by Aly Martinez
“You know where to find me!” she shouts back.
God, it is so good to see her finding herself again. She’s actually seems happy these days. A feeling I know all too well.
“Hey, beautiful,” Caleb whispers behind me, wrapping his arms around my stomach.
I turn in his arms, which is not exactly the easiest feat these days. “Let’s go back to the hotel and make this whole thing official.” I nibble at his neck.
“I’m starved. Can we stop and grab some dinner first? And then go back and really grab dinner?” He rolls his hips into mine.
“Mmm, I could eat too.” I wink up at him as we stroll down the sidewalk. “How come your sister didn’t come to the ceremony too? You know I wouldn’t have minded.”
“I wanted it to be just us today, but I knew you would want Sarah there. So that, my love, is what you call a compromise.”
“Compromise? What the hell happened to my asshole boy—I mean, husband?”
“He took the day off,” Caleb says, stopping in front of a little Italian restaurant. “Come on. We should probably carb load for the bedroom marathon I have planned for tonight.”
He gives me a half smile that sends flutters down to my core.
“Mr. and Mrs. Jones,” he tells the hostess with pride.
“Right this way.” She grabs two menus and leads us past a ton of empty tables to a back room that has a curtain separating it from the rest of the restaurant.
“Go ahead.” Caleb pulls back the curtain and guides me inside.
Sitting at a long rectangular table is every person I think I know in this world. My eyes slide down as they take in the smiling faces looking back at us.
Brett, Jesse, Kara, Eli, Caleb’s sister Lindsey and her wife Deena, Alex, and—
“Hunter!” I squeal as he rises to his feet and heads in my direction.
“Emma Jane Jones. Holy shit! You really did it.” He pulls me in for a hard hug.
“You are such a liar! You said you couldn’t make it up here this month.”
“Well it wouldn’t have been a very big surprise if I’d told you I was going to be here.” He leans forward and kisses my forehead like he always does.
I swing my head around to face Caleb, who is watching us. His arms are crossed over his chest with his left hand on top. He’s mindlessly spinning his new tungsten ring with this thumb, and instead of the glare I was expecting him to be shooting at us, his face is painted with a warm look of contentment.
“How long have you been planning this?” I ask Caleb, stepping away from Hunter.
“Since about ten seconds after you told me you wanted to get married at the courthouse,” he answers, reaching a hand out to catch me.
“I love you,” I say quietly as he tugs me against his side.
“Good, because you’re stuck now.” He lifts my hand and plants a kiss on my wedding ring.
As my eyes drift around the eloquently decorated room, I catch sight of a small three-tiered cake in the corner. “You got us a wedding cake!”
“My baby loves cake. Of course I got one.” He rubs a hand over my stomach and around to my back, pausing just before it drifts down to my ass.
“Which baby?” I ask teasingly.
“Both. Now heads-up—here comes Brett and he looks happy as hell.”
I turn around just in time to crash into Brett’s arms.
“Congrats, Em. You finally made an honest man out of him.”
“I know. I’m really excited to finally lose my virginity.”
At first, he curls his lip. Then he bursts out laughing. “I can tell.” He glances down at my swollen belly.
After that, each person heads our way. Caleb’s sister claims him and Kara grabs my hand, pulling me aside.
“You are a bitch!” she whisper-yells at me while standing on her toes and peeking over my shoulder.
“Excuse me?”
“I thought we were friends? But it’s obvious you don’t like me at all!” She flashes her wild eyes back to mine.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Kara is off-the-charts crazy, but even this behavior is strange for her.
“Your two best friends are gorgeous guys and you didn’t think to introduce them to me once. What is wrong with you?” she asks with the most serious look I have ever seen on a face outside of Caleb’s.
I immediately try to stifle my laughter, look up, and try to match her tone. “You’re right. That was very rude of me.”
“How do you know them?” she breathes.
“Well, I grew up with Alex, and Hunter and I used to date.”
Her head snaps over to me. “You lucky whore,” she says before looking down and telling my stomach, “No disrespect intended, li’l man.”
I can’t help it. I have to laugh. Caleb’s eyes fly to mine from across the room, and I wave him off.
“They are both single, so which one are you interested in?”
“Both. At the same time,” she says with a dreamy gaze.
“That would be a maybe with Hunter and a hell no with Alex. Sorry, lady, but you’re going to have to pick one.”
“Hunter.” She all but drools after saying his name.
“Excellent choice.” I smile. “Hey, Hunt, can you look here for a second?” I call across the room.
“What’s up, sugar?” he drawls, and I swear Kara moans.
“I’ve been rude. You may have already met, but I want to officially introduce you to my very, very good friend, Kara Reed.”
Hunter tips his beer to his lips while sliding his eyes over her petite body. I glance down at my wedding ring and thank the Lord that I will never have to do the dating game again.
He tosses her a wink before saying, “Nice to meet you, again, Kara Reed. I’m Hunter Coy.” He extends a hand with a very obvious twinkle in his dark brown eyes.
“Okay, well I need to get back to my husband. I’ll catch up with y’all in a bit.”
I leave as they continue to shake hands for entirely too long. But before I go, I have a little additional information for Kara. I lean in close to her ear and whisper one single word.
“Eggplant.”
Oh yeah. She definitely moans this time.
I brush off my hands from a job well done and head back to my man.
“Hey, you.” I cozy in close to Caleb’s side.
“Hey, Emmy.”
“This is perfect.” I lean up for an all-too-brief kiss.
“Well, I told you I screwed up the proposal. I wasn’t going to screw this up too. Besides, it’s still small and intimate like we planned. I pretty much consider everyone in this room family.”
“Thank you.” I lean my head against his chest and loop my arm tight around his hips. As I trace the tattoos on his forearms, with a dozen people chatting around us, the whole crazy world all ceases to exist.
AFTER AN incredible night of lovemaking with my wife, I dragged Emma home at the crack of dawn. She groaned and whined, begging for me to just let her sleep. But I was almost as excited as a kid on Christmas.
See, I’ve lied to Emma a lot recently. And while I normally wouldn’t be very proud of that trait, today I am damn near ecstatic.
“Jeez, Caleb! What the hell lit a fire under your ass this morning?”
“It’s October first,” I announce, pulling her out of the truck and into the backyard.
“And?” she asks, thoroughly confused.
“Your due date is in exactly four months. In less than one hundred and twenty days, I will meet my temporarily named son, Collin. By the way, I’m still holding out hope for something not so preppy.” She playfully slaps my chest, and I smile huge, knowing what’s to come. “So I realize we are not even twenty-four hours into our marriage yet, but I already have a confession to make.”
“Is it that you have been secretly hiding a bed in the backyard? Because I could really use a pillow and, like, eight more hours of sleep right now.”
“Jesus, Emmy. Talk about stealing my thunder
. That is eerily correct.”
“Which part? About the bed or the fact that I need more sleep?” she asks, looking up through tired eyes.
“Just give me a minute. I need to tell you a story.” I dramatically clear my throat. “So back in February, I met this amazing woman, and even though I had no idea what to do with it, I fell in love with her damn near the minute I laid eyes on her. She was beautiful, but what really surprised me was the fact that she was smart and funny as hell.”
“Caleb, are you cheating me with this other woman? Because I’m not sure I could blame you—she sounds fabulous,” she says teasingly.
I ignore her jokes but pull her against my chest, tracing my hands down her back and over her ass. “A few days after I met her, I realized I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I tried so fucking hard because I had absolutely zero business being with her. So I began building a table that I had been plotting in my head for years. I used the finest Bubinga wood I could find on short notice. I spent every waking hour trying to forget her, all while building my dream table.
“Emma, this table killed me. Even the simplest of tasks turned out like crap. It had a million flaws, and no matter how hard I tried, I just made it worse every time I tried to go back and fix them.
“Then one night, just as I was finishing this annoying table, I got a phone call from that spellbinding woman, and when I picked up the phone, she was crying. It scared the ever-loving shit out of me. With that fear, I realized that there was no point fighting it. It wasn’t the smartest decision to pursue her, but it was definitely the best one I’ve ever made.
“The next day, as I looked around my workshop, I realized that stubborn, flawed table that I finished, the night I decided that you were mine, really was us. I moved it into my house the minute the polish dried.”
“What happened to it? I haven’t seen it since I’ve been back.” She blinks up at me while fighting back tears.
“I tore it apart it the night you sent back Manda’s ring.”
“Oh,” she breathes in disappointment.
“See, Emmy, that wood was never meant to be a table. Our relationship is not simple or straightforward. It’s not perfect the way young couples dream about. It’s rough and flawed, but it’s ours. And sometimes, if you get really lucky, something truly beautiful can come from the imperfections.”
I release her and swing open the door to my workshop, revealing the crib I have spent hours upon hours working on over the last two months.
“Oh my God,” she breathes, and tears immediately flood her eyes. She walks over to it, dragging her hands over the smooth curves and rounded edges. “Is this the table?” she manages to squeak out.
“Most of it. I had to add to it, but I used as much of the table as possible. And look.” I walk across the room to my workbench. “I made shelves to hang on his wall from the extra pieces.” I smile, and she covers her mouth and continues to cry.
“This is… I just… This is perfect. I love it. I don’t even know what to say. I’m probably going to cry every time I look at this now. It’s beautiful.”
“Don’t cry. I’m sure little Gavin will be doing enough of that for you pretty soon.”
“You mean Collin, and he and I can cry together then.” She wipes away the tears and heads over to wrap her arms around my shoulders. “When did you have time to do this?”
“You know all those bookshelves that I told you my buddy asked me to build?”
“You lied to me!” she shouts, but her smile never falters.
“It wasn’t a total lie. He did ask me to build a bookshelf, but it was only one, and I told him I couldn’t do it until I finished this project first.” I smirk, and as usual, she immediately softens.
“Thank you for this, and for yesterday, and for including Sarah. Seriously, Caleb, it was better than any wedding we ever could have planned.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart. You ready to go inside now and take a nap?”
“Suddenly, I’m very awake. See, I met this guy back in February. He is so freaking hot. And when he isn’t acting like an ass, he does the sweetest, most romantic things for me. I kind of love him.”
“Kind of?” I question with a raised eyebrow. “Because he sounds like a definite keeper.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I think I’ll keep him,” she says just before pressing her lips to mine in a sensual kiss.
THE DAYS have been flying by since Caleb and I got married. It’s been calm and peaceful and completely unnerving. Last weekend, Sarah came home for the very first time. True to his word, Caleb gave me a kiss on Friday and didn’t give me one bit of grief about spending the weekend with her. He didn’t exactly pack my bag or anything, but he didn’t pout and complain either.
Between doctor appointments, decorating the nursery, continuing to build my photography business, the holidays, and just enjoying being married, I’ve been running at a full sprint for the last few months. With Christmas a few days behind us and just over five weeks before my due date, I need to slow down. I’m getting bigger and more uncomfortable, but there is too much stuff to be done. February is just around the corner.
I can’t even believe Collin will be here soon. I still panic a lot about being a mom, but Caleb is cool as a freaking cucumber. I kind of hate him for it, but he spends his nights trying to keep me relaxed. He usually uses his body to do it. He’s a giver like that. It has absolutely nothing to do with sex. At least that is what he claims.
In other news, Brett finally proposed to Jesse. A few weeks ago, he surprised her after her college graduation by renting out an entire bowling alley. It was adorable. Not as sweet as my surprise wedding and crib, but hey, not everyone can land their very own Caleb Jones. However, I think Jesse is still extremely lucky. Brett is a great guy, and no one in the world can miss how much he loves her.
Everyone was there when Brett finally got down on one knee—her family, his family, all of Jesse’s friends, and surprisingly enough, Hunter Coy. It seems he has taken quite a liking to our resident vegetarian. He’s been up here almost every other weekend for the last two months. He claims that it’s just to visit me, but Kara is never far from his side.
Eli was even there too, but not surprisingly, Casey was absent. She and Eli are still dating—or something like that—but she never hangs out with us. I guess I can understand why. This group is a constant reminder of what she lost. It can’t be comfortable to hang out with the men who used to love your best friends and the new women who have filled their lives while you’re two best friends are gone completely. Hopefully Eli is understanding and doesn’t give her crap about it. I’ve only heard from Casey twice since I ran into her at the coffee shop all those months ago. Once she called, but when I picked up, she said that she had the wrong number. We talked for a few minutes and she asked about Sarah. Call me Dionne Warwick, but I have a feeling it wasn’t such an accident at all. A few weeks after that, Eli stopped by with his truck to pick up some barstools Caleb had made for a mutual friend. Casey waved but never even got out. Manda used to live here with Caleb, so again, I can’t even blame her.
“You going to be away this weekend?” Caleb asks while we sit at the dinner table on Thursday night.
“Yes and no. Sarah asked if she could just be alone on Saturday night. So I was thinking maybe we could do like an old-school date night. I’ll have to sleep at her place, but maybe you could pick me up, take me to dinner, make out in the truck for a little while, and then you can drop me back off afterward. Kiss me on the front steps then go home with blue balls. It will be just like high school again.”
He barks out a laugh. “Wow. You even planned my blue balls. You’ve thought of everything. How could I possibly turn down an offer like that?”
“Okay, okay. Fine. If you take me to a fancy restaurant, I’ll give you a hand job in the truck. But only because I love you and not because I can be bought with food right now.”
“Oh God, please tell me you didn’t give hand jobs after dat
es in high school.”
“Caleb! Don’t be ridiculous. You know I was a complete virgin when we met! I have never even laid eyes on another man’s naked form other than yours,” I lie innocently, batting my eyelashes. .
“I love you, Emmy, but I don’t believe that for even one second. I’m getting hard just thinking about the way you expertly rode me that first night.” He walks around the table and kisses my mouth before carrying my plate to the kitchen. “All that matters is that I’m the last naked man you ever see.”
“I can’t wait to not be pregnant anymore,” I announce as he walks away. I want to have sex with my husband. The kind where it’s rough and deep and you can’t walk the next day. But the watermelon I’m carrying is not exactly conducive to sexy time.
“You’re beautiful, so stop. There is plenty of time for dirty sex in the million years to come.”
“Oh all right, I’ll stop complaining. Does that mean we have a PG-13 date planned for this weekend?”
“PG-13?” He asks in horror. “You just offered me a hand job. Thank God we aren’t having a girl, because I’m starting to worry about the credibility your rating system.” I start giggling and stand to slide under his arm. “Yeah, babe. A date sounds great.”
“SARAH, WHERE is your curling iron?”
“I don’t have one. Why?
I walk out of the bathroom and into the den, where she is sitting watching some trashy reality TV.
“You don’t have a curling iron?”
“Just use the straightener to curl the ends under.”
“That won’t work! I was going for sexy wind-tousled curls.” I shake my head like a shampoo model.
“Oh good Lord. You are pregnant and going out on a date with your husband. Just don’t wear yoga pants and I think he will be impressed.”
“This is probably true, but I at least want to try and look nice. I’m going to run back to our place and grab mine. You need anything while I’m out?”
“Nope.” She looks up with a smile.
“Hey, I’m really glad you’re feeling better. I love having you home again.” I pause at the door and look at her just casually sitting on the couch.