Page 200 of Between Hate and Desire

At times, the sadness hits me harder than others, but then I look at Alison and think of the amazing gift Brandon gave me. I know he’d be so damn happy to know he has a little girl. I can only hope he’d be happy to know Hunter is the one who stepped up to be here for us.

Hunter looks too damn happy as he encourages and cheers her on that I don’t have the heart to tell him she did this yesterday. She’s been able to roll from her belly to her back for a while now but not back to belly. I was so tired by the time he got home from a late meeting that I completely forgot to mention it. He already feels like he misses too much with his crazy work schedule, so I let him believe this is the first time.

“Are you almost ready, sweetheart?” Hunter stands and presses a sweet kiss to my forehead. “You look incredible, by the way.” His eyes sweep down my body, stare at my chest longer than necessary, then back at my face. “You can’t look this damn good when I can’t do something about it…” He wraps his arms around me, and I blush.

“Don’t you even dare,” I warn him. “We can’t be late. Plus, I have to show you something first.”

Hunter releases an animalistic groan, throwing his head back. He’s being so dramatic, considering he was all over me last night, which causes me to laugh.

I have butterflies in my stomach as I pick up Alison and tell him it’s a surprise from both of us. Quickly, I go to the nursery and set her in the crib, then put the bib on her I picked up at the store yesterday. I wanted to plan something special for this moment, but considering it’s already going to be a busy weekend, I can’t wait any longer.

“Babe?” Hunter calls.

“Coming! Just grabbing Alison’s diaper bag.”

“Ready?” I whisper as I put her on my hip and tickle her chunky little belly.

“Let’s go show Daddy.”

My entire body shakes as I walk to the living room and grab her car seat. I give her a wink as I set her in but don’t buckle her just yet. “Hey, what do you think of Alison’s new bib?” I casually ask over my shoulder, hoping it’s enough to lure him to come over and look.

Hunter grabs his keys and wallet from the coffee table, then steps over and stands behind me. “Butterflies, cute.”

I sigh, shaking my head. He glanced at it without reading the damn thing. “Yeah, I thought it was appropriate.”

“For what?”

“Read. It.” I adjust it, making sure it’s straight and legible. Holding it between my hands, I clear my throat.

“Being promoted to big sister…” He blinks, then mutters the words again. “Wait, what? Are we getting a pet?”

Oh my God.I swallow, releasing a breath. “You’re lucky you’re handsome,” I tease, but as soon as the words come out, his eyes widen as if a light bulb went off.

“Are you pregnant?” he asks, kneeling beside me. When I suck in my lower lip and nod, he grabs me and pulls me to him. “You’re having a baby?” he frantically asks, pushing us apart and nearly giving me whiplash in the process.

“Yes! I’m one hundred percent positive! Trust me, I was in shock, too.”

Hunter blinks, looks at Alison, then back at me. “I can’t believe it.”

He brings his hand to my stomach, then pulls me in for a deep, heart-stopping kiss. “I didn’t know if we’d be able to…” When he rests his forehead on mine, I feel his tears against our cheeks. When we found out his test came back normal three months ago, we decided not to prevent pregnancy and live with theif it happens, it happensmentality. He’s been worried since we’ve been having unprotected sex for so long that we might not be able to have kids. I had to explain to him that it can take up to a year for healthy couples and, in worst-case scenarios, even longer. But as soon as I was late and my boobs felt sore, I knew. It was signs I missed the first time around, but it was impossible to ignore now. I took five tests to confirm it, and when the final test showed the pink lines, my tears were from pure joy.

I’m giving Hunter a baby, and we’re growing our family.

“Did you hear that, Allie Kat? You’re gonna be a big sister!” He takes her out of the car seat and squeezes her.

I watch them with pure admiration. Hunter even added to his ink collection a couple of months ago and got her name and birth date tattooed on his chest over his heart. I was stunned when he brought up the idea and then said he planned on adding our wedding date to it once we set one.

“You’re gonna have to share your toys,” he tells her with a pointed look.

I snort, laughing at how adorable he is with her. There's still a lot to figure out—if we’ll get a bigger place, when we’ll get married, and if I’ll go back to work after my maternity leave. The realization that we’ll have two kids under two hits me.

“We’re going to have double diaper duty,” I tell him. “I hope you’re ready…”

He smiles so wide, blowing raspberries on Alison’s cheeks. “I’m so ready. For all of it.”

“I love you,” I tell him, leaning over to kiss him.

He puts Alison back, then buckles her in before cupping my face and crashing our mouths together in a deep, passionate kiss. “I love you so damn much, Lennon. I can’t wait to marry you, have a dozen babies, and live happily every single day with my family.”

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