I open the box and see the beautiful ring. It’s a massive princess cut diamond set on a gold band. It has dozens of tiny little diamonds surrounding it. I know Val loves it, and it’s from her late father.
“Thanks, Ben,” I say, still staring at the diamond and wondering if I should ask her to marry me. Somewhere deep inside of me, I’ve always known we’d be married one day, but I never put much thought into how or when. I just knew we’d get there. Maybe this is a sign. Maybe this is when I’m supposed to ask her. I mean, she’s already pregnant with my child and we’re in the process of moving her things from her mom’s house to mine.
I slide the box into my pocket just as Jazz sticks her head into the room. “Hey, boys. Come on. Val is going to open some gifts, and then we’re doing cake.”
We both stand and walk out the French doors and onto the patio. “Hey, how’d you get in my house anyway?” I ask.
Bennet laughs. “I had Kris sneak it off of Val’s keys. Here it is, by the way.” He hands over the key, and I slide it into my pocket.
“That girl scares me sometimes,” I say with a laugh.
We sit and watch as Val opens her gifts. She gets things for the baby such as bottles, diapers, pacifiers, and a few clothing items in neutral colors. When everyone sits down with their piece of cake, I drop down to one knee in front of Valerie.
Everyone gets silent as they freeze and watch what I’m doing.
I pick up her hand and hold it in mine. “Valerie,” I begin, and immediately, she starts tearing up.
“You know how crazy I am about you,” I laugh out. “It’s funny, because before you, I never knew what I needed. I didn’t even know what I wanted. But then, something with us changed. You went from being the girl that drove me insane to being the girl that made my heart race. From the moment I knew I wanted you, I knew I’d marry you. I knew that we were meant to be, that I’d never survive losing you. So, while I’ve known for months now that we’d be married one day, I never thought about when or how I’d ask you. Not until five minutes ago when your brother slipped me this little box.” I pull the box from my pocket.
“Apparently, this was your mother’s ring, a ring your father bought for her to say how much he loved her. She wanted you to have it, but Bennet made it perfectly clear that I didn’t have to propose with it. But I got to thinking about you and me and this little baby we’re bringing into the world, and thought, this is it. This is the moment I’m supposed to ask you to marry me, to be by my side forever. And even though I didn’t spend months trying to plan out the perfect way of asking, I know that this is it. Right now, we’re surrounded by everyone we love, and this ring making its way into my hands, it proves it. This is us: fast, thoughtless, but always spot on. I promise to love you every single day for the rest of my life. I promise to cherish you, hold you, take care of you. Valerie, will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Everyone is dead still while we all watch the emotions on Valerie's face change. She nods and smiles wide. “Yes!”
I slide the ring onto her finger as everyone stands and cheers us on. Finally, I pull her closer and press a kiss to her mouth: a kiss that marks the first day of the rest of our lives together, a day that means we’ll never be alone again. A day when we belong to each other.
We enjoy the rest of the party and Bennet and Maddie stick around to help us get everything cleaned up. Finally, we show them to the door.
“Sorry for intruding on your moment earlier,” Maddie says, hugging Val.
She waves her hand through the air, dismissing the thought. “No worries. We’re going to make up for it now though,” she jokes.
I wave goodbye and pull Val back into the house. “Now, where were we?” I ask, backing her up until her back presses to the door. I move my mouth to hers, and it’s like we were never interrupted. She wraps her arms around my neck, and I pick her up against me. Her hands find their way up my shirt, and she works it up until I break away to rip it from my body. The second it hits the floor, I’m right back on her, needing to be inside my fiancée.
She lets out a whimper that calls to me like no sound ever has. It causes my dick to twitch against her. It makes me lose my mind, and I can’t think of anything but her. My body has missed her this last month. I turn us around and carry her up the stairs, kissing her the whole way. When we get into the bedroom, I set her softly on the bed and crawl up her body. She pulls away her shirt, and my fingers get to work on her bra, setting her free. My eyes zero in on her breasts that are now growing along with her belly that’s still mostly flat.
“Please, be gentle. They’re so sore I could cry,” she whispers.
I pull away and opt to only press light kisses to the skin, avoiding the nipple altogether. I kiss down her ribs and to her stomach where our little baby is growing.
“I love you,” I whisper against her stomach.
“I love you too,” she says as I pull away and start working her skirt down her legs.
When she’s completely stripped and bare before me, I don’t bother with lowering my mouth to her clit. That’s all we’ve done for a month, and I know she needs more than that. I place myself at her entrance and thrust forward, filling her to the brim. She lets out a loud moan that tells me I’m right where I need to be.
Her nails dig into my back, pushing me to keep moving, but I’m so lost, I know that if I don’t go slow, everything will be over in five minutes. I need her more than that. She needs me. Instead of moving, I kiss her. Long, hard, and deep. I don’t move until she’s whimpering beneath me and begging me to.
Finally, I slide out of her, only to thrust back in just as deeply as before, but this time, I roll my hips against hers.
I wake in the morning and I roll to my side, happy to see her sleeping peacefully beside me. Her long, dark lashes are fanned out across her cheeks, and all I can hear is her deep, even breathing. I close my eyes and take a long breath, living in this moment: a moment where everything is perfect, a time that I can just relax and be happy.
When her hand cups my cheek, my eyes pop open, and my lips turn up in a smile. “Good morning,” I softly whisper, brushing a stand a hair away from her beautiful face.
She kisses my palm and smiles. “Good morning.”
She rolls into my side, and I wrap her up in my arms, holding her close, refusing ever to let go.
“What’s on the agenda for today?” she asks, sleepily rubbing her eyes.
“I was thinking, now that your doctor has released you, we could go to your mom’s and finish packing. That way, you can live here full time instead of always needing to run back and forth when you need something.”
She offers up a weak smile. “Sounds perfect.”
“Why don’t you get up and take a shower, and I’ll go down and get started on some coffee and breakfast.” I move to sit up, but she latches onto my arm.
“Wait. Why don’t you join me in the shower?” she asks, pulling my mouth to hers.
I laugh around our kiss. “Because then we’ll never get out of this house, and I want you here full time, never having an excuse to leave.” I stand up and gently smack her ass. “Now, get busy, woman.”
She giggles from behind me as I walk out of the room and toward the kitchen.
21
Valerie
Watching him walk out of the bedroom in nothing but a pair of boxers has my heart racing. With each rippled muscle, with every sway of his hips, it beats harder and harder and makes me want to pull him back into bed where I can seduce him into never walking away from me again. But a part of me is just as excited for the next step in our relationship as he is. I want to live here with him. I want to get married. I want this little baby that I didn’t even know about but love wholeheartedly already. I place my hand on my stomach and look down.
“Your daddy is something else, little one.”
I laugh and shake my head at myself. In a way, none of this feels real. I never thought that this would be my life. I nev
er considered working for a large company. I didn’t think I’d be ready to settle down at twenty-one with marriage and a kid. But here I am, ready to jump in headfirst. I know some would question my choices, I mean, I am really young. But this is something some people work for their whole lives. I shouldn’t run away from it just because I found mine a little sooner than most—most don’t have a Callan of their own.
I push all thoughts away as I stand from the bed. The moment my feet hit the floor, I feel dizzy. My mouth begins to water, and my stomach rolls. It growls and feels like I’m about to lose everything inside. I rush to the bathroom and fall to my knees just as I empty my stomach in the toilet. After several long minutes of retching, I wipe the sweat from my brow and flush the toilet.
“Morning sickness at its best,” I mumble as I move toward the shower.
I still feel sick and dizzy, my ears are ringing, and for some reason, the smell of eggs hits me, making my stomach flop yet again. I slide down the wall and sit in the shower floor while the hot water pours over me.
The longer I sit here, the better I feel, but then Callan opens the glass shower door, and that smell gets even stronger, making me gag and rush for the toilet again.
He shuts off the water and rushes to my side, pulling my hair behind me. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
I nod as I gag, having nothing left to throw up. “Morning sickness,” I mumble. “The smell of that food is horrible.”
“It’s just eggs, bacon, and toast.”
“I’m going to get dressed. Will you take the food out of the bedroom? I think I’ll stick with toast and water this morning.”
“Okay,” he says, rushing back into the room.
I force myself to stand and pull on a robe. When I walk out of the bathroom, he’s opening the windows to let out the smell of the breakfast he cooked. On the bed is a tray, only holding a bottle of water and a small plate with two slices of toast. I crawl back up onto the bed and take a long drink. I know my body needs water after losing everything inside my stomach.
Callan crawls up onto the bed, lying next to me. “How long has this been going on?” he asks, worried and confused.
I laugh. “For the past week. Usually, it’s just nausea, but today it was just overwhelming. Hopefully, I can keep this toast and water down.”
“If you can’t, we need to contact your doctor. I know morning sickness is normal in a pregnancy, but you have to be able to keep down water.”
I nod. “It usually only lasts the first hour I’m awake. I’m sure I’ll be fine, and we can start our day soon.”
“I’m not worried about starting our day, Val. I just want you feeling better.” He reaches out and rubs my arm.
“Go take your shower and I’ll eat this toast. I’m sure I’ll feel better soon, and we can get going.”
“You sure?” he asks, nervousness written across his handsome face.
I smile and nod. “I’m sure.”
He leans forward and presses a kiss to my forehead before standing and walking into the bathroom.
I choke back my toast and finish my water. When I hear the water shut off in the bathroom, I stand up slowly, not wanting to make myself sick again by getting up too quickly. I lean against the bed until I’m sure I’ll be okay, then head for the closet to pull on some clothes.
I slide into a pair of black yoga pants, noticing in the mirror how I fill them out more than before. My hips seem to be widening, my ass seems to be growing, and my stomach, while still pretty flat, is pooched out more than it ever has.
Callan steps into the closet and sees me inspecting my body. “You’re beautiful,” he says, coming to a stop behind me. He leans his head down and presses a kiss to the top of my shoulder.
I smile. “It’s weird how it’s only been a month since we found out, and already I’m seeing little changes.”
He wraps his arms around me, hands resting on my stomach. “You’re breathtaking. Even more so now.”
I spin in his arms and wrap my hands around the back on his neck. “I hope you keep that same thought process when I’m nine months pregnant and peeing when I laugh.”
He lets out a deep laugh. “Nothing is going to change my mind, Val.” He presses a kiss to my lips as his feet begin walking me backward. When my back hits the wall, I break the kiss and look into his blue eyes.
“I thought you didn’t want to spend all day in bed?”
He laughs. “I don’t, but my mind always changes when I’m touching you.” He pulls away and drops his towel as he pulls on some clothes. “Let’s get all your stuff packed and then go have a lunch date. Maybe by then, you’ll be hungry.”
We finish getting dressed, and he drives us over to my Mom’s house. The moment we walk in, she’s up off the couch, giving us both a big hug.
“I can’t express how happy I am for the two of you.” She smiles on us fondly. “I always knew if you two could put aside your differences, you’d create something special.”
Callan laughs. “Yeah, it just took me a little longer than usual to worm my way into her heart.”
I playfully smack him with the back of my hand. “And to think, all it took was you being nice to me instead of torturing me,” I joke.
Mom shakes her head. “You two still bicker like an old married couple. Come on, let’s sit down and have some tea.” She doesn’t give us an option. She just leads us both to the kitchen where she fills the teapot.
Callan and I sit at the breakfast table and watch her move about the kitchen.
“So, tell me. What’s the next step for you two?”
“Well, Mom, we’re actually here today to pack up the rest of my belongings so I can move in with Callan full time.”
She smiles as she looks over her shoulder at me. “That’s wonderful. But you know, you could’ve just called me, and I would’ve hired movers for that. No need for you two to waste a whole day.”
“Callan wanted to do it himself,” I tell her.
“When is the wedding? Before or after the baby?” she asks, sitting down two cups of tea for Callan and me.
We look at one another. “Ugh, we haven’t really talked about the wedding just yet, Momma.”
She takes her seat across from us. “Take it from me: plan it for after the baby, dear. If you try getting married while you’re pregnant, you’ll be changing dresses three different times with that growing belly of yours.” She picks up her cup and takes a sip.
“Well, actually…” I say, eyes flashing back and forth between her and Callan. “We haven’t even talked about having a wedding. We could just elope.” I shrug one shoulder as I look over at him.
His brows raise like he hasn’t even thought of that.
“Oh, how romantic. That’s how your father and I got married, you know?”
I shake my head. “I didn’t know that. You and Daddy eloped?” It feels like my jaw drops.
She nods. “Your grandmother had a fit when he told her he was going to ask me to marry him. I was poor, you know. She didn’t think I’d fit well in the family. So, he asked me, and we ran off that weekend to get married. When we came back, your grandparents were mad as all get out. But, there was nothing they could do. We were already legally married, and we didn’t sign a prenup. If they forced us apart, they knew I could take more than my fair share.” She smiles like she still enjoys thinking about pulling one over on them.
I laugh, and so does Callan. He reaches over and picks up my hand.
“Eloping sounds fun,” he says, smile still in place.
I nod. “It does, actually. Just us, no big fancy wedding, no stupid dress, or spending a ton of money on flowers that will just die anyway.”
“So?”
I nod. “Let’s do it!”
Mom smiles and claps her hands together. “How wonderful. I’m sure you two will have so much fun. Just don’t tell anyone until after you get back.”
“What? Why?”
“I’ve already overheard Maddie and that friend of h
ers planning your wedding.”
I laugh. “I’m surprised that you’re supporting this, to be honest. I thought you’d want to be a part of your only daughter's wedding day.”
She waves her hand through the air. “I’m glad someone is following in your father’s and my footsteps. Bennet did the big wedding thing. It’s overrated, and I’d rather see the two of you put all that money toward something good instead of a party. I’ve always found it to be quite frivolous.”
Mom finishes her tea and excuses herself to take her midmorning nap. “Please, wake me before you go,” she says, leaving the kitchen.
Callan and I stand, and I lead him downstairs to where my room is. Luckily, none of the furniture is mine. I have nothing more than some clothes, bathroom necessities, and a few mementos from my life that I’ve managed to hang on to.
As I’m walking into my room, Callan reaches out and catches my hand in his. He pulls me against his chest so that we’re eye to eye.
“Remember that night that I snuck down here?”
I nod and smile. “Of course I do.” I wrap my arms around his neck.
“Did you ever think then that this is where we’d be, getting married with a baby on the way?”
I laugh. “Hell no. Sometimes, when I wake up, I’m scared to open my eyes in fear that this has all been a dream. I’m scared that if I open my eyes, I’ll find myself alone in my bed.”
He shakes his head as he slowly leans in for a kiss. “This is a dream, but it’s one we’ll never have to wake up from,” he whispers just as his lips press against mine.
His soft lips move with my own for several long moments before his tongue demands entrance. My eyes flutter closed, enjoying the way he stirs the emotions inside of my body. It feels like everything goes numb and begins to tingle to the point of tickling. Every nerve ending lights and burns bright. Holding on tight around his neck, I jump up against him, and he catches me with two hands on my ass. Without having to ask or be told, he lowers us to the bed.
I smile to myself as he kisses his way down my body. Might as well put this room to good use one last time.
My Boss’s Sister: Make Her Mine Series-Book 3 Page 14