Page 122 of Until I Find You

I just want to get through one day without throwing up.

I text her back with a simple “Thanks!” and a bunch of heart emojis. I’ll deal with that later.

I sink back into the pillows and run my hand back and forth across my belly. Still early enough to be hidden under my clothes which is good for the office, but soon it’s going to be impossible to hide.

From the bathroom, Jack calls out, “How are you feeling?”

“About?”

Jack appears in the doorway to the bathroom, stretching his arms up to hang off the doorframe, extending his bare torso. His dark hair sticks out in all directions from the night of sleep we just got. So heavy and deep I wasn’t even bothered by the sun streaming in through the windows. “’Bout last night.”

I click off my phone and place it away from me, though there’s a static cord keeping me attached to it. “Good.”

Jack drops his arms. “Just good? You barely said anything on the ride home. Should I be worried?”

I would actually classify last night as beautiful, but I was so tired from all the excitement, not to mention growing a baby, that I don’t think I uttered more than three sentences to Jack after we left. I don’t even remember making it into my pajamas. “No, don’t be worried. It went great.”

Jack comes back to the bed, sliding under the covers next to me. He leans himself on his elbow and puts his hand on my bump to meet mine. “I didn’t ask you how you think it went, I’m asking you how you’re feeling.”

Our thumbs conflict for a few moments, rolling around each other. “I feel really good, it was just a lot.”

“Did my dad say anything weird to you?”

“Weird?”

“I don’t know, I saw after we made the announcement that he took you aside and…” Jack sighs. “Didn’t expect him to do that.”

I didn’t either since it was the first night I even met his father. I expected maybe a congratulations strained by worry or ruined expectations. Instead, he came over to me, grabbed me by the shoulders and…

“It wasn’t weird. It was sweet. He thanked me.”

Jack quirks an eyebrow.

“For choosing you. And giving you this.” I interlace our fingers over my bump.

“Man, he’s turned into such a sap,” Jack says through a smile. He leans his head down against my belly, nuzzling it with his nose.

As he lays there, I tick my fingers through his hair, trying to get it to lay flat. “His toast was nice. Really nice.”

Jack hums.

“Did he…did he mean that? About me being a part of the family?”

Jack doesn’t even falter. “Of course, he did.”

“That’s…he barely knows me.”

Finally, Jack lifts his head to look at me. “So?”

“I mean, I know I’m carrying his grandchild, but he said even without that–”

“You love me,” Jack interjects.

“I know.”

Jack readjusts himself. “I mean…do you want to get married before the baby comes? Would that make you–”

“No, no, that’s not what I’m…is that a proposal?”

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