Page 114 of More Than Words

“Me too,” I sniffled, tears pricking in the corners of my eyes as he gently caressed my skin. I was ready to start the next chapter of our lives, even if I knew it’d be challenging.

ISOBEL

Minneapolis

“We should get you ready,” Adrian said after we’d both recovered from our unexpected coupling. He moved to the bag he’d abandoned by the dresser, pulling out my underwear and helping me with them before he disappeared to retrieve my dress from where he’d hung it in the closet.

It was kind of comical that he was helping me dress while he was still completely naked, but after he settled me into the chair next to the desk, I got to watch him get dressed. He looked handsome in his dark slacks and button-down shirt, a red tie completing the look.

We still had hours until the wedding, but he was escorting me to the bridal suite before he joined the men on another floor. He was the last groomsman—paired with me—and the others were Chase’s brothers, each paired with their spouses.

“I can’t wait to see you later,” he whispered while we rode the elevator to the fourth floor. “You’re going to look stunning.”

I, on the other hand, was not so sure. The dress Chase had picked out was gorgeous, a pink satin maternity wrap dress that was gathered under the bust and gently draped over my enormous belly in soft folds. But I still felt like a whale.

“Don’t start getting in your head,” he teased, his hand rubbing small circles on my lower back. I’d had some nerve pain lately, causing my lower back to ache constantly, and I was getting to the point where I needed to be seated more often than not. “You’re a knockout, and everyone here can see it.”

Rolling my eyes, I took a deep breath as the elevator settled; the doors sliding open. Adrian guided me toward the door to the suite at the end of the hallway, and I was suddenly nervous. I was going to have to spend all day letting other people touch me. Not that I didn’t want to look nice for pictures, but my skin was so sensitive lately I didn’t like people—other than Adrian—touching me.

I felt like I was being marched toward the Spanish Inquisition as we walked off the elevator, but it was time to get this show on the road.

Adrian knocked on the door to the bridal suite, his thumb tracing my spine through my dress as we waited.

“Is!” Chase squealed as she pulled the door open. She was covered in a plush white robe with a glass of champagne in her hand. “Everyone else is here. I had them bring up some mocktails so you can join in the fun.”

“Have a good time, babe,” Adrian whispered in my ear, kissing my cheek before he pressed my small clutch into my hand. “If you need me, text. I’ll make sure my phone is on me at all times. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Chase grinned, wiggling her eyebrows as Adrian turned and retreated down the hallway. He watched me from his place near the elevator, waving and shaking his head at Chase’s obnoxious squeal.

“Get in here and tell everyone about your hunky boyfriend.” Chase tugged my elbow and pulled me into the suite, guiding me to a plush chair before she told me to sit and placed a champagne flute filled with sparkling grape juice and orange juice in my hand. It tasted sickly sweet, and I winced as my stomach cramped.

The baby turned, and I pressed my hand into her until she settled back down. No one ever told you how painful it was to have a tiny foot crammed into your ribcage twenty times a day.

“Come on, spill.” Chase settled into a chair facing a large mirror, a hairstylist setting to work with a curling wand.

“There’s not much to spill.”

The other women looked at me expectantly, Kristine smirking as she tried to hold back. She had never been on great terms with Adrian, but they’d kind of come to a truce before she moved to Chicago to work with Sam.

“Well, obviously something is going on between you and Evan’s editor, because I don’t think that’s a giant burrito shoved under that dress,” Evan’s sister Kelly said with a laugh.

“We’re...it’s complicated.” I wasn’t sure how to answer their questions. We were just taking things one day at a time. Neither one of us had brought up what the next step would be besides moving in together.

My lease didn’t end until April, and Adrian’s until May, so we were waiting until after she was born to find a place together. I knew it wasn’t ideal to split time with a newborn between two apartments, but we’d make it work. People co-parented all the time from separate households. Only they typically weren’t together anymore.

“So uncomplicate it,” Kristine said, shrugging before she took a sip of her mimosa. “Nana told me that when I had my head up my ass about Sam.”

“I think you’re in a bit of a different situation than she is,” Chase’s sister-in-law, Elle, commented, turning toward me with a soft smile. “Trying to navigate a relationship while you’re pregnant isn’t easy. And not everyone wants to get married.”

“Amen.” Kristine lifted her glass in a toast, but I knew she’d change her tune if Sam proposed.

I wasn’t sure what I would do if Adrian proposed. Despite him telling Grant we were engaged; I was too scared to broach the subject. I’d never told him I wanted to get remarried someday, and he hadn’t officially asked.

“Dickhead seems to have changed over the last few months,” Chase commented, looking at us through the mirror she was seated in front of. “Evan said he’s been almost tolerable with the draft of his new book.”

“He has. I almost feel bad I thought so poorly of him for so many years. Once he let his walls down, he was a completely different person.”

“Still a dick,” Kristine laughed.

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