Page 19 of The Secrets that Surround Us

I pump my arm into the air. “I knew it.” Then I lean down and do what feels right, giving her a small, chaste kiss on the lips. “She’s going to be as beautiful as her mother,” I whisper against her lips as I pull away.

Fiona gives me a shy smile but then quickly announces, as the tech cleans the goop off her stomach, “I can’t wait to plan the nursery.”

Shortly after, she gets back into her dress, looking at me while straightening it. She checks phone and pulls her brows in as she reads something on it.

“What’s wrong?” I ask her.

“Hazel and Cecilia want to throw me a baby shower. She wants us to start a registry.”

I take a deep breath, then let out a sigh. “That’s it? The way your face looked, I thought it was something worse.”

“Well, this isn’t good,” she sasses back at me.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just weird to have people who want to do something for me just because.” she explains as we leave the doctor’s office.

“Ah, I see.” I grab her waist, stopping her from moving any further. Then I look deep into her eyes, so she can see how serious I am with my next words. “I know it’s hard to understand how people can care about you when you’ve been told for so long that you’re not worth it. But you are. You are everything, and they just want to show you how much you’re worth it. Why don’t we go grab lunch and then head to the department store to start a registry?”

She lets out a sigh. “Okay, that sounds good.”

Chapter thirteen

Fiona

Today is the day and I’ve never been more nervous. When I turn the corner and enter the living room, Alex isn’t paying attention to me. He’s looking down at his phone, but he must hear me. “Are you ready?” he asks absentmindly.

I run my hands down the front of my babypink dress, hoping to rid the sweat from my hands that keep collecting on them. “Yes, I am.” But I can hear the shakiness in my voice. Alex must’ve heard it too, because he looks up and takes me in, then he suddenly whistles.

“Fuck, you look so good I could eat you.”

His dirty words go straight to my core, and I know I’m blushing. Alex eats up the distance between us and grips the back of my neck. His heated gaze has me squirming. Yes, I want that, but disappointment hits me when I realize we can’t do that right now. We have a baby shower to go to. Patting his chest, I look up at him through my lashes. “Is that a promise?” I ask with a sly smile.

“Yes, love. It’s definitely a promise.” His hands run down my torso. When he reaches my ass, he smacks it, then whispers in my ear, “But right now, we have to go.”

He takes a step back from me, grabbing his keys off the table, and I miss his touch right away. “Shall we?” he asks as he twirls his keys on his finger.

I don’t dare speak. I nod, and we leave to take the short drive over to Hazel and Dexter’s house. When we pull up, I’m not nervous anymore about being the center of attention at the baby shower. All I can think about is how I want Alex to taste me.

Maybe it’s just the hormones, or that we’ve gotten closer over the past few months, or maybe it’s just that we've had this undeniable connection since the first moment we’ve met. I place my hand on my stomach that seems to get bigger and bigger each day. Right now, all I can think about is how this little girl will be a part of me and him.

The moment we walk through the door, my breath is taken away with how beautiful everything looks. My eyes dart from one thing to the next. The living room is filled with an array of wildflowers in vases that litter every available surface. Over the fireplace is a balloon arch of pink and gold, with a mountain of presents underneath it.

Hazel and Cecilia come around the corner of the kitchen smiling at me. “You’re here!” they say with excitement.

“We’re here,” Alex replies as his hand rubs down my back, quietly giving me support.

But when both ladies move into hug me, he steps back to allow them access. I can’t help but smile. I’ve never felt this, someone wanting to celebrate you just because you are you. When all three of us pull back, I smile at them. “It looks beautiful. Thank you.”

Hazel claps her hands together as she bounces from one foot to the other. “Wait till you see the best part.” Cecilia then grabs my wrist to pull me into the kitchen.

“Look at the cake. We made it," Hazels says as she slightly puffs out her chest. And I can tell she is really proud.

Wanting to see this cake, I turn to look at it and my brows shoot up to my hairline. “You made that?” I stare at it in amazement.

It’s a two-tiered cake covered in pink icing, plus a gold sparkly topper that reads, “It’s a Girl.”

“You guys made this? For me?" I ask in amazement as I stare at them.

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