I need you to promise me you won’t say anything to anyone, even Mason.” I knew it was unfair to ask her to keep things from Mason, but even telling Libby was breaking Josh’s confidence. I hated to do that, but I really needed someone to talk to.
“Okay,” she whispered as she nodded.
“Josh had leukemia when he was two.”
She gasped, her hands coming up to cover her mouth. “No!”
I nodded. “The treatment they gave him cured him of the leukemia, but it left him unable to have children.”
“Oh God Sav, that’s awful…but I don’t understand why that would make you question his feelings for you.”
“What if he’s only with me because I’m having a baby? What if he sees me as his chance to be a dad?”
“Are you kidding me?” She scoffed. “That’s really what you think?”
“I don’t know! I don’t want to think that!” I snapped. “But he was never interested before I got pregnant.”
“God Savannah, wake up!” she said, her tone angry. I looked up at her with wide surprised eyes—Libby hardly ever got pissed. “He’s always been interested, you’ve just refused to believe it. Do you not think the reason he never went after you is because he couldn’t give you a baby?”
“But I wanted him, not a baby,” I argued.
“What about in 10 years? He kept you at a distance because he loved you, because he wanted the best for you.” Her voice had softened and she gave me a small smile.
“And now?” I whispered.
“Now that you’re having a baby, maybe he’s decided he wants a shot at happiness, and he wants that with you.”
I nodded and smiled at her. “You’re right, thank you.” I pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tightly.
“You should talk to him Sav—he’d hate to think you were feeling this way.” I nodded but didn’t say anything, knowing she was right. I did need to talk to him, but how would I even start to explain my feelings? What if it was just me being sensitive and I ended up hurting him? I closed my eyes and groaned inwardly.
“Right! Enough about me! We need to talk weddings,” I said, bouncing up and down on the sofa, desperate to change the subject.
“Pizza first. I’m starving,” Libby said, grabbing the menu.
After ordering and eating far too much pizza, we spent the rest of the night planning the wedding. We decided to go to Austin the next weekend for wedding dress shopping. Lib still wasn’t convinced she needed a wedding dress, but after looking online for ideas, I could see she was getting excited about the thought of trying some on. What Libby didn’t realize was that her mom and dad had already transferred some money to my parents to pay for her dress. I couldn’t wait to tell her, but I wanted her to find her perfect dress first.
Around an hour later, Josh and Mason arrived back at the cottage. Brody had gone straight home, and after a quick round of goodbyes, Libby and Mason left, leaving Josh and me alone.
“I missed you,” he said as he pulled me close to him, the stubble on his face tickling my skin. I dropped my head back and whimpered as he peppered tiny kisses up my neck, occasionally nipping my skin with his teeth. His mouth came up and over my jaw, his lips crashing into mine. He kissed me like he hadn’t seen me for months instead of the few hours it had actually been. I wasn’t complaining though—he could kiss me for an eternity, and even then, it wouldn’t be long enough. I moaned again against his lips and when my mouth opened slightly, his tongue pushed inside and stroked against mine. I heard him growl as my arms wound around his neck, and he picked me up, my legs wrapping around his waist. I whimpered as I felt his erection press against me, the thin material of my yoga pants allowing me to feel every inch of him.
He broke the kiss, his hooded eyes finding mine. “God, I love you Savannah,” he said, breathless from the kiss.
“I love you too,” I whispered, my head dropping to his shoulder. He silently carried me upstairs, gently kicking the bedroom door shut and placing me on the bed. He reached for the waistband of my pants, and I lifted my hips as he pulled them down my legs, removing my panties at the same time. His body came over mine and he took hold of the bottom of my t-shirt, pulling it up slightly, his fingers stroking around my stomach. He lowered his head, his lips brushing soft kisses where his fingers had been. Pushing my top up farther, he exposed my lace bra, his kisses traveling up my body. Pulling down on the lace of my bra, he exposed one of my breasts and I gasped as his tongue danced around my nipple, sucking it into his mouth. I cried out and arched my back then lifted my hips off the bed in an attempt to ease the growing ache between my legs, and I heard Josh chuckle against my breast.
“Feel good baby?” he asked before rolling his tongue around my nipple.
“God yes,” I moaned. My hands found his t-shirt and I tugged at it, wanting to feel his skin on mine. Understanding what I wanted, he released my nipple with a pop and pulled his t-shirt over his head. I licked my lips as I saw his naked chest, his smattering of dark hair disappearing into his jeans.
His eyes dropped to my lips and he growled. “I can’t get enough of you,” he said, quickly removing my top and bra, leaving me naked.
“We’ve got a lot of missed time to make up for,” I said quietly, smiling at him.
“We do sweetheart, we definitely do,” he whispered, standing up and quickly removing his jeans and underwear. My eyes were glued to him as he climbed on the bed. Lying on his side next to me, his fingers traced circles around my breasts. My body was burning where he was touching me, and I writhed on the bed, needing more from him. Pushing him gently onto his back, I straddled his waist, grinding my hips against his erection. I was already wet and I moved easily against him, his hardness hitting me right where I needed him. He moaned and reached his hands up, his fingers playing with my nipples. Lifting myself off him slightly, I took him in my hand, stroking him from base to tip before guiding him to my entrance and sinking down on him. He gasped as I began moving my hips, his hands leaving my breasts and coming to rest on my waist. I leaned down and kissed his toned chest, licking up and around his nipple. Kissing up his neck, I found his lips, his mouth urgently finding mine, his tongue pushing into my mouth. Flipping me onto my back, he raised one of my legs over his shoulder, and I cried out as I felt him deep inside me, the ache in the pit of my stomach increasing.
“Am I hurting you?” He panted, stilling inside me.
I shook my head. “No, please don’t stop,” I begged, wiggling my hips in an attempt to get him to move. He laughed and started thrusting again, but gentler this time. “Harder Josh,” I moaned and he increased his movements, his body smacking against mine. Reaching between our bodies, his thumb began circling my clit, and as his movements became more urgent, he dropped my leg and leaned down, his tongue flicking once over my nipple before he moved his head next to mine.
“You look so beautiful when you’re about to let go. Come for me baby.” He breathed into my ear. He pinched my clit and I screamed out, my orgasm hitting me in waves. His hips continued to thrust against me as his breathing became more labored. I felt him swell inside me before he shouted out my name, collapsing to the side, his breaths coming out in pants.
We both lay wrapped up in each other until our breathing calmed. Josh turned his head to mine and smiled. “That was amazing, again Sav…” He trailed off, looking nervous. “It’s never been this good, the way I feel when I’m with you…” he whispered.
“I feel it too Josh,” I kissed him gently on the mouth. “Like anything’s possible.” He nodded, and after a few minutes he climbed off the bed and padded to the bathroom, returning with a washcloth and gently wiping between my legs.
“I’m just going to lock up, I’ll be back in a minute,” he said, kissing me softly before pulling the comforter over me. I turned my head as I watched him walk butt naked out of my bedroom. I couldn’t take my eyes off his pert ass and thick toned legs. “Pervert!” he exclaimed with a laugh as he walked out the bedroom door, obviously sensing that I was watching him. I giggled and rolled over, snuggling into the soft pillow. With the comforter tucked under my chin, my eyes felt heavy and I closed them, succumbing to sleep.
Minutes later I felt the bed dip, and warm arms circled my waist as I was pulled into Josh’s embrace, his scent enveloping me. He brushed a kiss across my hair and I smiled, knowing that for the rest of my life, there was nowhere else I’d rather be.