Page 37 of Nightclub Surprise
August was up to something, and I sidled up to him, my arms open wide. “Goodevening.”
“Ah, did you miss me?” he asked as he put Calum down, so I could hughim.
“A little,” I said as he moved into my arms. The way his body wrapped around me made my heart skip a beat. I loved being in hisarms.
When our hug ended, August got down on one knee and looked up at me, still holding my left hand. “Tawny Susan Matthews, would you do me the great honor of becoming my lawfully weddedwife?”
“Um, yeah,” I said as I rolled my eyes. “I told you yes lastnight.”
Narrowing his eyes at me, he whispered, “I’m doing this forhim.”
Oh! ForCalum!
“Oh, then my answer is yes. Yes, my one and only true love, I will marryyou.”
He pulled something out of his pocket and flipped the lid of a small black box. Inside was a sparkling solitaire that looked like it cost a small fortune. Now I was surprised, and my free hand flew to cover my gaping jaw. “August!”
“Ah, now that’s the reaction I was looking for.” He slipped the ring on my finger, and Calum came to look atit.
“Man, that’s big, Momma.” Calum took my hand to get a closer look at the ring. “So, my dad will be your husband, just like in real families. This isgreat!”
Rising from his position on the floor, August placed his hands on my hips then kissed my lips. “Thank you,baby.”
I looked at the ring then back at him. “Thank you,too.”
August turned away, picking up Calum and then taking my hand. He took us to sit on one of the sofas, placing Calum on his knee. “We’d like to talk to you about something,Calum.”
I looked at August with a questioning expression. “Oh, wewould?”
August nodded then pointed at my tummy. “Yeah, wewould.”
Now I understood, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk to my six-year-old about a thing like that. “August, maybe it’s a bit too soon. And he’s already had one big shot of news today with themarriage.”
“Well, I think he should know,” Augustargued.
Huffing with resolve, I nodded. I knew August’s tenacity would win out in the end anyway. “Proceed.”
Calum looked back and forth at us. “What’sup?”
August took the lead. “Calum, what do you think about becoming a bigbrother?”
Calum looked at me. “Are you gonna have a baby,Momma?”
“No, there’s not one in my tummy yet. But your daddy and I would like to have one. Is that something you’d be okay with?” I asked myson.
Calum looked at August with a thoughtful expression. “But I just got you, and if you have a baby then I’ll have to shareyou.”
“Calum, you’re my oldest son. My very first child. You’ll always have a place in my heart that no one else will ever have.” August ran his hand over Calum’s head. “I promise that you and I will spend tons of time together, no matter who or what comes along. And you’d get to help a lot with the baby too, you know. You’d get to be a big brother—the oldest of the family your mom and I would like tohave.”
“That might be fun,” Calum said as he looked up at the ceiling,thinking.
“I’d like to have a big family, Calum. That would mean you’d have lots of kids—brothers and sisters—to play with. You’d never be lonely.” August took him by the chin. “You’ll never bealone.”
“Well, I think it’ll be okay then,” Calum said. “So, go ahead, have a baby if you wantto.”
“Glad to have your blessing, son,” August said then kissed him on the forehead. “Now, I’ve got one more thing I want to talk to youabout.”
“What else could there possibly be, August?” I asked him, as I thought Calum already had too much on his plate as itwas.
