Chapter 33
The round of make-up sex that followed was probably one of the best in the history of make-up sex. At least until Rocco decided to join in on the fun and started to dry-hump Ben’s calf. There had been no climax for either of them, a wasted boner as Ben had said, a whole lot of frustration, and an even bigger whole lot of laughter. Instead, they had kissed and snuggled under her covers the entire day, with only a few breaks to get a snack and walk Rocco.
Their conversation had been tough. His first reaction had hurt, but now that she knew where his head had been, it was much easier to get past it. And he seemed hell bent on showing her he could be everything she and their baby would need in the future.
She trusted him, trusted the man he was, that he wouldn’t let them down. Ben Ackerman would be the best daddy in the entire world, of that she had no doubt. He would give their child everything he had needed himself, which was unconditional love and the knowledge that they were precious, wanted, and cherished.
They headed to Ben’s place to spend the night, mostly to take advantage of his well-stocked fridge and so Rocco would be back in his familiar surroundings. It was also Ben’s birthday dinner - or rather lunch - the next day, and he was hosting. Usually, he booked a table at a restaurant, but with baby Jonathan, he had figured it would be easier for Chris and Everleigh if he had a room and a little crib for his nap-time.
They had decided to wait until she had at least seen her doctor before telling people around them that she was expecting. Her three pregnancy tests left very little to doubt, but she wanted to make sure everything was alright before making things official.
So, when she was preparing her bowl of granola the next morning, she clearly hadn’t been expecting… that.
“What the hell are you doing?” She stared at him, bewildered, just as she was about to pour her yogurt in a bowl.
He frowned. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m proposing.”
“But… why?”
He was on one knee, holding out a ring that she had no idea how he had gotten between the day before and this morning.
“You’re pregnant,” he said slowly. “Please tell me you didn’t forget.”
“Seeing as it is my uterus we’re talking about, no, I didn’t forget. And that doesn’t tell me why you’re popping the question out of the blue.”
“Because that’s… that’s what a man is supposed to do. Your girlfriend is pregnant, you propose. We’re gonna get married, and everything will be well. I’ll stop by my attorney’s office on Monday to write you and the baby into my will, so you’ll be taken care of no matter what and-”
“Hold on, hold on, hold on,” she cut him off, holding out a hand. He was going way too fast for her. She was still getting used to the idea that she was pregnant, and he was talking about wills and marriage. “First of all, I really do love you for wanting to make sure we’ll always be taken care of.”
“You’re very welcome, but that’s kinda my job.”
She cocked her head to the side. “No, it’s our job. And we don’t have to get married just because I’m pregnant.”
“Well, of course not. There’s also the feelings stuff. You know I love you, I know you love me, blah blah blah.”
“If that isn’t the most romantic proposal ever, I don’t know what is,” she said sarcastically as she grabbed her breakfast and sat down at the counter. “Get up, Ben.”
“But…”
“Ben, I do love you, yes. We’re also gonna have a baby together and, yes, I hope you and I… will make it long-term. But, no, we will not get married just because I’m knocked up.”
“It wouldn’t be just because of that!” he exclaimed, standing up and pocketing the ring in his pants.
“You would have never gotten on one knee today if I hadn’t been pregnant, Ben.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it like a fish out of water. “Well, yeah maybe not, but-”
She cut him off. “No. We’ve never even talked about marriage before. I’ve never really believed in the institution anyway, so I’d be fine without tying the knot for the record.”
“Madison, it’s… it’s not right. We’re gonna be a family.”
She shook her head. She would not budge on this. They were, in many ways, barely starting their relationship. She had just found out, unexpectedly, that she was pregnant. The last thing they needed at this point in their life was to add the pressure of marriage on top of everything else.
“Do I need to remind you that’s why your parents got married?” she asked softly, not wanting to hurt him, but trying to make him see her point. “Marriage won’t guarantee stability or a happy household. Respect, love, and trust will do that.”
“And sex.”
“And sex,” she conceded.
“I can’t believe you don’t want to get married,” he said, sounding shocked, as he sat down next to her.
She shrugged. “It’s never been a big deal for me. I’m not against it, but it’s not on my list of goals either. If it is for you, then yes, of course I will consider it. Right now, though, it’s too soon.”
“OK, but what if you change your mind, but then I don’t ask because I am respecting your wishes, and then you think I changed my mind?”
“I’ll propose if it comes to that.”
He gasped. “That is… no… just no way, Pumpkin. No. Freaking. Way. I do the proposal.”
“Then you’d better find something a little more convincing than in the kitchen while I’m pouring yogurt in a bowl of cereal.”
“I had to improvise, OK? I was a little taken by the moment.”
“Proving my point already, that’s nice,” she said, pointing her spoon at him. “See what I meant? It’s rushed. And where did you find a ring so quickly?”
“I… It was obviously not your real engagement ring.”
That made her feel suspicious. She knew Ben a little too well to not sense there was something fishy at play. “Ben…”
“Fuck, Pumpkin, you gotta promise you won’t tell anyone.”
Oh. This was gonna be good. She mentally rubbed her hands together. “I would have seen it anyway, so why the secrecy now?”
“It’s one thing when you’re tied to me. It’s a whole other when… It’s different, OK?”
“Show me the bling.”
“Damn it.” He groaned, then fished out a simple gold ring from his pocket. It almost looked like a wedding ring, but larger than one for a woman. She strongly doubted he would use his father’s wedding ring to propose, and there was nothing remotely embarrassing about a gold band as far as she…
“Oh my God.”
“You have to promise, Pumpkin.”
“You have a custom-made ring of Sauron?” She squealed, jumping from her stool and tearing the ring from his fingers.
“I had a little Lord Of The Rings phase,” he admitted.
“That’s real gold! And the inscription looks right. Oh my God, Ben, you… you’re a geek!”
“Shhh,” he hushed her, looking around them as if expecting people to suddenly appear from underneath his dining table.
“Can I have it? As a normal ring, I mean.”
“No. You said no, so no ring for you.” He took the ring back, shoving it in his pocket with a smug smile.
“Fine. Just know that if I do eventually say yes, that ring is the first thing that will appear on our prenup.”
“We’re not making a prenup if we get married, Madison, what the hell?!”
“You’re wealthy, Ben. I’m not. Of course, we’re making a prenup.”
“No.”
Rolling her eyes, she dug her spoon in her granola. “See what I mean? This is the kind of stuff you should know about someone before popping the question.”
“Well, now I do know, and there still won’t be a prenup.”
“There will.”
“Oh my God, does pregnancy make women stubborn?!”
“I don’t know, but why are we even arguing about a prenup if we’re not getting married?” she asked thoughtfully.
“Now. We’re not getting married now. And for the record,” he added as he headed toward the bedroom, “I’ve heard that married sex is da bomb, Pumpkin. Da. Bomb.”
“Oh yeah?” she called out. “Well, you’ll be glad to know that statistics prove that the number of blowjobs drastically diminishes once a couple ties the knot!”
“We’ll beat the odds, Pumpkin. We’ll beat the odds!”
***
“Are we the first ones?” Violet asked as Ben helped her out of her coat while Ian was busy petting Rocco.
“Nope. Harper and Madison are already here.”
He didn’t specify that he had hidden behind Madison when Harper had arrived. Thankfully, she had seen that he had gotten his head out of his ass - her words, not his - and had just promised to keep their secret until they felt ready to share it. She had also specified that she refused to apologize for slapping him because he had it coming.
It was hard to disagree with her on that, but he made a mental note to never get on her bad side ever again.
Chris, Everleigh, and baby Jonathan followed a few minutes later, with Mia who was unexpectedly home for the weekend.
Normally, this would be his perfect birthday celebration. Or almost, since he’d have preferred a nice restaurant, but things were changing and as an alpha male, he had to adapt to his environment. This year, though… he would have enjoyed a quiet dinner just with one person. Maybe they’d manage just that this week, a nice little restaurant, just the two of them.
He didn’t even get to sit next to her. He was at the head of the table, while Madison was at the other end. To his right, there was Ian, to his left was Chris, and then the girls were further down.
To make things worse, they were talking about boys.
Not boys as in, him, Chris, and Ian. Nope. Boys for the two single ladies, Mia and Madison.
Except Madison wasn’t single.
She was extremely not single.
Totally not available.
The birth control fail had made sure of that, which was a plus side he hadn’t even considered before.
“So you know my cousin Graham is a pilot, right?”
“Oh… I looooove pilots,” Harper whined, dropping her head against Everleigh’s shoulder.
“We know, we know,” she said, patting her head in solidarity. “You wanted me to get a sperm sample from one last year.”
“Well, Harper you’re out of the equation. Mia, you’re away most of the time, but Madison… he is moving to New York permanently. I think you guys would hit it off.”
“He’s so handsome,” Everleigh said with a sigh. “Tall, athletic. His smile is to die for.”
“Dimples?” Mia asked.
“Yes!”
“He’s also very sweet and funny. He is a great cook, my aunt taught him well. He loves dogs. He saw you in my wedding pictures and thought you were really pretty,” Violet explained with a little smile.
Oh, hell no.
Ian was eating his eggplant parmesan, but Chris was getting annoyed by the conversation as well.
“I met him once,” Everleigh explained. “He’s really smart and has a degree in math. He’s the whole package.”
Chris’s frown deepened.
Madison’s eyes were going from Everleigh to Violet, briefly pausing on his on the way.
“We could make it a nice dinner,” Violet said. “Invite you two over, or maybe I invite him, and you just happen to stop by!”
“That’s never subtle, guys,” Harper chimed in.
Thank you, Harper.
“Yeah, and I don’t think I’d be comfortable being set up that way.”
“But he’d love to meet you! I told him where you worked, and he had so many questions about your job. I think you’d make a super cute couple,” Violet continued, unfazed. “You’re right, though. I’ll just tell him I’m inviting you over, if he wants to meet you, he is welcome to show up.”
“What? No,” Harper tried again. “Guys, seriously have you ever been set up? It’s awful. You know people are playing matchmakers, the guy knows it too, there are all these expectations…”
“Yeah, what she said,” Madison said slowly.
“Why don’t you send him a friend request on Facebook? Just so you can talk casually, see if the vibe is there?”
“I’m not sure I’m really into dating at the moment.”
“Sweetheart, maybe we could just host one of these honeymoon picture parties, invite a bunch of people?” Ian offered, digging a knife in Ben’s back.
Maybe he didn’t know about him and Madison, but still. At least, Chris was not encouraging the girls in their crazy matchmaking scheme.
Everleigh gasped. “That’s an amazing idea! Plenty of people, it makes sense to invite him since he couldn’t make it to the wedding, and of course Madison is there since she was one of the bridesmaids!”
“No, really, guys, don’t go through all that trouble for me,” Madison tried again.
“Oh, can I come too? If you make it on a weekend, I might be able to stop by? I’d love to see the pics!” Mia chirped.
“Of course, the more, the merrier! We’ll have a small buffet, it will be amazing!”
“I have a few guys at the station that I could invite too. They’re single and probably won’t turn down free food. They’re good guys.”
“I’m not looking for a date,” Madison tried again.
Violet ignored Madison, clapping her hands excitedly. “I knew I was right to marry you. Perfect, that’s the plan then. We’ll send you the details once we find the right date. Mia, I’ll get in touch with you to find out when it’s the most practical for you.”
Madison stared at Ben, her eyes wide and lost as Violet started listing all the guys she could invite and every single one of their attributes.
“Lincoln is such a nice guy. He is divorced, but it was a friendly breakup, so no emotional baggage. There is also Ray who-”
“I’m pregnant,” Madison blurted out, catching him completely off guard. Him, and everybody else.
“- few years older but… but…” Violet’s voice died a slow, painful death as silence fell over their table.
Only the purring of the fridge could be heard in the background as everyone stared at Madison in disbelief, except for him and Harper. Madison gulped, seeking his eyes in a wordless supplication, and it was enough to kick him into action.
He cleared his throat and patted his lips dry before carefully setting his napkin by his plate. “So am I,” he announced.
“Dude, seriously, now is not the time,” Ian scolded him with a small shake of his head.
“No. He means… we’re pregnant. Together.”
Ben circled the table until he was standing behind Madison’s chair. He rested his hands on her shoulders, squeezing reassuringly. “We’re going to give you the short version. We’ve been together for a while now. No, it wasn’t planned. Yes, we’re really happy.”
“What do you mean, for a while?”
“Since… January.”
“That’s like nine months!” Everleigh squeaked. “How on earth did you manage to hide it?!”
“And more importantly, why?” Chris asked.
Mia coughed in her fist. “Maybe… just maybe, they started as friends-with-benefits and it evolved from that, and you know these things totally happen, right, Chris?” Her pointed glare had the benefit of making Chris and Everleigh look at least a little bit sheepish.
“That’s… actually quite close to what happened, yes.” Ben pressed a quick peck on Madison’s head. “Now, can we all go back to our meal?”
“Err, nope. How far along are you? Are you alright? Do you have any symptoms? Oh, you’ll have to stop by so we can go through some of Jonathan’s clothes if you want to.” Everleigh paused, letting out a loud gasp. “Oh my God! They’re only going to be a year apart.”
“Buttercup, please tell me you’re not gonna-”
“My little boy is going to grow up with a cousin,” she sniffled, her eyes watering at a scarily fast pace. “It was just me, mom, and my grandmother after my dad left, but Jonathan… he’s going to have a real family.”
“Guys, I still haven’t gone to the doctor and I’m not even sure how far along I am…”
Everleigh pressed her napkin under her eyes, nodding. “Of course. I’m sorry, I know how angsty I was too in the beginning. If you need anything, though… I’m here.”
“Ah, fuck,” Chris muttered, meeting his eyes.
“What?” Ian asked in confusion.
Ben shook his head, feeling a big lump in his throat as well, knowing instinctively that what Everleigh had said had hit Chris just as hard.
He and Chris had been best friends since preschool. They had literally grown up together. To know that his child would get to experience that… And that he would get to experience fatherhood with his best friend… Yeah, he was about two seconds away from bawling, sue him. All of his best childhood memories involved Chris somehow. And their kids would get to, hopefully, share a similar bond.
He had been wrong, in a way. His father wasn’t the only family he had left.
His family was right there, in front of him.