Page 192 of Haze of Obedience

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"No, it's a girl."

Her eyes widen. "Did you lie about finding out the sex?"

"No. But I keep telling you it's a girl."

"You swear you didn't find out?"

"I swear on my grandmother's grave."

Give it to her now.

I reach into my pocket and drop to my knee. I kiss her belly, and she laces her fingers in my hair.

"The baby is fine."

I look up. "Zoe, I love you so much, I thought I was going to die without you."

More tears fall and drip on my face. "I know. I thought I was dying."

"It's not because of the baby. I would be asking you this even if you weren't pregnant."

Her hands stop moving on my head.

"Will you marry me?"

"You want to marry me?" she whispers.

"Yes."

She wipes her face and nods. "Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes, of course."

I show her my grandmother's ring. My father gave it to me when I told him I wanted to marry Zoe. It's only a plain gold band, but it has engraved in Spanish, In good times and bad, forever yours. "I'll get you something fancier, but this was my grandmother's, and I want you to have it."

She puts her hand over her mouth, and I pick up her other hand and slide it on her finger. She examines it. "It's...it's beautiful. I don't want another ring."

"It's not very divaish. A woman like you—"

"Doesn't want anything else. This is perfect."

"It is?"

"Yes. It even fits perfectly." She bends and kisses me. No woman could ever replace her. Every moment spent on Earth was a journey to find her. And any future experience will only be full with her part of it.

"Can I make one request?"

She sniffles. "What's that?"

"Will you humor me, my Little Diva? Will you get the ultrasound tomorrow? I promise I’ll try my best to contain my psycho possessive side."

"Can it be a happy occasion?"

"Yes."

"Okay then, country boy. My body is yours tomorrow."

"Only tomorrow?"

Her lips twitch. "That depends."

"On what?"

She leans down to my ear and whispers, "You still haven't told me what you think when you look in the mirror at your V."

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