Alec, Beth and I, were out to dinner together. In the past year, we had grown together as a family and not just a couple dating with a thirteen-year-old daughter living with us. There was no way we would have been able to do that, anyway. Alec is a very dedicated dad, and I was young enough to be friends with Beth in a way that an older woman might not have been able to be.

Sometimes, there were obstacles, but we managed to get through them. It was all a learning curve for me. Stepping into a family with a teenager wasn’t always easy, but my love for the two of them always got me through.

“To Beth,” Alex said, lifting his champagne glass. We were celebrating her graduation. She was going to high school now.

“Absolutely,” I said. “We’re so proud of you, honey.”

Beth was beaming. There were days where she and I were on the same level. Sometimes, I felt like we were sisters. Other days, she was so difficult, acting out and challenging every authority. I was willing to bet that there were a lot more of those days to come. I wouldn’t have chosen a different life for the world.

“And, to you,” Alex said. “On your graduation, too.”

I had gotten my degree through online classes. It hadn’t been easy, but it had been worth the relationship I had with Alex. If I had to go back and do anything over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.

We had been dating for four months when Alec had asked me to move in with them. The three of us had sat down and discussed what it would be like. Alec and I hadn’t wanted to make a decision without the input. We had thought that Beth would be unhappy, somehow. We had had a rough start. But Beth had been overjoyed to know that I would be staying with them. Even though I was sharing Alex’s bed, she saw it as a constant sleepover.

Now, one year later, I felt like I had a place where I belonged.

“I have something for you,” I said halfway through dinner, “for both of you.” Alex looked at me, smiling. Beth lowered her fork.

My stomach twisted in a knot of nerves as I took an envelope from my handbag. I handed it to Alec, but Beth snatched it from me. I laughed.

Beth tore open the envelope and took out the card. The front had an embossed angel on it. When she opened it, a black photo fell out. Beth picked it up, frowning.

“What is this?” She asked. Alec leaned over to look. Beth realized what she was seeing about the same time Alec did.

“I’m going to be a sister!?” She squealed. I glanced at Alec. He had gone pale. I hadn’t told either of them; I hadn’t known how to break the news. I didn’t know if Alec would be upset, or happy. Instead, he stared at the picture in silence.

“Say something,” I said. I was getting more and more worried that he would be upset with me. If he didn’t want this baby, I wouldn’t know what to do. It wasn’t exactly planned.

Alex looked at me, and his eyes shimmered. Was he crying? Almost looked like it. He reached into his pocket and produced a small velvet black box. It only took me a moment to realize what I was seeing.

“Oh, my God,” Beth breathed. So, this was a surprise to her, too.

“Yes,” I said before Alec could ask. He smiled and kissed me.

“Oh, gross guys, get a room,” Beth said, but she was grinning. “A sibling and a mother all in one night!” She cried.

Alec was as emotional as I was. He opened the little black box and took out the ring, sliding it onto my finger. It was beautiful, a golden ring with diamonds set with precision.

The rest of dinner went by smoothly. Beth was in high spirits, talking a mile a minute about babies and weddings and how we would arrange the house once the new bundle of joy arrived. She was excited to tell Marci, her best friend. Alec said very little. He sat next to me, clutching my hand, a silly grin on his face. I took it that he was happy about the baby. It was a relief. And us getting engaged? I hadn’t known that he was that serious about me. But I felt the same about him.

After dinner, we headed home. Beth asked if she could call Marci before bed. Alec and I agreed. We went to our room and heard Beth’s excited voice, muffled through the walls. We lay together in the dark, listening to her chatter away.

After a while, she hung up. We heard her move around, getting ready for bed, and then the house fell quiet.

“I love you,” Alec whispered to me.

“I love you, too,” I said.

He kissed me. I rolled against him, pressing my body against his. His hand slid down my back, cupping my ass for a moment before he pulled up my shirt. I helped him get it off before I did the same for him. Bit by bit, Alec and I undressed each other.

I ran my hands through his chest hair, feeling the heat of his skin, the beating of his heart beneath my fingertips. The length of his cock was against my hip. I pulled up my leg, and we faced each other when he entered me. It was so intimate, our eyes locking as he rocked his body back and forth, sliding into me. I gasped and moaned softly the first orgasm building. Everything about the way he treated me was with so much love I could choke on it.

When I orgasmed, it filled me up like hot water. I grabbed onto Alec, letting him guide me through it, losing myself completely, knowing he would be there to catch me.

When we were done, we lay together, naked under the covers. His fingers were intertwined with mine, and he ran his thumb up and down the back of mine.

“Would you want a boy or a girl?” I asked.

“I don’t mind,” Alec said. “I want the baby to be healthy. Anything else is perfect because you’re the mother.”

I smiled. “We should talk about names, sometime.”

“We should,” he said. “I think we can call her Bella if it’s a girl.”

Because of my name, I realized.

“And if it’s a boy?” I asked.

“Alexander, Xander for short.”

I looked up at him, tracing his profile in the dim light that came from the window. “You have it all figured out, don’t you?” I asked.

I could feel him smile. “With you, sweetheart, my future is as bright and clear as day.”

“One last question,” I said, feeling myself drift off to sleep.

“Yeah?” he asked sleepy, too.

“Do you want the wedding before or after the birth?”

“As soon as possible,” he said. “I want to make you mine.”

I grinned. What a man, I thought before we fell asleep, together.