Page 90 of Finding Fate

“I think so,” he responded, staring at her swollen waist in awe.

It was incredible. He could feel his baby moving. He had known it was there, but it was really there. It made sense now, those unbreakable feelings of attachment and love that Izzy had been feeling for months. That little nudge changed everything as his previous confusion and frustrations about the baby melted away.

Izzy placed her hands over his, and he looked up to meet her gaze, tears glistening in her eyes as she looked lovingly down at him. She knew exactly what he was thinking. He didn’t have to say a thing.

It wasn’t long before Bridgette stuck her head in the room. “There y’all are. It’s time for presents and,” she paused, taking in the scene of Tucker still kneeling before her daughter. “What’s going on?” she asked suspiciously.

“He felt the baby kick, Mom,” Isabel answered softly, still in awe.

“He did what?” Bridgette asked, but approached her daughter to feel for herself.

When the baby kicked again, Isabel watched as her mother’s expression turned gooey, a huge smile spreading across her face. She knew that look. Her mother had been fighting it, but those nudges were hooking her mother, too, and Isabel hoped it would last this time.

It suddenly didn’t matter that Jet said she looked bigger today. She was going to get bigger anyway, and she’d take it gladly if it meant Tucker and their families could feel even half as happy about the baby as she did.

The rest of the afternoon was nothing but exciting for both of them, their joy spreading to everyone around them.

Hands were placed against Isabel’s belly several more times throughout the party by everyone except Cory and Noah, who thought it was just a little too weird, and she thought that the only reason Hector did it was because Emma was there. The girls hadn’t missed how he kept looking over at her. It kind of crept Emma out a bit, but she mostly ignored it.

Helen and Stefano were good sports and convinced a nervous Chuck to try to feel his grandchild’s kicks. When he finally did, Isabel watched the reticent man’s expression soften with a rare smile. Jenna was animated with her enthusiasm, her worries from before evaporating when she saw her son, his tension obvious lifted, and she couldn’t seem to help but gush over the watch Tucker wore, giving Bridgette the biggest hug she could manage when she heard what her friend had said about it.

Tucker opened up the rest of his gifts after some of the excitement about the baby had calmed down, although it was definitely a topic the rest of the evening.

He’d gotten a new pair of sneakers, a video game, and a gift card for music from his parents and sisters. Annie had put together a playlist of his favorite songs, but Jet’s gift was the biggest hit with the guys, and they jumped at the first opportunity to go play with the new ball in the driveway.

Everyone stayed until it was dark, and that night, before Tucker went to bed, he was sure that he had just had the best birthday of his life. Everything seemed in place now, and for the first time in months, he felt there wasn’t much left to worry about.

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