Page 54 of Future Like This

Trev gestures to me with a look of disbelief. “Says you.”

“Yeah, but you did it purposefully. Plus, I have every intention of marrying Amelia.”

Trevor shrugs. “Maybe I’m already married. Doesn’t really matter. Our relationship is the same regardless.”

“I’m sorry, I’d like to go back to Miles casually stating he has every intention of marrying Amelia,” Joel says.

“You can’t be surprised by that,” I say.

“We’re not. We just never thought this day would come. Our little Miles, all grown up,” Aaron laughs.

“Fuck off,” I say, covering Emmie’s ear. Then I clear my throat and step a little closer to the three of them. “Serious question. When did you know it was the right time to ask?”

Aaron’s and Joel’s eyebrows shoot up and they glance at each other as Trev grins.

And I already regret this.

“Do you feel like you’re ready?” Aaron asks.

“Kind of. Yeah. Just answer my question.”

Joel shrugs, looking more serious than Aaron. “After everything Sarah and I went through, I knew there was nothing that could change my feelings for her, and life is too damn short not to act on the love you feel.”

Aaron bobs his head up and down. “Yeah. After Rae was held at gunpoint, I almost called her my wife to Jamie. I took that feeling and put it away for a few days until things were calmer, but since I still felt that way, I decided it was time.”

“Ever since Emmie was born, I keep wanting to call her my wife,” I admit. “I thought it again this morning, but after everything and how hard it was for her to open up this far with me, it makes me nervous.”

“You need to talk to her,” Trevor says. “You don’t have to get into the specifics of telling her you’re dreaming of calling her your wife if you don’t want to, but you need to know where she’s at. You don’t have the benefit of knowing her for a billion years first, so you have to actually converse about it.”

I chuckle at that. It’s good advice, though. “I guess I should,” I say, eyes drifting to the balcony, where Amelia is walking toward the stairs with Dani and Olivia.

“Looks like it’s time,” Aaron says. He smacks me on the shoulder, then he and Trevor head into the room where the ceremony is being held while Joel splits off to find Jesse. I’m rooted to my spot, unable to take my eyes off Amelia. She looks gorgeous in her lavender dress. It’s got a lace top and some sort of curve-hugging skirt that I think is called mermaid style. There’s a darker satin sash resting between the top and the skirt, and she fills every inch of the dress out perfectly.

“I know you don’t understand this yet, but Mommy looks beautiful. She’s pretty amazing in general. We’re lucky, kid.”

Emmie snores softly in response, and I smile. As I look back up at the balcony, Amelia catches my eye and winks. I wink back, then turn and find a seat.

Watching Amelia walk down the aisle did something to me. Seeing her at the altar with her hair done up and looking stunning? That’s adding to it. From the start of our relationship, I’ve seen my future when I looked at her, but this is different. It’s more. Something visceral. It’s not the future anymore. It’s now. I want that. I’m ready for it. We’re still messy sometimes. Still figuring out all the pieces of our lives and how they fit together, but I’m not sure that ever stops. I think in order to have a good relationship, you have to keep doing it. The puzzle is never complete. It keeps changing shape and size and you have to figure out which pieces don’t work anymore and where new ones fit. I’m ready to do that. I like doing it.

Maybe it’s crazy. This time last year, I didn’t even know her. Now? She and Emmie are my life. Amelia alone has left an unmeasurable mark on me, and I would never be the same again without her. And Emmie? Fuck, I wouldn’t be whole without her. Our little family is everything I wanted one day and didn’t know I needed right now.

I don’t want to rush Amelia. After all she’s been through, I want to make sure she’s more than a hundred percent ready for this step before we go there, but once she is, there’s nothing that will stop me from making her mine in every way forever.

Rae

I hate throwing up. I have always hated throwing up. I hate when other people throw up. When we have kids, Aaron will be the one hugging them while they’re covered in vomit, and I’ll run the bath and cuddle them once they’re in clean clothes.

When we have kids.

This kid.

This kid who somehow already makes all the puking worth it.

Still, I’m hoping it stops in the next few weeks. It hasn’t been horrible, but when it hits, it hits hard.

I take a deep breath and grab some toilet paper, then I daintily wipe my mouth, chuck the toilet paper in the toilet, and flush like I’m all good. That’s the strangest thing about throwing up when pregnant. You can go from praying to the porcelain god to feeling pretty good in thirty seconds. Pregnancy is crazy.

And amazing. I’m one of those crazy people who loves it. I don’t even get to feel the baby kick yet, but it’s like I just know this little person is in there and I can feel them and I love it. I rest my hand on my stomach as I walk over to the sink. Thankfully, this place has actual private bathrooms, so I don’t have to worry about being disturbed.

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