EPILOGUE
Penny
Three Weeks Later
Tell me everything… What's it like being engaged to the man of your dreams?
I lean back in my computer chair, tapping a pen against my lips. Ever since going public with our engagement my blog has blown up with traffic.
A lot of the questions are about me and Preston, but I’m heartened that most of them are still asking for my advice.
This morning, questions about Preston have my heart thudding and my skin tingling. Casey and Juliana have said I have nothing to worry about.
We want this.
And yet it’s difficult not to think about the prospect, however unlikely, that my news will ruin this beautiful pattern we’ve fallen into.
These past three weeks have been like a vacation in heaven.
So much love between us that sometimes I’m sure I’m going to burst with it. We spend our evenings at dinners, parties, or simply being together in our apartment.
Our apartment, since I officially moved before he even proposed. Casey is living in a two-bedroom apartment uptown, the sort of modernized place she never could have envisioned before.
There’s more good news. I learned through Juliana that Lena has found a partner, meaning there’s no chance of her going all weird about mine and Preston’s relationship.
Sorry, Lena, but my man’s virginity was mine.
I grin at the thought. We’re the only people who will ever be with each other.
Since my blog has been receiving more traffic lately, I’ve even started arranging for in-person interviews at the studio. I’m thinking about expanding the scope of the show to involve the people Preston works with, combining both our passions, soaring higher with my man at my side.
Perfect, I type. It’s completely, utterly perfect.
I hover my hand over the send button, and then my gaze flits to the test, sitting at the edge of my desk. I placed it there this morning, the latest out of four.
Why haven’t I told Preston yet?
It’s not like he’s going to be mad.
Maybe there’s a small part of me that wants to hover here, in this place we’ve found, before taking the next step.
But stronger than that is the humming in my womb, the song of belonging, the rightness of what the test represents.
The future we’ve talked about countless times.
An expansion of our love.
Closing my eyes, I imagine what I’d say to one of my readers if they wrote in with a question like this.
If they explained my situation to me, what would I advise?
The answer is obvious.
Stop being scared that things are going to inexplicably change. Stop worrying that life’s going to come crashing down around you.
Seize the moment, savor it, bask in the love.
I turn when I hear the front door open.
Grabbing the test quickly, I leap to my feet. My legs feel far shakier than they have any right to, trembling beneath me, but I ignore the feeling as I walk down the hall.
Already, there are more pictures on the walls. My favorite is one Juliana snuck when Preston proposed to me, my hands clinging to the back of his neck, his gaze turned down to consume me entirely.
I study it for a moment, my heart quickening.
How could I ever fear this?
“Penny.”
Preston stands at the end of the corridor, his hands hanging at his sides, his eyes flitting to the object in my hand. He’s wearing a button-up with the sleeves rolled up, his trousers hugging his powerful thighs. Every part of him is muscled and huge, making me feel so safe, so protected.
“What’s that?” he asks, walking slowly towards me, as though he doesn’t want to ruin the moment.
“It’s… our future.”
The words would’ve made me cringe once upon a time. I would’ve been certain he’d laugh at me, calling me stupid for expressing myself in such a dramatic fashion.
But those thoughts are long behind me.
Now, I smile, meeting him in the middle of the hall.
“It’s a pregnancy test.”
He reaches down for me with trembling hands, slipping his arm around my waist, the movement that always makes me feel so close to him.
But that’s not saying much. Every time we touch, it’s like we’re melding together.
“Is it…”
I nod, tears springing to my eyes, making his handsome face blurry. “It is. I am. We’re going to have a baby, Preston.”
He roars as he pulls me into a hug, lifting me up off my feet. I giggle as I kick my feet up behind me, holding tightly onto him, knowing I’ll remember this moment for the rest of our lives.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
Preston
Three Months Later
“He’s so calm,” Penny murmurs, lying on her back in bed.
I sit in the chair, not wanting to move from my spot.
Loki lies on the bed, his chin resting on Penny’s belly. She isn’t showing much yet, but it’s like Loki can sense the life growing inside of her.
I stare at my fiancé and our new dog, wondering how I ever lived the life I had before, wondering how I ever thought I could be without my Penny.