Chapter Twenty-Seven

 

 

 

 

 

Kelly

 

 

 

 

 

Everything was perfect. It was the wedding I’d always dreamed of. I spent the evening dancing, conversing, eating, and just laughing with those that I loved. Everything was flawless, as if I’d planned the wedding myself. Even the dress that Megan, Elma, and my mom had picked out was just right. And then there was the groom… He surpassed my dreams and filled me with so much happiness. His reaction to my pregnancy had just been icing on the wedding cake.

“April eighth?” Megan repeated with a smile as she held the bouquet she’d caught when I’d tossed it ten minutes before. “That’s pretty perfect.”

I nodded in agreement and dropped my head to her shoulder as I watched Nick dance with his youngest sister again. “I was thinking the same thing. That gives me a month to fit into the dress for your wedding.”

“You’re going to be a mommy,” Megan said with awe in her voice. “That’s so amazing.”

“And terrifying,” I added with a smile. My sister just chuckled quietly and we sat in silence until someone else came to congratulate me.

“Are you ready to get out of here?” Nick asked when he was done with his little sister. I nodded my head tiredly and took his hand so he could pull me to my feet.

“Let’s go home.”

Nick shook his head and kissed me softly. “We’re not going home, hot stuff. There’s a limo outside waiting to take us to the Venetian. Our flight leaves at nine tomorrow morning and we’re going to Hawaii for a week.”

“Seriously?” I blinked at him as he nodded twice. Suddenly, his smile fell and he frowned.

“Well, shit. Should we call the doctor and make sure it’s okay for you to be traveling?”

Megan smiled at Nick and she shook her head. “She’ll be fine. I’m really glad you didn’t choose the Caribbean, though, because you guys would have to cancel it because of the Zika outbreak. Hawaii is safe so far.”

“What about work?”

“I took care of that,” Nick replied as he pressed a kiss to my temple. “They arranged for your appointments to be covered.”

I was impressed. I had no idea how he had been able to pull everything off without me knowing. I stared down at the gorgeous rings that now sat on my finger and thought about how surreal everything felt. It wasn’t until someone said my name that I shook out of my trance.

I hugged my parents tight. They were both over the moon, too, and I knew that they loved Nick as much as I did. Elma was next and she just thanked me several times, telling me she loved me. I also hugged all of Nick’s siblings before turning to my own. Simon held me close before Megan did the same, whispering how proud of me she was the entire time.

People blew bubbles around us as Nick led me out to a limo and we waved before getting in. As soon as the door was closed, Nick’s mouth was on mine and we kissed hungrily as the country club disappeared from view.

“I want to show you something,” my husband said as he ripped his mouth away. I raised my eyebrows, my chest heaving, and watched as he produced his phone from his pocket. He did something on it before holding it out so we could both see it.

He played me two videos, both of them from our night in Vegas. One was right before we were married and one was right after. We looked beyond happy in both of them and I knew that I’d loved him long before I’d admitted it to myself.

“It was your idea,” I whispered as I turned to look at him and Nick nodded.

“It was the best fucking idea I’ve ever had.”

I grinned and grabbed for my clutch that was on the floor by the side seat. “I want to show you something, too.”

I dug around until I found what I was looking for. I held up the tiny black and white pictures for Nick to see. He took them from my hand and I watched as awe overcame his entire face.

“It’s a baby.”

I chuckled and nodded my head. “Our baby. We made that.”

We resumed our kissing and didn’t come up for air until the limo had stopped. The driver opened the door and Nick got out first before helping me to my feet. As we began to walk away from the limo, I glanced back and shook my head. Besides my silver clutch, we didn’t have anything else with us.

“We don’t have luggage?”

“It’s already in the room,” Nick replied as we moved into the casino.

People stopped to congratulate us constantly and our mouths reconnected when the elevator doors closed. When we made it to our room, Nick unlocked it before hooking an arm under my knees and lifting me to his chest.

“Tradition, you know.”

The second my feet hit the floor, we were all over each other. It took Nick more time than I would have liked to figure out how to get my dress off but we finally did without any fabric casualties. Nick’s tux ended up in pieces strewn across the floor, leaving a trail that led to the king-sized bed. Once I was naked and on the fluffy mattress, his eyes trailed over every inch of me. He crawled up the bed and rubbed his thumbs across my stomach.

“I still can’t wrap my head around this. We’re having a baby, Kel.” He pressed his lips to my stomach before running his tongue up to one of my nipples, causing me to gasp. “You’re going to be the hottest pregnant woman ever.”

Nick had promised to keep me up all night and he did. We went to the airport the next morning on very little sleep. We both slept on the plane, though, and landed in Kauai around lunch time. Once we had our rental Jeep loaded, Nick steered us in the direction of the resort we’d be staying at for the week.

“Beyond our sleeping arrangements, I haven’t made any other plans,” he said as he adjusted the black sunglasses on his face. “We can do whatever we want.”

I reached across the seats and let my hand rest at the nape of his neck before releasing a content sigh. The top was down on the Jeep, allowing the wind to whip through my haphazard ponytail and my skin to absorb the sun.

“When did you have time to plan all of this? The wedding, the honeymoon… And how did I not know?”

“I started planning it about three weeks ago.” He reached over and squeezed my thigh gently. “After Owens proposed, I could see how badly you wanted all of this, even if you didn’t say so. I was trying to figure out a way to make it up to you and the night you brought the bridal magazines home, it just came to me.”

I leaned over to press a kiss to his shoulder. “It was perfect. Everything I’d ever imagined, honestly.”

“Me, too. Baby bomb and all.”

I observed his face to see if I could find any signs of distress or discomfort but there were none. “I didn’t think I wanted kids, you know.”

“Yeah?” Nick glanced at me before looking back to the road. “I didn’t either. I knew I’d have them because it was expected of me but I didn’t think I wanted them. But that baby in your stomach, Kelly… God, I want that baby so badly.”

Warmth spread through my body and I felt emotion clog my throat. I blamed the hormones, of course. They were no match for the Greek god that was sitting next to me.

“I was afraid you’d be upset,” I admitted quietly and Nick’s hand immediately gripped the one in my lap.

“We made something amazing, sweetheart. A baby that’s the best of us both.” He brought my hand to his mouth and pressed a tender kiss to my palm. “I’m about as far from upset as I can be.”

I shook my head in disbelief but didn’t say anything else. I had no idea how the two of us had ended up where we were but I wasn’t complaining. Everything was perfect.

The resort was beautiful. It was located right off the beach and Nick had rented us a villa that allowed us to step out into the sand. It was smaller than our suite had been at the Bellagio on the night we got married but it was so much nicer.

We spent the next week alternating between our hotel room and the beach. Someone at the resort had recommended a hike and a helicopter ride, but my body was too tired to hike and Nick looked green at the thought of a helicopter. So we snorkeled, did a couple of boat rides, windsurfed, and a few other things but we spent the majority of our time relaxing or lost in each other. My desire for Nick definitely hadn’t ebbed at all and, if anything, the hormones only intensified it.

“What would you say to buying a house?” Nick asked on the last day of our honeymoon. We were on the beach and I was lying face down on a towel as he rubbed my shoulders with his big, gentle hands. He had been putting sunblock on me but it’d transformed into the most amazing massage.

“A house?” I murmured and Nick made a noise of affirmation before kissing the back of my neck.

“Well, even if Owens and Megan move out, the apartment isn’t really set up in a kid-friendly layout. Are you going to want the baby on the opposite side of where we are?”

I rolled over so my back was partially in the sand and shook my head as I stared up at my husband. “Probably not. Can we buy a house with a pool?”

“Baby, I will buy you a house with a fucking tennis court if it makes you happy.” He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. “You’re so beautiful.”

I smiled and ran my hand up his bare chest. “I hope you remember that when my face is broken out, my ankles are swollen, and I can barely fit through the door.”

“I look forward to it, Kel.”

I thought about what Argus had said to me while we were dancing at the wedding. When he’d asked if I’d gotten pregnant on purpose, I’d been stunned. That wasn’t the worst part, though. I hadn’t told Nick the full extent knowing he would have immediately confronted his father. Argus’ words were like a bee buzzing in my mind constantly.

“He won’t stay, you know. Nickolas isn’t meant for domestication. That baby is going to change things. When you are tired from being pregnant or from being up with a newborn, he will seek what he needs from someone else.”

I pushed it out of my mind and let Nick pull me to my feet so we could go swim. We soaked up our time in paradise before we went home the Saturday following the wedding. Megan and Simon picked us up from the airport and we filled each other in on what we’d all missed.

“And how do Hudson and Kendra feeling about it?” I asked when Simon told me that his brother proposed to his girlfriend.

“Oh, they love Stacey so they’re happy.”

Nick chuckled and ran his fingers through my hair as my head fell to his shoulder. “That’s a lot of weddings in one year.”

“Oh, speaking of.” Megan turned in her seat and looked at me. “We need to have you measured this week for your dress. They’re going to make it a bit bigger just in case but I have no doubt you’ll be back to your old size before the wedding.”

“You’re going to jinx me,” I warned. “I’ll probably gain fifty pounds in the last month.”

Simon laughed from behind the steering wheel. “Not the way you eat. What did the doctor say about your lack of meat?”

“You forget that I’m a registered dietician, ass.” I kicked his seat lightly. “As long as I’m taking my vitamins and making protein a priority, this little one will grow big and strong.”

“He can’t get that big. Look how tiny his dad is.”

Nick laughed and shook his head. “You’re lucky you’re driving, douche.”

Megan turned in her seat so she was looking at me and we both rolled our eyes. The two of them acted like siblings more than friends most of the time.

We unpacked our bags when we made it home and I sat on the couch with my sister to show her the photos we’d taken over the week. After she had her fill of Hawaii, I followed Nick back to the bedroom and we opened the wedding gifts that had been moved to our room following the wedding.

“A blender,” Nick commented as he held up the box. “Are we offended or happy?”

I gasped and pulled the box into my arms as I shook my head. “This is a Vitamix, Nicky! These are expensive and supposed to be awesome. Think of all of the smoothies I can make you with this.”

“The way to my wife’s heart is through a blender.” He grinned and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Duly noted. Can we stay away from green shit you like? You know they say you eat with your eyes first, right?”

“Have I ever steered you wrong food-wise?”

Nick raised his brows as if to say ‘Are you kidding me?’ and I immediately let out a laugh.

“Okay, but in my defense, most veggie dogs taste better than that one.”

A visible shudder ran through him at the thought of the ‘veggie dogs’ we’d eaten a couple of months before while at an art festival. They had been really gross, tasting like a mixture of feet and sulfur, and I hadn’t been able to get the nasty flavor out of my mouth for days.

“I think I can still taste it sometimes,” he said, gagging slightly as he handed me another wrapped gift. “I feel like I should go brush my teeth after just talking about it.”

I pulled the silver paper off of the present while laughing at his dramatics. The lid to the box came off easy and I pushed apart the tissue paper inside. A pair of red lace underwear was nestled between the paper and I pulled them out to look at them.

“Aren’t people supposed to send lingerie for the bridal shower and not the wedding?” Nick asked with a smile as he grabbed another present. His smile fell as he watched me inspect the underwear. “What’s wrong?”

The lacey thong in my hands wasn’t a new pair. Not only was it lacking the tags but someone had ripped it in several places, leaving it torn and unwearable. My eyes met Nick’s and I shook my head.

“This is the thong I was wearing the night of my birthday when I came by the station house. The pair you stuffed in your pocket when you were called out.”

“Wait. What?” He dropped the gift he’d been holding and held his hand out for the underwear. I handed them to him and grabbed the wrapping paper to see if there was a note about who it had been from. Nothing.

“I stuffed these in my bag when we got back from the call that night. I don’t understand. What else is in the box?”

I shook my head and handed him the empty package. “Nothing at all. Do you think Chad…?”

“I don’t know, Kel.” Nick put the underwear back in the box, along with the wrapping paper that had been on it. “I’m going to take it to work in the morning and talk to Owens and Cap about it, though.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss to my lips. “Don’t stress. It’s someone being a jealous douche, I’m sure.”

I nodded my head and watched as he tried to force peppiness back into what we were doing. We opened the rest of the gifts with subdued smiles and I didn’t miss the way Nick kept glancing at the box he’d placed in the corner.

It was unsettling and I didn’t understand who would wrap up my discarded underwear or what they hoped to achieve by sending them to us. How would they have even found them? The only people who were in the station house were other firefighters and I couldn’t imagine our professional family, maybe Chad excluded, doing something like that.

Wrapped in Nick’s arms that night, I allowed the thoughts to run through my mind until I let the exhaustion overtake me.