Page 41 of Falling for My Boss

“I, uh…” she began. “It’s yours, obviously. So…”

She stalled, clearly not able to think of anything else to say either. We were both at a complete loss. Our eyes slowly went from the test to each other, and for a moment we just stayed there, reading each other as best we could, helpless.

Finally, I stood, skirting the table to sit next to her, and I reached out for her hands. She let me take them willingly, which was a good sign, and I pulled her closer to me. She shifted in her seat so she faced me, and I took a deep breath. Whatever was going to come out of my mouth at that point was going to come straight from the heart. My brain had checked out.

“So, we should probably talk,” I said.

She nodded.

“That might be a decent idea at this point.”

“Look, the last few weeks have been incredible. I haven’t felt this way as long as I can remember, not with anyone, ever. Having you here with me, sharing my bed, sharing my clothes—” At that, her lip briefly curled up in something like a smile, and internally I breathed a sigh of relief. “—all of it. I have shared everything with you like we were a couple. I was going to talk about this with you before this…” I motioned to the test, sitting on the table, the LED screen having finally gone dark, but the word “Pregnant” no less bold.

“You were?” she asked.

I nodded.

“I wanted to talk to you over breakfast,” I said. “I brought you to my family dinner for a reason. I want to do this. Like for real. This. Us.”

“You want to be official?” she asked, something like hope in her voice.

“Yes,” I said. “To be honest, I have wanted to since the first time you fell into my arms, but now, yeah, absolutely. That’s regardless of this.” I motioned toward the test.

“But this,” she said, also motioning toward the test, “this changes everything.”

“Does it?” I asked. “I am falling in love with you, Jodi. I have been for a while. Having a baby with you is a natural extension of that, isn’t it? We just skipped the whole part about telling everyone what I think we both already feel.”

“But what about my parents?” she asked. “What about Jack? Won’t your brothers be upset you are potentially ruining an important business deal with my parents? What if it all falls apart?”

I shook my head.

“My brothers would rather burn up the contract right in front of them than try to make me choose them over you. That’s a fact,” I said. “They like you, and they want me to be happy. If Jack or your parents give them any trouble, they would back us. One hundred percent.”

“Really?”

“Really,” I said. “Now, what do you say?”

Instead of saying it, a wide, deep smile spread across her face, and tears fell from the corners of her eyes. She nodded and fell into my arms, and I kissed her head. She wept for a moment, then pulled away, kissing me on my lips through the smile. My smile was just as wide. My heart was doing jumping jacks in my chest as the reality of it all began to hit me.

“We’re going to have a baby,” I said.

I laughed, and Jodi joined me. It was as glorious a sound as angels singing.

“We are,” she said. “I’m going to be a mom.”

“I’m going to be a dad,” I said. “Wait until my brothers hear. They are going to be the most excited group of assholes you have ever met in your entire life.”

We sat there, laughing, occasionally kissing, and wiping joyful tears from each other’s eyes for a few more moments until a head poked between us and a wet nose rested on our legs.

“I think he wants some bacon,” Jodi said, reaching over to the plate and grabbing a piece.

“He always wants bacon,” I said. “But we should eat too. We have a day of work and most likely a ton of celebration to do.”

“I still have to change,” she said, looking down at my clothes she was still wearing.

“Do you have to?” I joked.

She laughed, and I thought my heart would burst in my chest.

---