Nicholas

 

 

I watch her pick at the lunch that a hospital orderly brought for her. If I had known the food smelled and tasted like this, I would have sent Liam back to my place to make her a grilled cheese sandwich.

I was grateful when he showed up at the hospital. He'd been dealing with a work-related crisis for most of the night, but once he had a break, he was here. I introduced him to Sophia and then left them alone. I didn't ask what they discussed, but when he left her room, he told me she was strong. He likes her and once she's feeling up to it, she'll talk to him again.

"I think they'll discharge me this afternoon. I'm not dehydrated anymore." She pushes the tray toward me. "Can we stop on our way home to get a burger and some chili fries?"

I furrow my brow. "I can run out and get that for you now. I wouldn't be gone more than twenty minutes."

She nods. "Can you get some of those chocolate candies that you keep in that dish on your kitchen counter?"

"The one I have to keep refilling after you eat them all?"

Her face brightens. "Those are the ones. I think they would taste delicious on the fries."

I scowl. "You're going to put candy on the chili fries?"

"I can't decide if that would taste better or maybe strawberry yogurt."

I sit on the bed next to her again. "All of this shit you're talking about sounds disgusting."

"You better get used to it." She lowers her shoulders. "This is just the beginning, Nicholas."

"The beginning of what?"

"Crazy pregnancy cravings." Her eyes drop to the front of the hospital gown she's wearing.

My insides collapse. My heart bursts. "Sophia."

"The doctor told me earlier." She shakes away a flood of tears. "I don’t know how, Nicholas. I mean I know how. You probably broke through the condom because sometimes you lose control."

"You're having a baby?" I place my hand on her stomach. "My baby?"

"I'm going to ignore that last question." She covers my hand with hers. "We're having a baby, but the doctor said it's very early and anything can happen."

I know that. My mother had four beautiful children but wanted more. I watched her suffer through three miscarriages before she finally gave into the idea that her family was complete.

"I don't want to tell anyone else yet," she continues. "We'll wait until we're sure that everything is good and then we can have a party."

"A party?"

"A celebration of the baby's life and my life. Your life. Our life." She nods slowly. "Cadence is going to scream when I tell her, but I'll wait. I want to wait."

"Do you think you'll have enough willpower to wait?"

I watch her stare at our hands. Her gaze trained to her stomach. "If we are supposed to have this baby, it will happen. If it doesn't, it means it's not our turn yet. I want to wait. I don't want to break my mom's heart if I don't have to."

"We'll wait."

"Are you happy, Nicholas?" she asks, even though she already knows the answer to that question.

"I've never been happier."

 

***

 

"I want you to move in with me, Sophia." I look around the living room of her apartment. "Does all of this furniture belong to you?"

"No." She shakes her head faintly. "Everything but my sewing machine and my clothing belongs to Cadence."

"It'll be an easy move. We can pack up your things now."

She pats the couch next to where she's sitting. "Sit with me. We need to talk about this."

"Talk about what?" I cross my legs and drape my arm around her shoulders.

She's been busy working on a new design since I brought her here from the hospital. I asked the Uber driver to stop so I could buy us each a burger and fries. Sophia laughed when I asked him to stop again at a candy store. She slapped my arm and told me she was kidding about the cravings. They'll come one day if this is all meant to be.

"I can't move in with you right now." She leans her head back against the cushion of the couch. "I have too much going on. The Ella Kara Collection is going to launch soon and this is where I do my best work. I can't change my life at a moment's notice."

"You better get used to doing just that." I tug on the corner of her sketchpad. "You're going to be a mom. A baby changes everything whenever the hell it wants to."

"The doctor said I was only a few weeks along." She pulls the sketchpad back into her lap. "That means I have months to get everything organized."

"You can organize from my place," I point out. "I'll rearrange some furniture and I'll make room in my office for your sewing machine."

"That leaves zero room for a nursery." She forms a circle with her fingers. "We can't have a baby there."

"I'll buy a new place."

"Not yet." Her voice is laced with exasperation. "We just found out a few hours ago that we're going to be parents. We don't need to rush into anything."

"I want to rush. I want to live with you. I want us to get married. I want our baby to have a beautiful life."

Her eyes wash with tears. "Don’t ask me to marry you today. I can't hear that. Don't do it like that."

"Why not?" I get to my feet so I can stand in front of her. "I'll drop to my knee right here and now. Marry me, Sophia. Be my wife so we can be a family."

"No." She rises to her feet. "I won't marry you."

"What?" I push my hands in the front pockets of my jeans, my fingers skimming over the cold metal of my grandfather's ring. "Tell me why you won't."

Her eyes follow the path of my hands. "You're touching the ring you were going to give to Briella. You asked her to marry you the day you found out she was pregnant."

I stop and stare at her. "This is different, Sophia. This is us."

"I know you love me." She perches on her bare tiptoes to kiss my jaw. "Let me have my own story. Let my experience be my own."

"This is your experience." I embrace her tightly. "This is our experience."

"I'm not going anywhere. I want to stay here while I finish preparing for the launch of the line. I want you to work on your book and before this baby is born, everything will fall into place the way it's supposed to."