Page 45 of Just Our Secret

“I told you a while ago I was saving up.” I nuzzled her neck, suddenly desperate for privacy and so thankful Connor had offered to play his part in the day and take Liam so we could have a minute.

“I had no idea it’d happen so soon. But I’m glad. Can we go inside?” She clearly didn’t want to seem too eager, but I could tell she was buzzing to check it out.

“As long as you eventually let me show you the bedroom, maybe christen it even though we don’t have furniture, then yes.”

She laughed and pulled me up the path. “I’ll help you christen every room in the house if you want.”

She gave me a searing kiss, then we chuckled in something close to glee as I unlocked the door and let it swing open ahead of us. Then I kissed her one more time before swooping an arm under her legs and carrying her over the threshold.

BONUS EPILOGUE - ANDI

FIFTEEN YEARS LATER

“Hey, how long until your meeting starts?” Wade asked when I answered his call.

I checked my watch and glanced around the empty classroom, nerves swirling in my belly. “Five minutes.”

“What room number?”

“What?” I furrowed my brow. He sounded out of breath. Was he running? “I’m in the humanities building, room 107. Why? Where are you?”

“I’ll be right there,” he replied, hanging up before I could ask what the hell he was doing here.

A minute later, my breathless husband strode through the open door holding an absolutely stunning bouquet of sunflowers in a royal-blue vase. My heart leaped, taking in the picture before me. He wore his station uniform, like he’d just come from work. He was fifteen years older than he’d been when we used to roam the halls of this college but every bit as handsome. Maybe even more so. He was one of those men who aged like a bottle of fine ass wine.

“Thank you,” I said quietly, trying not to get all teary right before this big moment.

Wade set the flowers on the desk, then kissed me on the lips, grabbing my butt as he did so. He pulled back and smiled down at me. “You’re gonna do great. The Young Moms Club is going to help a lot of women walking in the same shoes you did. I can feel it.”

Knowing he was right but still appreciating the reminder, I grinned. “Thank you. I really appreciate your support with this. I still can’t believe how long it took me to get it off the ground, but we’re here now.”

“Hey, don’t even think like that. You’ve had a busy few years,DoctorBaker. And now that you’re tenured faculty, it makes sense that it would happen now. It’s happening exactly when it’s supposed to.”

Just then, a young girl with red hair and freckles walked in, tentatively knocking on the open door. “Is this the Young Moms Club?”

I beamed at her, my heart in my throat. “It is. I’m Dr. Baker, I’ll be your faculty leader. And this is my husband, Wade.”

“Nice to meet you,” she replied in a quiet voice. “I’m Paris.”

I recognized her name from the electronic signup form. If I remembered correctly, she had a five-year-old daughter. Since Liam was four when I’d first started at Grand U, my heart immediately went out to her, knowing how hard this phase was while dealing with university life, too. “Hi, Paris. I’m so glad you decided to come. Feel free to take a seat anywhere you like.”

I gestured to the circle of desks I’d arranged in the center of the room. Only four girls had signed up for the YMC, and even though I’d been disheartened by that number at first, Wade had been thrilled.

“Four girls?” he’d exclaimed. “When you were going through it, you didn’t haveanyother young moms to connect with. These four are going to be so happy to have each other to talk to. And they’ll have you.”

His words had calmed me, like they always did. Throughout our marriage, Wade continued to be my rock, and I was his.

“I should probably—” Wade started, hooking a thumb over his shoulder toward the door, his words trailing off when he saw we had another arrival.

“Hey,” the newest attendee said, beaming at me. She walked into the room with a ton of confidence, unlike Paris, who’d slid in like she wasn’t sure if it was even a good idea to be here. “I’m Gianna. This is the Young Moms Club, right? Are you Dr. B?”

I smiled and nodded, also remembering her name, and that she had a daughter. She was younger than Paris’s, I thought. Maybe three? “Yes, it’s nice to meet you.”

“You too,” she replied, jerking her head to the circle of desks. “Should I sit there?”

“That would be great,” I said, smiling at her before turning back to Wade.

“Okay, I should go,” he said with a chuckle. “You’re about to have a full house. I don’t want to get in the way.”

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