Page 140 of Gracefully Yours

“Everyone kept telling me to take a test, but I said no, there’s no way. I couldn’t be… Notnow. But I… Mom went and bought a few earlier, but I didn’t want to find out alone.”

“Do you want to take them now? Together?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

My hand wrapped around the back of her neck, pulling her forehead to rest against mine. “No matter what happens, we’re in this together, alright? And even if it’s not what we want, it’s okay.”

Charlotte relaxed into my embrace, placing a kiss to the side of my cheek. “I know,” she mumbled. Clambering out of my arms, she grabbed the plastic bag from her desk. “Guess it’s time for me to go pee on some sticks now.” She frowned down at the boxes.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Have you ever thought about how weird this is? About how one tiny box can hold the answers to your fate? I’m pretty sure I’m about to have stage fright over a test for the first time in my life.”

I hummed in amusement, taking her free hand in mine, squeezing it. “Hey, breathe. We got this. I’m right here.”

She nodded, cradling the bag to her chest. “Right. I’m just…” Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m scared, Daniel.”

Of all the people in the world, you don’t have to explain yourself to me. You never have.“I know, baby.”

Nodding her head, I squeezed her hand one more time before letting it go, and she left me sitting on her bed as she retreated into the bathroom.

I heard the toilet flush, and then she came back out, drying her freshly washed hands on her sweats.

“Now we wait,” she murmured, curling back up in my lap. “I set an alarm,” she mumbled, before burying her head in my chest, like she was trying to breathe me in.

Fuck, a week without her, and I felt the same. Like I needed to absorb her scent into my skin, to memorize every inch, every curve, because I missed her more than I would have ever thought was possible. But that was how it had always been with this girl. From the very first smile she’d flashed at me, I never wanted them to stop.

I wanted to keep being on the receiving end of her smiles for the rest of our lives.

While we sat in a comfortable silence, I absentmindedly played with her golden strands of hair that fanned out over my thighs until the alarm went off.

“Charlotte,” I said, nudging her from her tiny cat nap.

“Mmm?”

“Should we go find out?”

Her big gray eyes blinked open, looking up at me. Even now, I thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world. Andmine.My wife. All mine.

The corners of her lips tilted up in a small smile as she stretched her arms. She’d only been resting in my lap for three minutes, yet she seemed infinitely more peaceful than she had before she’d taken the tests.

“Yeah. Let’s do it. Together.”

“Together,” I agreed, helping her off of the bed and keeping our hands interlaced as we walked into the bathroom, where the tests were laying face down on the counter.

“Ready?”

Charlotte nodded, worrying her lip through her teeth. “Yes.”

We both reached for one of the sticks, our fingers brushing against each other, and flipped it over simultaneously.

Positive. Every single one was positive. She hadn’t taken just one, but three, all different brands.

Pregnant.

Two pink lines.

A little plus sign.

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