Page 144 of Third and Ten

“Hmm?”

I hesitate to voice my concerns since I’m pretty sure we’ve passed the point at which he’ll make any objections, but he deserves to know what he’s getting himself into. “It’s possible…I think we could be nearing the second half of that experiment right about now.”

He stops abruptly, and his eyes meet mine. “You mean, the procreation part? Already?”

“I really hoped we’d have more time before the safe-day cutoff, but I’m feeling like I should warn you first. The way my body is reacting right now is telling me that I might be closer to ovulation than I originally thought,” I explain shyly.

He goes back to kissing his way over my collarbone. “Mm. You’re gonna look so hot pregnant,” he mumbles against my skin.

“I’m serious, JD.”

“So am I,” he growls, and I’m nearly embarrassed by the way I whimper and clutch at him desperately in response. I guess he notices, because he pulls away, looking concerned. “Should I stop, then?”

“I understand if you don’t want to risk it,” I barely manage to spit out.

But we should totally risk it, my ovaries say for me.

“Tenley, I should probably confess that I’ve been dreaming for months about making you the mother of my children. I have absolutely no reservations about getting pregnant, whether it’s now or later, on whatever timeline works for you.” Then he looks up at me in a way that reminds me that I’ve won the freaking husband lottery. “Although, I don’t think I’ll be able to get enough of you for quite a while, so it’s probably only a matter of time before it happens, anyway.”

I gulp at the same time my uterus sighs happily. “Shouldn’t we wait a little longer, especially since everything else has happened so fast?” I try to articulate a real objection, but I already want him so badly that I can barely form words at this point.

“Because you think we should wait, or because you want to wait?”

My stomach flutters when I really consider his question. We’d be insane to go from strangers to married with a teenager in the house and a baby on the way, all within a span of five months, wouldn’t we?

Absolutely crazy, right?

But then again, I’m already thirty years old, and I am a little more prepared for the ins and outs of pregnancy and childbirth than the average woman.

And BABIES.

I do love babies.

Then there’s my hot-as-hell husband, who already knows me well enough to ask all the right questions and who will undoubtedly be exceptionally good at fatherhood.

I love him, too.

“I think I would very much like to take our chances today and revisit our options tomorrow,” I reply after a minute, and my ovaries celebrate with some kind of secret handshake. “But in the future, I should probably initiate these conversations before I let you get me all JD-drunk and incapable of making responsible decisions.”

“Noted,” he says before he crushes his lips against mine. Then he whispers, “I love you, Tenley,” between kisses, and he makes good on his promise to show me how much he means it.

EPILOGUE

(THREE WEEKS LATER)

TENLEY

My nerves are worse than ever, my stomach churning as we walk down the hallway to the courtroom. JD’s hand on the small of my back helps to ground me, but I still have to force a few slow, deep breaths, willing the acid back down.

“You okay?” he asks, leaning down to whisper into my ear.

“Yeah, I’m just so anxious that my stomach’s in knots.” I gulp and attempt to get my bearings again until I realize I’m about to be in a major bind.

I turn in a panic, covering my mouth and looking for the nearest restroom. I barely reach the first stall in time for the heaving to commence.

Then I clean up at the sink and attempt to wipe the smudged mascara from under my eyes, hoping to make myself look somewhat presentable again. But the woman in the mirror looks a bit worse for the wear, her skin pale and her hair sticking to the back of her sweaty neck. Reapplying lipstick doesn’t seem to help either, and I’m just about to give up when JD cracks open the door and calls out to me.

I force a smile and attempt to reassure him that I’m fine. But he pushes his way in, anyway.

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