“To Roan and Mia,” Chandler, my best friend and now brother-in-law says as he finishes his speech at our wedding reception. I look over at my girl, dressed in all white and beautiful, and she leans her head against my chest. I kiss the top of her hair, loving how even now that she’s my wife and we’ve been together for well over a year, she still drives me crazy.

“You tired?” I ask as she yawns.

“I am. It’s been a long day. Hell, a long week.” And I couldn’t agree with her more. We did a destination wedding in Cabo San Lucas, and even with the hotel handling most of the details, getting everyone here for this date was a lot. The girls are on the dance floor, dancing and enjoying themselves. We let them each bring a friend, and I think totally hit the jackpot being on their good-side by doing that.

The memories of their mother seem so distant; Mia has filled the role perfectly. Since the day I told Georgia to get a lawyer if she’d wanted to see the girls again, she has gone AWOL, she’s ceased all contact, and this time I really hope it stays that way. The girls are better off without her.

“Let’s get to bed, beautiful,” I tell Mia, catching her yawn again.

“I don’t want the night to be over.”

“Neither do I.” And it’s the truth. I want to go back to the moment she walked down the sandy beach, the sun high above us. I knew in that moment that my life was complete; nothing could make it any better.

“’Kay, let’s go,” she agrees, and I look down at her tired eyes.

Many of our guests have parted for the evening, but to those that are still here, I holler out, “Thank you all for coming. I’m gonna take my bride to bed!”

The room erupts into cheers, and I swoop Mia off her feet. The mound of fabric that is her dress bunches beneath my fingertips. She giggles, and I catch sight of Rianna and Maisy waving, trying to not have to leave. “That means you guys back to your room as well.”

The girls happily oblige as I hear them following behind us. Glancing down at Mia as the moonlight reflects in her eyes, it reminds me of the night we got back together.

“I love you,” I tell her, the weight of her in my arms is something that I’ll always cherish.

“Night, Dad. Night, Mia,” the girls say entering their bungalow, which is next to ours.

“Good night, love you,” we both say in sync.

And I pull out the key to our room, unlock the door, and carry Mia inside.

“What should I do with you, Mrs. Reddick?”

She giggles, and I contemplate tossing her on the bed. But the truth is, I don’t want to let her go.

“You can do whatever you want with me, Mr. Reddick.”

“Yeah?” I ask, and she nods, a hint of mischief in her eyes.

“But first, I have to do something.”

I raise my eyebrows, not sure what she could have to do. Reluctantly, I set her on her feet. “Close your eyes,” she tells me and right away, I argue back, “Not again.”

“Are you disobeying me already?”

“I’ll close them, but only for thirty seconds, that’s it.”

She swiftly kisses my lips and then places her tiny hand over my eyes. “Make sure these stay closed.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I hear her laugh as she moves to the other side of the room. She better not be getting out of that dress without my help. “You better let me take that dress off you.”

“I will.” It sounds like she is far away, and it makes me count. It isn’t long until I sense her standing in front of me, and I want to look down at her. I want to undress her and fuck her and have my way with her, my wife.

“Open them.” Her voice is uneasy, and I immediately look into her eyes, wanting to demand she tell me what changed in that last twenty-six seconds. She takes my wrist and places something in my palm, but I’m too worried about the look in her eyes to care about what she just gave me.

“I don’t know what this is gonna say.” I realize then that I’m holding on to a pregnancy test. My insides run wild as my brain processes what she just told me. I stare at the screen, and she stares at me.

We’ve never talked about kids, if I wanted more or if she wanted to have any of her own. “I couldn’t wait any longer, I’m ten days late for my period.”

She’s still looking at me as the screen on the digital test flashes a single word: Pregnant.

I hold my breath, processing the news. She is carrying a baby, my baby. I’m having a baby with Mia. And before she can stress any longer about my feelings, I say to her, “It’s positive.” Her eyes, which are rapidly filling with tears, move to the test, and I hand it to her. She looks at the screen unsure, and I know after all she has done for me, now is my turn to do the same for her.