“Baby?” Xander cups my cheeks, eyes wild as they search mine. “You’re gonna be a mommy?” His voice cracks and that's all I can take.
I nod, my nose burning as my tears spill over.
“I’m going to be a daddy?” His voice is hoarse, like I’ve never heard it.
A sob tears from my throat at his words, and I nod again. “Yeah, we're going to be parents. You and me.”
He cuts me off. “Our family.” Next thing I know, I'm in his arms, my legs wrapped tightly around his waist, as he whoops and hollers, swinging me around and all I can do is squeal and hold on tight. I’m never letting him go. I want to stay in this exact moment of pure joy. Joy like I've never felt, or ever imagined. Even when this is all I wanted, I never knew I could be this happy.
He finally stops spinning us, the euphoric expression on his face is worth the bout of dizziness. As if he realizes something, his dark eyes shine like the brightest diamond as he says, “I always knew you were precious and now you’ve given me another gift to treasure.”
Placing me gently on my feet, he immediately drops to his knee again, pulling a navy ring box out of nowhere. “Baby, I'm here on my knees to make promises, asking you, begging you, willing you to be mine. Look up devotion in the dictionary, and it’s this face. You’re my one wish upon a star. My every dream come true. I can’t live, breathe, or think without you. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. The luckiest night of my life showed me what I was missing. Something so obvious, so huge, that I couldn’t see it. It was you. Your spark. That fire. I was missing my better half. Marry me, baby. Live this beautiful life with me. With us.”
Each word pierces my heart like cupids’ arrow, and I shake with exhilaration that we made it here. As dark, hopeful eyesstare into mine, I wipe my tears away, take a deep breath, and say the only thing left to say.
“Yes.”
The ring dazzles as he slides it onto my finger. The pale pink diamond, surrounded by pavé diamonds, sits on a rose gold band—exactly what I would have chosen for myself, only about five times bigger.
He’s on his feet in a blink, and with a hand on my belly, his raspy voice tickles my ear as he says, “You never stood a chance. You were mine the moment I saw you and this cements it.”
My arms go around his neck and my grin matches his. “It does, huh?”
He meets me in a soft kiss.
“Absolutely, babycakes. This just confirms that I’m always right. Deal with it.”
I throw my head back, my laughter ringing off the walls. This is what my life will be, my life for the next sixty years. Love and so much laughter.
“Now, you know we’re going to have the biggest fucking wedding, right? I want to see my favorite girl in a wedding dress. What’re you thinking? In four weeks? Six?”
I blink up at him as he barrels on.
“What do you say we go find the captain and say our I Do’s? A rendezvous, just us two?” His hand trails down to my stomach. “Just our little family.”
“Yes. My answer is always yes.”
“That’s what I want to hear. Now, let’s talk about the honeymoon.”
Xander
You see what persistence, recon, and strategic rendezvouses can get you?
Every fucking thing.