Page 51 of Waiting on You

“Hey, Paige, what’s this?”

I lift up the big black book from the table when she pokes her head out of the kitchen, where she’s making us breakfast and coffee before she heads to work, and I go back to my hotel to shower and get dressed andthen meet her at the office to discuss the Kingston Hotel Collection.

“That’s my scrapbook,” she says, disappearing and then reappearing with a tray of food and coffees. “I started it when I found out I was pregnant.”

She sets the tray down and hands me my coffee. We both take a sip, and once she’s done, she grabs the book and sets it in her lap. “My mom and I used to scrapbook.”

“You’d make one everywhere you went, a new page for every adventure,” I recall. When she looks at me in confusion, I add, “You told me about them in England. You guys have never been snowboarding, so one day, when you’re not pregnant, I’m going to take you.”

I shoot her a playful wink, and she shakes her head.

“You remembered.”

“Of course,” I scoff. “I remember everything you tell me.”

She points to a bunch of thick books on her bookshelf. “I still have them all, the scrapbooks…and when I’m missing my mom, I look through them to remember the magic.”

She opens up the book in her lap, and the first picture is of three pregnancy tests—two positive and one negative. “That one’s mine,” she says with a laugh, pointing at one of the positive tests. “Ana and Kira took tests with me. I was freaking out, and even though I already knew I was pregnant, I was hoping I was wrong.”

She frowns, and I pull her into my arms.

“I wish I could’ve been there.”

“If you had been, I don’t think I would’ve been as nervous as I was,” she admits. “I had thrown away your number and had no way to find you, and the thought of raising our baby alone was devastating.”

“I get it. I’ve always wanted to be a dad, to have a family like the one I grew up in, but I always saw it happening a certain way.”

“Do you feel like you’ve been robbed of that?” she asks softly.

“No.” I lift her chin and look into her eyes that hold so much emotion. “Because it would mean it wasn’t with you, and I’m so glad that what we did in London ended with a baby. It’s just further proof that our time in London wasn’t meant to be over.”

“Maybe,” she murmurs. “But it also means everything else is up in the air.”

“Everything else will be figured out,” I remind her.

“So, who else is pregnant?” I ask, pointing to the other positive test.

“Kira,” Paige says with a laugh. “She’s due four weeks after me.”

“That’s nice you have someone to be pregnant with.”

“Yes.” She grins. “Honestly though, I’ve been so busy at work that we haven’t had a whole lot of girl time. I should text her and Ana to hang out soon. Ana’s throwing a barbecue this weekend, but I’ll be in Dallas with you.”

“Ask them for a rain check,” I insist. “I want to get to know the people in your life.”

She nods and then turns the page, where I see two pictures of us with the captionMade in London.

“That’s cute.”

“Thanks. I was so thankful I at least took a couple of selfies of us so the baby would be able to see what you looked like.”

“And now, they’ll know me.”

“Because of you,” she says, leaning into my side. “Thank you for not listening to me.”

She goes through page after page, each one documenting a week of her pregnancy. There are images of her belly, her favorite foods, and the sonogram pictures she’s taken from her appointments so far. It’s clear from the pages she’s made how much she already loves our baby, and I have no doubt she’s going to be an amazing mother.

“Make sure you send me the date and time of your next appointment,” I remind her when she closes the book.

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