Page 48 of Teasing a King

“Wow,” he whispers. He bends down and plants a kiss on the back of my hand. “Amazing.”

Stacy smiles at the two of us and clicks the button to unfreeze the screen. She moves the wand over my belly, clicking buttons on the machine as she does. I don’t know what she’s doing, but I can’t take my eyes off the screen. It all suddenly feels so real. Not that it didn’t before. My belly has been growing bigger by the day. The morning sickness may be gone, but I’m tired all the time and everything aches. It’s impossible not to feel and see all the different signs of my pregnancy. Somehow seeing the image of our baby on the screen snapped everything into focus. I’m going to be a mom.

“Do you want to know the sex?” Stacy asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

My eyes go from her to Van. He speaks before I can form words. Shaking his head, he says, “We don’t want to know. As long as it’s healthy.”

They’re the same words I’d uttered in the car a half hour ago, but now I almost want to call them back. How could I have thought we should wait? That’s ridiculous. I don’t want to wait until after I give birth. I want to know everything about our baby. I want to know every little detail. Right now. But Van and I made a deal. If he can wait, so can I. Right?

Stacy smiles at us. “I don’t see anything to indicate anything but a healthy, happy baby,” she says. “Dr. Mitchell will be in to speak with you in just a minute.”

She reaches down and tears off a strip of paper from a printer below the ultrasound machine. With a smile, she hands it to me. “Some pictures of your baby to show off,” she says. “Congratulations, Mom and Dad.”

Van and I both thank her, but our focus is on the pictures in our hands. I barely notice when she leaves.

“Wow,” Van whispers, wiping at his eyes.

I watch him for a moment as he looks at the picture in his hand. A swell of emotion washes over me and I fight back tears of my own. I think about all the random events that led to this moment. All the things that had to happen just right for me to be here with Van today, looking at a picture of the life that we created together. I’m struck by an overwhelming sense of rightness. This is where I belong.

I’ve never been the religious sort, and I don’t believe in fate or destiny. But right now, it’s hard not to think some higher power had a hand in my life. It’s hard to believe that everything is random. I’m grateful to whatever entity brought us here today.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I say softly.

Van looks over at me, confused. “Where else would I be?”

I shake my head. “That’s not what I meant. I meant that I’m happy I met you. I’m happy that you brought me a glass of champagne that night. And that you took me home.”

Van grins. “Hey, you propositioned me, remember?”

I smile back. “I’m glad I did that, too,” I say. “I’m happy for all the little things that led us here. Even if it was all in the wrong order.”

Van shrugs. “I think it’s working out pretty well,” he says. “Wrong order or not.”

He leans over and kisses me. I grip his shirt to hold him close, kissing him back with everything I feel but can’t quite understand. The door opens and I hear someone loudly clearing their throat.

“Do you two need a minute?” Dr. Mitchell asks as we break apart guiltily.

Van laughs and I feel my face heat. “Sorry about that,” he says.

Dr. Mitchell waves off the apology. “Happens all the time,” she says.

Chapter Twenty

Mya

“I can’t believe you didn’t want to know!” Quinn says. “I couldn’t stand the suspense. I had to find out.”

I smile and shrug. “Believe me,” I say sipping my virgin mimosa. “I almost caved.”

“Why didn’t you?” Hannah asks. “I found out with Liam. I just had to know.”

“I don’t know,” I say. “Van and I talked about it, and we decided to wait until the baby’s born.”

“Well, I think it’s cool,” Claire says. “I don’t know if I’d be able to wait, but if that’s what you two both want, then I’m proud of you for sticking to it.”

“Thanks,” I say, looking around the table at the women.

The five of us all had a rare morning off work at the same time and decided to meet up for brunch and bottomless mimosas. Quinn and I are sipping whatever passes for virgin mimosas. They’re not quite as good as the real thing, but I’m having a great time just hanging out with the girls. Yes, we see each other at dinner once a week, but there’s something different about not having the guys around. I can’t explain it, but I’m so happy to have these women in my life.

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