Joshua

The next morning, I prop myself up on my elbow and stare down at Teagan. “I’ve invited your parents to dinner.”

I watch as all the luxurious post-coital lazies leave her body in one huge jolt of oh shit. “Really? When?”

I brush a hair out of her face. “Tonight.”

She pushes into a sitting position, her face oh, so close to mine. “Okay then.” She takes a long breath in through her nose and lets it out slowly. “I don’t know why I care so much. What’s the worst that could happen? They might disapprove, but I doubt they’d go so far as to disown me. And once they see how happy we are together, I’m sure they’ll get over it.”

“In a decade or two.”

Her eyes go wide and a smile breaks across her face. “You can’t say that kind of stuff, silly.” She drops back onto her pillow. “What did you tell them?”

“I made up some bullshit excuse about how I wanted to thank you and your family for how well you took care of the house while I was gone, but…” I shrug and then smile. “I hate to ambush them like this, but I can’t think of a better way.”

Teagan swallows and bobs her head. “It’s funny. I thought this would be the most terrifying moment of my life, telling my dad that I’ve been sleeping with his boss and explaining to my mom that I’m pregnant out of wedlock. But, when I think about it, I’m not really all that scared.”

“That makes me feel pretty damn good. You have no reason to be scared now that I’ve got you. Everything’s always going to be okay.” I stretch out beside her and pull her close.

“That makes me feel pretty damn good, too.”

“What is it—besides my obvious talents as a protector, of course—that has you feeling not terrified?” I ask.

“I got to thinking. This really isn’t about them, is it? Sure, I’d like their blessing. And yes, I’d feel best if I knew I was making them proud. But really, in the end, this is about you and me and our hearts and souls and wishes and desire. It’s our life here, not theirs. So, they can be happy or they can be sad, but at the end of the day, what really matters is that we’re okay with what’s going on, right?”

I smile. “Damn straight, baby doll.”

She turns to me. “And are you happy? Now that you’re here and we’ve spent a night together, am I still what you want?”

I gather her into my arms. “Teagan. There is no doubt in my mind that you are everything I’ve ever wanted. You make me so happy. So. Happy.” I put a hand on her stomach. “And this little nugget right here? This is just icing on the cake.”

Teagan grins. “Ditto.”

“Ditto? I profess my undying love for you and all you can say is ditto?”

She scrunches up her nose in that adorable way of hers. “Yep. Ditto.”

I push her back on the bed, climb on top of her, and cage her with my arms, a hand on each side of her head. “I’ll show you ditto.” I tickle her ribs and torso and she laughs, a giant uncensored thing, her eyes closed, her face lit up with joy from the inside out. Her hair stretches out across my pillow and all I can think is that she is the woman for me. I want a lifetime of this. A lifetime of her. A lifetime of us.

* * *

“It looks even better in person than it did in the pictures.” I’m standing in the middle of what is now the nursery with Teagan tucked under my arm.

“I wanted to go with a unicorn theme, because, you know…” She twists to smile up at me. “You have a thing for unicorns.”

“I have a thing for you.”

She leans her head against my shoulder and smiles up at me. “But I thought if I threw in some cute little dragons and adorable trolls then I could also add some unicorns without getting too super girly. You know. In case we have a boy.”

Wow. In case we have a boy. My heart is full. “I’m so excited to start this life with you, baby doll.”

Teagan stares at me, her eyes wide and trained on mine. Questions flit across her face and her eyebrows draw close. She doesn’t know that I’m talking about a lifetime of us. She doesn’t know that I fully intend this house to be ours, my life to be hers. My girl is probably scared to death, uncertain as to how her life is going to unfold. I’m sure she’s wondering what she’s going to do about college. Trying not to worry about what she’ll do if I leave her. I’m sure part of her is certain that she has just ruined the rest of her life. Sentenced herself to struggle as a single mom trying to make her way through this world alone.

I know she needs reassurances. I’ve tried to give them to her through all the financial gifts, by allowing her to design the nursery, giving her free reign over this house because damn it, it’s going to be her house. It already is her house. She doesn’t know it yet, but when she moved into my bedroom, she moved in for good. I open my mouth to tell her. To ease her troubled mind. But then shut it again right away.

I haven’t done one thing right when it comes to this relationship. I started it by pretending to be someone I’m not. I slept with her, took her fucking virginity no less, without getting to know her first, and didn’t use a condom. I left her the very next day. And I got her pregnant before I even had a chance to tell her I loved her. I am determined to do at least one thing right. I’m going to meet her parents. Ask her father for her hand. And propose to her in front of the people who love her the most.

She might be worried now, but she only has to wait one more day to find out exactly how much she means to me. That’s not too much to ask, is it? That doesn’t make me too much of a jerk? Letting her live one more day with a little bit of uncertainty about her future before I get down on one knee and promise her the world?

Beside me, Teagan lets out a long breath, folds her hands over her stomach, and stares wistfully at the crib in the corner.