He stares at my fingers, then at the sonogram picture, then back to my fingers. He looks like a cartoon character, and I fight the urge to laugh.
His bulging green eyes finally rest on my aqua ones, and his voice drops to a whisper. “That’s fucking awesome.”
The words are so heartfelt and said with so much wonder, I can’t help but burst into giggles. “You’re happy?”
Reno sets down the picture and hauls me into his lap until I’m straddling him. His big hands cup my cheeks.
“A minute ago, I told you I was over the moon, and now I’m… double over the moon.” His smile is broad and infectious. “That probably doesn’t make a lick of sense, but it’s how I feel.”
“I love you,” I tell him, my voice thick with emotion as I cover his hands on my face.
He kisses me then, long and sweet, before wrapping his arms around me and flipping our bodies until I’m lying on the couch with him on top. “I love you too, dream girl. And I’m going to take care of you and our little bunnies. I promise.”
It’s like a dream. Every woman should feel this loved, this supported, when she tells a man she’s pregnant. There is no apprehension in his eyes, only devotion.
“And I’ll take care of you,” I tell him.
He lifts his eyebrows. “Will you take care of me if I’m in the hospital after we tell your brother?”
I laugh. “I’ll handle Bubba.”
Reno brushes a strand of hair from my cheek. “I want to be there when you tell him. Promise me you won’t do it without me.”
“I promise.”
“I want to look him in the eye, man to man, and tell him I’m crazy in love with his sister. I want him to know how dedicated I’ll be to you and our little family. I’ll make sure he knows I plan to wife you up as soon as you’ll have me.”
“Wife me up?” I ask with a giggle as the wordwifesends a delicious shiver up my spine.
Reno dips his head and speaks against my lips. “Be ready, Juliette McNamara, because I’m going to wife you up so damn hard.”
And then he seals the promise with a kiss.
Chapter 42
Beavers and basting
I’matPrimo’sPizzawith my siblings again, but this time our dads have joined us. They do that sometimes, though they usually let us “kids” have our fun bonding time. Aiden is with us too, and I can’t help but stare at his precious little face as he gnaws on a breadstick, thinking that in a few months, I’ll have a baby too.
Babies, plural, I remind myself, and a smile unwittingly steals my lips.
“Season looks like it’s going to be a good one this year,” Dad says, beaming at Bubba with pride.
It’s been around two weeks since I found out I was pregnant, and the Brewers have won three more games, making them undefeated so far. One was an away game, which I missed, but I was front and center for the other two.
Reno has updated our little two-finger signal. Now when he takes the ice, he holds up both hands with his index and middle fingers lifted into a V. He told me one is because he loves me and the other is because he loves our two “little bunnies” growing in my belly.
Though fans don’t know he’s directing this salute toward me, and they certainly don't know the meaning behind it, they’ve picked up on it. Someone started making Swain T-shirts and hats with what they think is a peace sign on them, and it’s become a bit of a craze.
I love it, seeing our secret love signal spread across arenas.Secretbeing the key word. We decided to wait until the pregnancy reaches twelve weeks before we tell everyone. Well, I decided. Reno wants to shout it from the rooftops, but he’s respecting my wishes.
I’m currently at ten weeks, which probably means I got pregnant right after the exhibition game in August. Right after Reno and I found each other again.
My man has gone completely bonkers. Seriously, it’s like he’s been smacked in the head by some deranged baby fairy. He’s obsessed with online shopping, sending me at least twelve links a day to get my opinion on which crib or twin stroller I prefer.
And then he buys them. The few times I’ve snuck into his apartment to see him, I found myself barely able to move around because of all the boxes. He’s also car shopping, determined to find the safest vehicles in existence to drive our precious cargo that will be arriving next May.
Despite my protests, Reno has a new SUV on order for me, a custom-made Porsche Macan with all the bells and whistles. The custom part? Yeah, he’s having the damn thing bullet- and bomb-proofed, like someone is going to be shooting RPGs at me and our babies in the middle of Pine Tree Falls.
