Exactly Nine Months Later

“Thirty seconds,” Ryan called out. “Twenty.”

Jen struggled to stand and kept one hand on her huge belly as she joined her husband.

“Ten. Nine. Eight,” he droned.

She watched the digital clock as the numbers moved to midnight and when the clock buzzed, and a new day started, she and Ryan started celebrating.

They had paper poppers and kazoos along with an abundant supply of sparklers at the ready. Goober ran around yipping happily.

“We made it.” She laughed. “It’s official. Nine months and one day!”

Ryan dropped to one knee and stroked their baby bump. He kissed it again and again and laughed his ass off.

“Granny Carlton can officially calm the F down, now. We passed the naughty test! Whoop, whoop!”

“Oh, man, I gotta sit down,” she mumbled. “My back is killing me.”

“That’s because our son is a big boy,” Ryan crowed.

He helped her get onto the lounger and put a pillow behind her back, and then he sat at the foot of the chair and put her feet in his lap. Goober climbed next to her and put his head on her thigh.

Gently rubbing her feet, Ryan made a bunch of bad jokes about scary mothers-in-law that got her laughing.

She thought back to their impromptu marriage and the past nine months and felt nothing but happiness. Their rash behavior simply hastened a happily ever after that felt charmed.

Four months in, right around the time she sported an obvious baby bump, John and Samantha tied the knot. It was a beautiful ceremony for family and friends with Chelsea as the maid of honor. The bride was radiant and the groom an emotional basket case. They were, to borrow an oft-used phrase, cute as hell.

Uncle Howie finished the apartment renovations not long after. By then, of course, the need for a modern nursery was apparent—something that gave her a chance to go to town. The charming junior suite had a window seat that looked into the terrace garden and decorations on the walls that Chelsea helped Jen pick out.

Any day now, their son was due to make his arrival. Now that they’d successfully maneuvered around the nine-month tongue-in-cheek prohibition, she was good to go at any time.

Sooner than later, she thought. Being pregnant was awesome and she had loved every second, but Jen was eager to move on to the next chapter where a baby wrapped in blue would be put in her arms.

“I have to tell you,” Ryan was saying, “that my brother is handling this whole thing better than I thought he would.”

She rubbed her tummy and laughed softly. “They got pregnant like we did. Boom!”

“It’s gonna be so cool having our kids so close together. Cousins!”

“I hope you two aren’t still haggling. You know, hon, it’s John’s right to pass on your dad’s name. And Sam is thrilled with naming their baby Gregory.”

He sighed heavily and switched to her other foot. “Yeah, I know. And you’re right. We’ll use Gregory for a middle name.”

She shifted around, trying to find a comfortable spot.

“Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. “Yeah, I guess.”

Ryan caressed her bump. Goober raised his head and looked at her expectantly.

“Oh,” she squeaked when a pain shot back and forth across her belly. “That was weird.”

Time slowed. She could hear everyone breathing. Her. Ryan. The dog.

They waited.

A few minutes went by. They started to relax and then another pain ricocheted with more oomph. This time, she grunted rather than squeaked.

Uncertainty gripped Jen. “Ryan?”

He was smiling. “Don’t you worry about a thing, my love. I’ve been practicing,” he proudly drawled.

Whipping out his phone, he called the driver they’d been using.

“We’re off to the races, Carlos. Better bring the car!”

Then he made a series of calls starting with her parents.

“Lynda? It’s Ryan. She’s going into labor.” He listened quietly for a minute then muttered, “Thanks, Mom. I’ll tell her,” and hung up.

“She’ll be on the next flight. Jet Coast charter.”

Next, he rang Connie. “Hey, Grandma. It’s time.”

They talked really quick, and he hung up so he could call John.

“Bro!” he boomed. “I don’t think my wife will be at work for a while.”

She heard John’s excited whoop and smiled.

Jen rubbed her belly and let the waves of happiness washing over her have full rein.

“Okay dokey, Mrs. Lloyd,” her sexy husband gleefully said. “Are you ready to meet our son?”

“Kiss me.”

He immediately took her to paradise for a spin around the heavens with his masterful kiss.

“I love you, Jenna.”

“I love you too, you scruffy rogue.”

He laughed and eased her gently off the chaise lounge. “Let’s go have a baby.”

Very early in the morning, nine months and two days after they married, Ryan and Jenna Lloyd welcomed Shane Gregory Lloyd into the family.

And yes, they really did live happily ever after.