“You’re... you’re...” Jackson’s mouth and tongue couldn’t seem to form the words. His entire life, he’d tried not to get the women he slept with pregnant. He was always careful and never let his guard down.
He hadn’t thought it would be so quick with Emma. He knew couples who tried for years before seeing success. They’d barely been together over a month, and here was the result of their passion.
“Yes, Jackson,” Emma said. She was watching him, waiting to see his reaction. “I’m pregnant with your child.”
He looked down at the picture again. He was a father.
“What are you thinking, Jackson?” Emma asked. He looked up to see her biting her lip and looking like she was about to cry. “Please, tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m thinking you are the most beautiful woman in the entire world,” he told her. He stood up and put his arms around her. She was shaking. “I’m thinking that I am the luckiest man in the world.”
A shudder of relief went through her and she collapsed into him, tucking her face into his shoulder. He rubbed her back.
“I was so afraid...” Her words came out muffled, but he understood them.
“Why?” he asked, pulling her back.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Your reputation?”
“It’s in our contract.”
“Yeah, but so are sales taxes and membership fees. Just because it’s in a contract doesn’t mean that it’s something you want,” she replied.
He took her chin in his hand, making sure that she looked up at him. She was so beautiful it made his heart catch. If he had felt protective before, this was a thousand times more.
“I want this,” he told her, his voice going low. “I want you. I want this.”
With his other hand he touched her belly. She sniffled and fell into him again. He wrapped his arms around her, letting her sniffle and relax against him.
They stood there, him comforting her and contemplating his future. The idea of a child that was now a real thing was overwhelming. It was a good kind of overwhelming, but still more than he had expected. They’d both known this was coming, but he thought they’d have more time.
His heart thudded in his chest. He was going to be a father. The only word he could think to describe the feeling taking over him was joy. He was going to be a father.
For this moment, he didn’t care that it would help his company. He wasn’t thinking about that.
He was thinking of bike lessons and piano lessons. How to treat a skinned knee, and where they were going to put the nursery. Would it be a boy or a girl? Would they want to go into the family business or do something else? Would they be an artist or an astronaut?
He didn’t know, but he couldn’t wait to find out. How in the world was he going to wait 9 months to meet this little person that he already adored?
Not to mention Emma. He wanted to make sure she had the best of everything. The best doctors, the best hospitals, the best food, the best everything. He would make sure this was the best pregnancy that money could buy.
He wanted her to be as happy as he was.
At least, they could still go to the mountains. He would cancel the ski trip and the more adventurous activities, but they could still enjoy the beautiful sights and the amazing food. He would just make sure to have a doctor on staff as well.
“You okay?” he asked, rubbing her back. He wasn’t sure how long they’d been standing there, but it felt like a long time. That one small sentence, I’m pregnant, still had him spinning. It didn’t feel real yet.
She sniffled and pulled back, but this time she was smiling. “Yeah. I am.” She looked up at him with those big eyes. “Are you?”
“I’m fantastic,” he assured her. He grinned. “Absolutely fantastic.”
She grinned at him and her old happy spark came back to her face.
“There is a small problem that you should know about, though,” she said, trying to keep a straight face and failing.
“What?” he asked, unsure of where she was headed with this.
“I’m not going to fit in a wedding dress for very long,” she said, giving him a sly grin. He laughed.