Page 121 of Love Me Forever

I was trying to decide which ones I wanted for my baby shower. I’d asked for pink frosting because we were having a girl, and I wanted the party to be pink themed. Liz had sent four cupcakes. Three had pink frosting, and one was yellow.

“She even sent me a pineapple cupcake. Did I mention I love her? Come on, let's taste the pink ones first."

I cut every cupcake in two, even though I could eat them all by myself without a problem. Travis wasn't going to be at the baby shower, but he insisted on being here when I tasted them.

He rested a hand on my belly while I sliced the first cupcake, holding it protectively like he was afraid I might accidentally stab myself. God, he was adorable. It was like he couldn't stop touching my belly. When I went to visit him at the hotel a couple weeks ago to surprise him with dinner, I saw a framed picture of the latest ultrasound on his desk. Even here in his apartment, he’d taped a copy on the fridge. My heart threatened to explode every time I realized how much he loved us.

I was still getting used to all this. Lena kept making baby clothes even though we had more than enough. Liz was spoiling me with cupcakes—sugar-free after Sam lectured her on the dangers of pregnancy diabetes. Reese and Lexi went with me and Ashley to yoga classes. And Travis, well, he was simply a dream man. Even though Dr. Taylor repeatedly reassured him my pregnancy wasn’t high risk, he was still overly careful.

I’d finally conquered my fears and moved in with him last month. It was true that we hadn’t met that long ago, but I loved him with my whole heart.

He’d dealt with the press in a very elegant way. He’d made a public statement about our relationship, shutting down speculations. At least, I assumed they'd died down. Lena had advised me not to look up my name and to ignore social media. I finally understood why none of the Maxwells except Sam had social media accounts. I ended up deleting my accounts, too, when both press and haters started spamming me.

Handling my mother turned out to be more cumbersome. Even though she was difficult, I loved her, and I wanted her to be taken care of. In a teary phone call, I told her I wanted us to have as little contact as possible for a while, but I’d wire the money for her rent directly into her landlord’s account. I wanted to know she had a roof over her head. That way she could deal with groceries and everything else from her earnings.

Would that keep her from getting into trouble? Probably not, but it couldn’t be helped. I think she finally realized what a horrible thing she did to me, and although she didn’t outright apologize, she did say she wouldn’t do something like that again.

I could only hope.

I bit into the first cupcake. It was strawberry cream.

"Oh, this is amazing."

I quickly moved on to the second one. I wished I could slow down to savor them, but I couldn't. The second one was colored buttercream. I liked the strawberry one more. The third pink cream was watermelon.

"Hey, this is surprisingly good," I said. It tasted fresh. "I'll tell her to make a dozen of the strawberry ones and a dozen with watermelon."

“You're the boss."

"What's your opinion?"

"I like them all, though strawberry is probably my favorite."

"Noted." I sighed, looking at my precious pineapple cupcake.

"Are you going to cut this one in two as well?"

I eyed him. "You want half?"

I was secretly hoping he'd say no, but he nodded. I barely withheld a pout.Well, since I asked...

I grabbed the knife again, cutting it in the middle, but something strange happened. Once the knife went past the frosting, it wouldn't go any farther.

"What's happening?" I asked, laying the knife down. I eyed the cupcake. It seemed to have a box inside it. "I think she dropped something in it."

"Looks like it. Why don't you open it with your thumbs?"

I did exactly that because I wasn't sure what else to do. I took out the box carefully. It seemed made from some sort of bubblegum material. Then my breath caught, because inside the transparent bubblegum-like box was a ring.Oh my God!It wasn't a fake one, either, like one of those toys you found in children's candies.

"Let me do that," he said, taking the box from me. He opened it easily by pulling at one side, and then he was holding the ring in his right hand. It was a gorgeous round diamond with a band made of intertwined white and gold threads.

My heart was about to leap out of my chest.

He looked me straight in the eyes. I was wobbly on my feet, and I put a hand on my belly, which I always did when I wanted to steady myself. It was ridiculous because it wasn't steadying anything, but it was simply an instinct.

He took my left hand, brushing the back of my palm with his thumb.

“Bonnie, I love you, babe. I wanted to ask you to marry me months ago, and I kept brainstorming for the right way to do it."

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