“We need to buy a house. This place isn’t meant for a family.” I take her hand in mine and bring it up to my lips to kiss the top of her knuckles. Her skin is warm and soft and smells like her vanilla body wash. I miss the scent of the ocean on her. It’s been a while since she’s been surfing, and I guess with the baby coming, she’ll have to wait a while longer.
“I want to buy a house on the beach,” I tell her. “So you can go surfing on a private beach. I don’t want you going back to that beach.” I don’t want her anywhere near where Jason might be.
“What about Aiden?” she asks.
Of course that’s her concern. Lexi has such a big heart, and she’s going to make an amazing mom.
“We’re going to figure out how to help him,” I promise her. “Get him off that beach and somewhere safe.”
“Thank you,” she says, standing on her tiptoes to kiss me.
We make it to Georgia’s graduation on time and cheer for her as she walks across the stage. While we’re there, Lexi tells me she’s not sure if she wants to go back to school. She’s not sure what she wants to do, but she knows she’s excited to be a mom. I tell her she has plenty of time to figure it out. I make more than enough to support us, and with the life insurance money my dad left me, I can buy us a house to start our family.
The next week flies by. When I’m home, we hang out with everyone who’s in town for the graduation and wedding. And at night, when we’re alone, we lie in bed, wrapped up in each other, talking about our future, about the baby, about us. Lexi read that twelve weeks is when you’re supposed to announce you’re expecting, so we plan to tell everyone then. She hasn’t even told her sister, which I’m surprised about. I think she’s still grasping at the reality that she really is pregnant and in seven months she’ll be giving birth to a baby.
When I’m at work, we text and video chat. I can see it in her eyes, she’s scared. Of me changing my mind, of me regretting my words, my promise. She’s waiting for me to tell her I can’t do this. But it’s never going to happen. I love Lexi and I’m going to marry her. The odds of this baby actually not being mine are slim. If he raped her, it was once, compared to the dozens of times we had unprotected sex during that time. Sure, it only takes once, and if he did rape her, the baby she’s carrying could carry his DNA, but that baby, regardless of his blood type, is mine. He will carry my last name and will be loved by both of us. From the moment she told me, there was never a doubt in my mind.
But even though Lexi is one of the strongest women I know, I also know she’s insecure when it comes to this topic. Her own mother, her flesh and blood, walked out of the hospital without her and never looked back. So, through my actions, I’ll show her that I’m serious. That I’ll love and protect her and this baby. That she and I are forever.
Starting with marrying her, which is what I’m about to do. With the wedding march playing in the background, I watch, mesmerized, as Lexi walks down the wooden walkway that is doubling as a makeshift aisle. On either side are white and pink flowers. She’s dressed in a beautiful off-white dress that shows off all of her curves. In her hands is a bouquet of matching pink and white flowers. She’s wearing a see-though veil that covers her face, and her hair is down in waves. When she steps down to where Chase, Georgia, and I are standing with the marriage officiant, she lifts her dress slightly, showing off her sparkly shoes. Of course my girl would wear Vans instead of heels.
She hands Georgia her flowers, and then, with tear-filled eyes, her dad leans over and kisses her cheek, murmuring something to her that makes her smile.
“I love you, Dad,” she says.
“Love you too, Lex.”
He extends his hand, and we shake. “I don’t need to tell you to love her and take care of her. I know you will,” he croaks.
I nod once. “Damn right I will.”
He pulls me into a hug and then takes a seat next to Charlie and Max.
I take Lexi by the arm and walk her up to the altar then lift her veil. She smiles softly and her indigo eyes sparkle with happiness and love.
“You look breathtakingly beautiful,” I tell her, not wanting to take my eyes off her.