Page 144 of Gracefully Yours

Picking my duffel back out of the backseat, where it had sat ever since we’d left the airport, I trudged up the sidewalk towards the house.

I heard a bark, and a blur of brown flashed in my peripheral vision.

“Brownie!” Daniel shouted, as if that could keep him from jumping on my legs and practically pommeling me to the ground, showering me with kisses.

“Hello to you, too,” I laughed once our puppy finally gave up on the relentless love of my face. I wiped off the slobber, scratching him between the ears and giving him lots of kisses.

“He missed you,” Daniel said, grabbing hold of his collar.

“I missed you too, sweet pup.”

It was the hardest part about leaving—not having both of my guys by my side. At almost six months old, he wasn’t quite full grown, but he’d also been the runt of the litter, so he was still smaller than your typical German Shepherd. Still, he was already around 50 pounds.

“Good thing you’re stuck with me, huh?”

Because I was never leaving, even for the most amazing job offer in the world. I loved dance, but I was happy with my local studio. I didn’t need to go to guest teach classes, work intensives, or guest choreograph for dancers. They were things that made me happy, but the thing that made me happiest was here.

Home. With Daniel.

Giving Brownie another head scratch, I stood back up to grab my stuff, but Daniel stopped me. “I got it. You shouldn’t be lifting a bunch of stuff, anyway.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Daniel. Are you going to be all overprotective of me now that I’m—” I could barely say the word. It still didn’t feel real.

“Pregnant?” He finished my sentence.

Following him in the house, Brownie at my feet, I hummed in response.

He dropped my bags, turning around to pin me against the door. “Yes.”

“Yes?”

Daniel nodded. “I know how much you want this. So, yeah. I’m going to make sure you’re both okay.”

“Okay.” I gave him a warm smile, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“What are you doing?”

I leaned my head against his shoulder. “Waiting for you to carry me to bed.”

He laughed. “Oh, it’s like that now, is it?”

“Mhm.” Lifting me by the ass, I wrapped my legs around his back, and he trudged up the stairs with me in my koala hold.

“You know, I noticed the fireplace in the new house…” I said as he carried me up the stairs, burying my face in the crook of his neck. With every breath, I took in the spicy scent of him, feeling a rush of warmth spread through me.

“Mmm, you did, did you?”

I nodded. “Feeling a little reminiscent of our ski trip, husband?”

“Maybe I just wanted a do-over in our own house. Total privacy. No worrying about our friends catching us.”

I let my mouth hover close to his ear. “But wasn’t that half the fun?” I nibbled on his earlobe, bringing it into my mouth. “The rush of possibly getting caught?”

“Every time I think I know what you’re going to say, you surprise me.” He laughed.

“I mean, after the dance studio…” Tracking it back, I was pretty sure that was the night he’d gotten me pregnant. “And to think, less than a year ago, I was a virgin.”

And for the rest of the night, he stayed by my side, neither one of us wanting to be apart for even a moment.

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