Page 136 of Bae

“But no one else… I just want it to be ours for a little while.”

“Whatever you want, baby.” I agreed and started forward again.

We waited until we got back to the hotel to let the fam in on the good news. Rimmel cried again. Ivy cried. Nova clapped. All four of us guys stood over Rim while she ate an entire plate of food.

She complained.

I told her to get used to it.

I knew she was nervous. Hell, I was, too. It was probably going to be a long pregnancy; there would be a lot of emotions surrounding it. Good days and bad days.

But…

We were happy.

Rimmel

At four weeks, we found out I was pregnant.

At five weeks, we decided not to find out the sex until he or she was born.

At six weeks, I developed averystrong aversion to Romeo’s shampoo. (He got a new, less-smelly one).

At eight weeks, we first saw our little bundle growing inside me.

At twelve weeks, we made an announcement to all our family. (Valerie cried.)

At sixteen weeks, the press got undeniable photo proof of my bump, and the story went viral.

At twenty weeks, we felt the baby move inside me.

At twenty-five weeks, I actually started to let myself believe this time was going to be different.

Every single day of every single week, I thought of Evie. My love for her would never change.

Just like my love for this baby would remain.

Romeo

She glowed.

And I’m not just talking her typical, everyday kind of glow.

She held the kind of radiance that attracted attention, the kind that made it impossible to look away too long.

Rimmel cast a spell on me, the type that wiped my memory of what life was like before she literally stumbled into it. It wasn’t a spell I wanted to break free from. I was blissfully bound, a willing hostage to everything our life together entailed.

The bad. The good.

The never-ending.

The knowledge her body literally cradled something we created, that she nurtured and grew with so much grace and courage… I didn’t think it was ever possible. But it made me love her more.

Rimmel

I looked like a tennis ball with legs.

No really. My stomach was so big and round it was borderline alarming.

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