Page 21 of Forever, Finally

“You’re humming,” Allison said as Lily checked the supply cabinet.

Lily glanced up from her clipboard and did her best to keep from grinning. It was Friday morning and in about twenty-four hours, she was getting married!

The news still hadn’t sunk in, which was okay. She could get floaty just on the possibility.

“I hum all the time,” she told her co-worker.

“Yeah, but not like this. It’s a happy hum.”

Lily laughed. “Instead of the funeral dirges I usually entertain you with?”

“No. It’s just…” Allison, tall, slender and painfully beautiful, shrugged. “You’ve been extra cheerful all week. Is it the baby?”

It was really Jake, but Lily didn’t want to say that. Her soon-to-be marriage was still a secret.

“I’m just a cheerful kind of girl.”

“Uh-huh.” Allison didn’t look convinced. “Those are some powerful hormones coursing through your body. I may have to get me some.”

Allison was all of twenty-three and had the dating attention span of a goldfish.

“You might want to wait a little while,” Lily told her with a grin. “Enjoy life, grow up a little more, find the right guy.”

“So when I’m old like you I should have a baby?” Allison asked cheekily.

Lily threw a wrapped package of tissue at her. “Exactly.”

“I’ll make a note of that. I mean, my being old is so far in the future, I’ll probably forget.”

Lily tried not to smile, but she couldn’t help it. “Here, kid. You take care of the inventory and I’ll take little Aaron down to X-ray. It’s about that time.”

“Sure thing. I was raised to respect my elders.”

Lily chuckled as she headed for Aaron’s room. “Okay, big guy,” she said when she entered. “Want to take a first class ride in an elevator?”

The eight year old looked up from his Game Boy. He was pale, bald, but still full of fire. “Hey, Lily. Do I have to?”

“Is anything here an option? I think not. But here’s the thing. This one won’t hurt. Isn’t that cool? And by the time we’re done, lunch will be here and I have it on good authority that there’s some ice cream on the menu, so hey. What’s not to like?”

Aaron put down his video game. “I’m ready. Can we go real fast?”

“We can go at light speed. Of course my big stomach will probably bump some poor patient and send her spiraling down the hall.”

Aaron laughed. “Okay. Not light speed.”

“You’re the boss.”

She moved close to the bed to unhook his IVs. He wrapped both his arms around her and she hugged him back. She loved these kids—they were one of the reasons she’d wanted a baby of her own so much. Maybe now that she was marrying Jake she could think about having more children in the future.

* * *

Saturday morning Lily found herself waiting outside the judge’s private chambers. The past four days had zipped by in a whirlwind of activity. There had been a dress to find—not easy considering she was six months along and working full time—a small reception to arrange and the decision to tell people or not.

Under normal circumstances, Lily would have happily spread the news. Only she’d already planned one big wedding that year and it had ended in disaster. This time she thought it was probably smarter to keep things quiet until she was sure they were going to work out.

In addition to being sensible, she was also dealing with some fairly serious guilt. Excitement and guilt were a unique combination.

“You don’t have to do this,” she said as she stood next to Jake in the hallway. “You can’t really want to marry me. I was freaking out about the whole alone thing.”

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