The doctors won’t discharge me until tomorrow morning, saying that I need to stay so they can keep an eye on me. Jay pulls the cot from under the bed out and grabs the extra pillow and blanket out of the closet while I argue with him the whole time.

“Go back to your hotel,” I insist. “You’re not going to be able to get any real rest here.”

“Babe, you’re crazy if you think I’m going to do that.”

I can’t keep glaring at him. It’s the first time he’s called me ‘babe’, and he does it in such a sexy way. I’d have to be numb from the neck down to not be turned on by it.

I am exhausted, which is weird, since I would think passing out would give my body a good opportunity to rest. The second I close my eyes, it’s impossible to get them back open, and the next moment, it seems, it’s morning.

After having my vitals checked, my doctor deems me fit to leave.

“Can we get her a wheelchair?” Jay asks.

My jaw drops. “Jay. I don’t need a wheelchair.”

“Um, I suppose we can,” Doctor Pichard says uncertainly. It’s obvious he thinks I need a wheelchair about as much as I do.

“I don’t need a wheelchair.”

“You’re exhausted,” Jay seriously says.

I jump down from the exam table. “Let’s go.”

He’s like that the whole ride to the hotel, constantly asking me if we need to stop and get me anything and if I’m sure I’m all right. I keep assuring him that he can stop worrying, but a part of me is enjoying the attention. This doting, worried side of Jay is so endearing. This guy is going to be the best dad in the world.

As we get out of the car, he takes my hand and slowly guides me across the sidewalk and through the hotel lobby. “How do you feel now?”

“Still good,” I laugh.

The elevator doors close behind us and Jay’s gaze falls to my stomach. “It’s still hard to believe.”

“I know. It kind of blows your mind, doesn’t it?”

He wraps his arms around me but holds me loosely so he can still look down at where the baby is growing. “What time do you think it happened?”

“Wow, I haven’t thought of that.”

“I think it was when I pinned you against the wall,” he suggests.

“Maybe on the table before the tournament? Or in the shower…”

“Ooh, they’re both such good times. You know, I’m probably the only guy in the world who’s happy that pulling out didn’t work.”

“This is kind of weird,” I giggle, “Talking about the moment our child was conceived.”

“It’ll only be weird if we tell him or her the story.”

I groan. “Oh, God. Don’t even say that. Let’s just keep it to ourselves.”

Jay shuffles closer. “How about we make some more similar memories?”

I tilt my face up to his. “What did you have in mind?”

“Wait and find out,” he says huskily, right before his mouth covers mine.

A second later, the elevator door opens. Slipping his arm around my waist, Jay spins me around and into the hallway. We walk towards our room with my head tucked against his shoulder and his arm around me. It’s the perfect spot, and I never, ever want to leave it.

Jay unlocks the room and opens the door for me. I cross the threshold, take one step—and stop.

The hotel suite is full of roses. By full, I mean over half of the living room is covered with bouquets of red roses. They’re on the coffee table. On the windowsills. Along the walls. Surrounding the TV.

I slowly walk among them, gently reaching out to touch a petal here and there. Their delicious perfume fills the room. I’ve never smelled anything so sweet or strong in my life. To the right, a bed with rose petals strewn across it waits for us.

“I remembered you like roses, so I thought…”

Slowly turning on my heel, I gaze at Jay in awe. “How?”

“In Macau. There was a bouquet of them and you stopped to touch them.” He smiles. “More than once, actually. You seemed to enjoy them so much.”

Jay tucks some hair behind my ear. I’m still in shock, unable to believe that someone has done something so nice for me.

“Why?” I find myself saying.

There was no need for him to do this. We’re together, and there’s a baby on the way. I don’t need any big, extravagant acts to know that Jay cares for me.

He looks deep into my eyes. “I told you I’ve never felt at home anywhere, right?”

I nod. “Maybe in different words, but yeah. I understand that.”

“Well, I feel at home with you. You’re the only person I’ve ever met that I really want to stay with. You and the baby…You’re it for me. You’re what I need. Maybe this goes without saying, but I want to move in together. I want to find a place and make it ours, somewhere where we can raise our child. I love you, Lauren.”

At his words, my chest fills with happiness. I have to be floating, because I swear there’s no longer a floor under my feet.

“I love you, too,” I gasp.

Joy breaks across Jay’s face as he pulls me in for a hug. His scent mixes with that of the roses, and I inhale deep, taking in as much of the sweet air as I can.

Gently, but with real strength, Jay picks me up and carries me to the bedroom. Laying me in the middle of the comforter, he slowly pulls off the shorts and T-shirt he brought me to wear at the hospital. I watch him the whole time, unable to take my eyes off of his beautiful face.

Climbing onto the bed to straddle me, he lightly kisses down my neck and over my breasts. His lips press gently against my stomach as he undoes my bra, then tugs off my panties. Spreading my legs, he drops lower and rests his face between my thighs.

Soft kisses send flutters of warmth through me. I twist Jay’s hair through my fingers and arch my back, eager to meet the wet softness of his tongue. He laps harder at me, sucking at my pussy, and pleasure catapults through me.

After a few minutes, right before I’m about to climax, Jay quickly stands up, stripping himself of his shirt and pants. His clothes fall into a heap and he joins me naked on the bed. Our arms tight around each other, we roll across the mattress, giddy to be alive and together.

Jay ends up on top of me again, his face inches from mine.

“I’ve thought of you every moment we’ve been apart,” he says, the back of his hand running along my face.

This simple sentence makes me melt. “Me, too,” I whisper. “You’ve been the only thing on my mind.”

He grins, and for a moment, it seems like he’s going to say more, but then he just looks at me. I understand it. Everything has already been said. Jay and I love each other. We’re together. There’s a baby on the way. With things unable to get any better than this, there’s nothing left to do but just stare at each other and relish in our happiness.

His eyes still on mine, Jay shifts his weight forward. The tip of his hard cock presses into me, and my body responds by opening up right away. My muscles stretch, eager to accept him, ready to embrace him as mine.

Slipping his arms under my back, Jay gently pulses into me. I stare back into his eyes, my chest flooding with more emotion than I would have believed one person can handle.

This is really happening.

I can’t take just looking at him any longer. Lifting my face, I push my lips onto his. He kisses me with passion, his tongue gently massaging mine. We push our bodies closer, eager to get every inch of skin we have pressed together.

As Jay pulls me closer to him, we roll again and end up laying on our sides. We writhe together, pulsing and kissing, sweating and coming undone. His labored breathing against my lips tells me he’s getting close. Just knowing this makes my own pleasure increase. I’m exploding, flying, taking Jay along with me.

For the longest time, we stay where we are—legs and arms tangled together, cheeks pressed close. Jay kisses my forehead and I listen to the pitter-patter of rain hitting the windowpanes.

Eventually, he pulls away, props his head onto his hand, and looks down at me.

“You’re glowing.”

All I can do is laugh.

“You are!” Jay insists.

I roll onto my back and grin up at him. “That’s because you’re here.”

He smirks and runs his fingers over my stomach. I close my eyes in happiness.

“Where are we going to live?” he asks.

I open my eyes again. “I don’t know.” I frown. “I haven’t thought about that.”

“Detroit is out.”

“If you say so.”

“New York?”

“All three of us could just move in with my parents,” I joke.

“Have you told them?”

I nod and take his hand. “Yeah. They were surprisingly supportive.”

“They sound like good people. Everyone has their differences. Even if they don’t agree with you on everything, it doesn’t mean they don’t love you.”

I nod slowly. “I’m starting to see that…Thanks to you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. Remember when we talked in Macau and you told me all about your life growing up? It really helped me to stop being so angry at them.”

“Good,” he says, although he’s running his fingers over my stomach again, and seems more involved in that than he is in our conversation.

“You’ve changed me,” I say seriously.

Jay stops and looks me in the eye. “We’ve changed each other.”

“Hopefully for the better,” I tease.

Jay kisses my belly, where our baby is growing, and looks up at me. “Definitely for the better.”