Page 5 of Baby on Board

Rafe laughs. The sound is so light and carefree it eases the tightness I’m holding from the dream. “We’re not going to the courthouse, Princess. This is your first and only wedding. You’re getting the whole shebang.”

“What are you talking about, Rafe?” I put my hand on his chest and instantly know I’ve made a mistake when his fingers circle my wrist, and he pulls me down to rest my head on him. “All those calls while you were trying on clothes add up to something. A white dress, a church wedding, and a honeymoon, even if it’s only a hotel in midtown. We may be rushing things, but I’m never going to give you any less than the very best.”

I don’t know what to say. I’ve dated guys for years who hadn’t thought more about a wedding than Rafe had in days.

“And another thing,” he arches his back off the couch and slips a hand in his back pocket. “I didn’t want you walking all over the city today, so we ended our trip short, but I didn’t forget my promise.”

He takes my hand in his and turns it over to place a small black box inside my palm. I know what it is the second it touches my skin. He lifts me off of him and puts me back on the couch while he kneels. “One day, when you tell our kid about this, I want them to know their daddy did it right. Jade Carpenter. Will you marry me?”

My eyes blur. I’m not sure why I’m crying. Rafe isn’t asking me to marry him. He’s all but told me I have too. But, it’s still so sweet the way he bends a knee and wants to set an example for his unborn child.

He opens the box, and even in the dark, the ring sparkles from the moonlight of a nearby window. “Rafe. It’s too much,” I almost squeal. It has to be at least a carrot solitaire, and when he takes it from the box and slides it on my finger, it’s a bit snug but still fits.

“The jeweler said your fingers will swell with the pregnancy but will go back to normal after the birth.”

I barely hear what he says. He’s thought of everything, and as I look at my hand, I can’t help but feel I’m taking advantage of him. “It’s beautiful, Rafe.”

“Not even close to how beautiful you are.”

Before I know what Rafe is doing, he’s back to his feet and scoops me up in his arms and against his chest. He takes me over to the bed and settles me down in the covers I kicked off. He pulls them up around me and kisses me on the forehead.

“Rafe,” I call as he’s walking back to the couch. “I don’t think I can sleep after that dream.”

He walks back to me. “Sure, you can. And you need to. Tomorrow is a hectic day.”

I push up to my elbows. “Would you...could you hold me just until I fall asleep again?”

He doesn’t say a word, just slides into the covers behind me, pushes me up on my side, and snuggles in tight against my back. One arm is under my head and the other around my belly and our baby.

The Rafe I met at the bar six months ago was rough, and the reason I came home with him that night was because I knew I could never fall for a man like him.

But this Rafe...the one who plans weddings and snuggles pregnant women and protects them from nightmares…

This Rafe scares the hell out of me. He’s making me fall for him. He’s making me picture a life here with him. He’s giving me hope. It’s all happening so fast, my head is spinning and I don’t have time to think.

In my experience with men, hope is a very dangerous thing to have.

Rafe

Jade wants to fight me at every turn, but today...today I’m not letting her win. We start the day waking in the same bed. Her head is on my shoulder, and I breathe in the scent of her. I’m stiff the second she wiggles her butt against me. A lesser man would have given up the fight, flipped her over, and had her.

Not me. I want this done right. We’ve already had the baby before the wedding. I’m not doing anything else out of order, including seeing the bride before the big event.

“This is a waste of time.” Jade is still arguing with me when I make her wear in her regular clothes and carry her dress in the taxi to the church.

“I’ve made plans for Jacob and Scarlett to meet us at the church an hour before the ceremony. Scarlett assured me she could help with hair and makeup and all that other stuff she swore you needed.”

Jade glances up to me from her seat beside me in the cab, her brown eyes big and round and so soft I want to fall into them. “I still can’t believe you stole my phone and called my best friend behind my back.”

“You left it out in the open,” I answer. “It wasn’t hard to see who you texted the most without reading any of the messages. Besides, Scarlett was ecstatic when I called and gave her the good news.”

I’ll admit going behind Jade’s back was a little creepy, but after a week to prepare for the big day, the most I’d gotten out of her was wanting to walk to the courthouse and grab a hot dog from the street vendor after. That’s not a wedding fit for my Princess.

Our taxi pulls up to the outside of the unity church I found online, and a blonde bounces down the sidewalk and introduces herself as Scarlett. She’s bubbly and bright, and I hope she can rub some of that attitude off on Jade.

Once we’re free from the taxi, I hand Scarlett Jade’s wedding dress and bag, then collect our suitcases for the night and lead the girls to the back of the church and the dressing rooms.

“You still sure you want to do this?” Jade stalls outside the bridal room. Her eyes are pleading, but I can tell she’s more nervous than anything else.

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