Page 142 of Skylar

Aiden’s brow furrowed. “Okaaay.”

Returning to the bathroom, Skylar picked up the test. After a moment of wondering if it really was the right time, she decided it was.

Back in the kitchen, she found that Aiden had cleared their plates from the table and was putting them in the dishwasher. He straightened and turned toward her as Skylar neared him.

She came to a stop in front of him, then reached for his hand. Aiden didn’t resist her action, which made it easy for her to press the pregnancy test into his palm.

“What’s…” Aiden stared down at the test, his eyes going wide as he saw the message in the display window. He looked up at her, shock on his face. “You’re pregnant?”

Skylar nodded. “Yes. I took the test this morning.”

A smile grew to take over his entire face. “This is amazing!”

He stepped forward and took her into his arms, lifting her off the floor as he spun in a circle before setting her down. “Oh, Sky, I love you so much, and I can’t wait to raise this baby with you.”

The words helped settle something inside her. His excitement was in direct contrast to how she’d felt, but she was glad he’d reacted the way he had.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he cupped her face in his hands. “Aren’t you happy?”

She blinked rapidly, willing herself not to cry. “I’m… not sure how I feel.”

“This is a good thing, babe,” Aiden said. “A wonderful thing. I’ve wanted to have a family with you. A child that we could raise.”

“I just feel… guilty?”

Aiden frowned. “Why?”

“It seems unfair that we’re together now, and able to give this baby what we couldn’t give Shiloh. What if she gets upset because her biological sibling will have us as parents, but she doesn’t?”

“I think she’ll be excited,” Aiden told her. “She’s asked when we’re going to have a baby, and I’ve never gotten the feeling that she was upset by the idea. The opposite, in fact.”

Skylar knew he was right. But would Shiloh still feel that way once the baby was there?

“And even if she does have feelings about it and even if she’s upset, we’ll work through it. She’s a strong little girl who is confident in Charli and Blake’s love, and in ours as well. We’ll talk to Charli and Blake about it before we tell her so we can approach it in the best way possible.”

Aiden pulled her into his arms and wrapped them tightly around her, grounding her and reminding Skylar that this time around, she wasn’t on her own.

“Everyone is going to be thrilled, babe,” he murmured. “And I’ll be with you through this, every step of the way. This won’t be like Shiloh’s pregnancy. You’re not going to be alone.”

She knew that. Had known from the moment she suspected she was pregnant. And yet, hearing him say the words finally broke the knot of anxiety she’d been carrying.

“You’re entitled to how you feel, and I don’t blame you at all,” Aiden said.

Skylar moved back enough so that she could look up into his face. “I want you to know that I’m not mad that I’m pregnant. I don’t even wish I wasn’t. If you had asked me a month ago how I’d feel about this news, I would have told you I’d be ecstatic.”

“So what happened?”

“I don’t really know,” she said. “When I first suspected I was pregnant, I started to feel kind of anxious, and then, when I took the test today, all sorts of emotions took over.”

“I’m sure it was hard to not remember the last time you took a test and the months that followed.”

“I guess that must be what happened,” Skylar said with a frown. “But I don’t like how I’m feeling. I want to just be happy about this baby.”

“You will be,” Aiden assured her with a gentle smile. “Just give it a little time. Since we probably won’t be telling anyone right away, you’ll have some time to work through it all. And I’ll be right there with you.”

“Thank you,” Skylar said as she leaned into him. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” He bent down to press a kiss to her lips. “And you’re going to be a wonderful mother. I just know it.”

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