Page 32 of One Last Time

"Best Christmas ever," I say, and he laughs as he cleans himself. "The next three months are going to be hard but Silas, I believe that we can get through it." I have to believe that, otherwise, what are we doing?

I reach for my pajamas and quickly pull them on. I lie back on the bed and look at him. He makes my heart pitter patter, no matter what, Silas is the man for me.

"Hell yes," he says instantly, and I smile. "Trust me, Payton, me and you, we're meant to be. We can withstand anything that's thrown at us. I'll be here waiting for your pretty ass to land when you come back from Milan."

"I'll be watching all your games. Even if I have to record them."

He rewards me with the biggest smile I think I've ever seen him have. "Fuck, I love you. I've been so tempted to fly out to Portland, but we're leaving tomorrow."

I give him a reassuring smile. "It'll be harder when we're together to say goodbye." I know that for a fact, we reunited for an hour, and I feel as though I'm missing a huge part of me. Us being together more than that, it would be impossible for us to part.

"I know, but as soon as your ass is home, I'm not letting you up out of the bed for days."

I giggle, it sounds like perfection. "Is Cas with you today?" I ask, swiftly changing the subject.

He frowns. "He is, why?"

There's the possessiveness coming through. "Because he has your present from me."

The frown disappears and is replaced by sheer disbelief. "You got me a present, baby?"

I nod, I actually went a little overboard this Christmas. This year has been really good for me, and I've earned more money than I need. So I splurged on those that I love. That includes Silas. It was hard getting his present within the short time frame, but money talks, and I added an extra incentive for the guy, and he had it delivered last night. Thankfully, Cas was there to intercept, having gotten his number from Tate, who is also in on the surprise.

"What is it?" He's like a child, worse than Mary.

"Why don't you go find out? Call me later?" I ask, his eyes soften, and my heart melts. That look is reserved just for me, he's been giving it to me since we were kids. "Love you."

"Yeah, baby, I'll call you later. I love you too."

I blow him a kiss and go to hang up when his words stop me. "Dahlia has your present, baby."

I blink. "What?"

He grins. "You're not the only one with an inside man. Go and spend some time with your family. Love you, baby."

"Love you, Si," I whisper as tears fill my eyes. I hate saying goodbye, but I know that it's not for forever, just for a little while.

Once I’m off the phone, I reach into my purse and pull out the bag. I quickly make my way to the bathroom and do my thing. I sigh as I watch the timer on my phone count down. Three minutes feels like a lifetime.

Beep, beep.

It’s time. I glance at the white stick and gasp. With a shaky hand I reach for it. Those pink lines are so bright and blinding.

I’m pregnant.

Merry Christmas to me.

"Present time!" Dahlia calls out after we've all eaten breakfast. She's kept that tradition from my parents, well hers. Growing up, Grandma always made her kids breakfast before they opened their presents, and mom did it with us, and Dahlia has followed suit. It's so that everyone would be awake to watch the others open their presents.

I’ve not told anyone my news yet, I think I’m still in shock. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I mean, Silas and I are still trying to figure everything out. We’re going to be apart for the next three months. This is going to be a crazy ride, that’s for sure. But one thing I do know is, I’m keeping my baby.

Sebastian rushes into the sitting room and dives for the Christmas tree. There's been even more presents added to it since I went to bed. Jesus, Dahlia went overboard.

I sit on the armchair and curl my legs underneath me. I love this, watching as everyone opens their presents, the sheer look of happiness on their faces, there's nothing better.

The kids tear into their presents, there's a lot of oohs and ahhs, even Tyler managed to get an “Oh my God” out. He's happier today, a lot less stressed, and I'm glad that we had our talk last night.

"Okay, my turn," I say once the presents are gone, and only mine, Bianca's, and Dahlia's are left. I get to my feet and walk to my hiding place, an ottoman that's by the door.

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