When Constellations Form (Light in the Dark Book 4)

by Micalea Smeltzer

  Xander

  33 Weeks Pregnant

  Baby is the size of a pineapple

  “Thea, would you stop breathing down my neck. I’m trying to concentrate.”

  “I don’t think that goes there.”

  “Thea,” I groan. “Don’t you have something better to do?”

  I’ve been trying to put together the crib for the last hour, and Thea picked the hardest fucking crib in the whole universe. This thing is impossible, but I’m determined to do it myself. I was planning to do this next week, but I think her flocking or nesting or whatever it’s called has kicked in, because she’s turned into a psychopath. It’s Christmas Eve and she’s insisting that everything in the nursery is ready, like the baby’s going to drop from the sky tomorrow.

  The baby isn’t due until February twentieth, but at our last appointment the doctor warned he thinks she’s going to come early since the baby is measuring big. Not by much, only by a week or two. Thea of course laughed hysterically at that, telling me she told me our child was a Viking like me.

  But since then, she’s gone into this mode where everything needs to be ready. I’ve already put the stroller together and installed the car seat in the car, and she’s packed her hospital bag.

  I keep reminding her we have plenty of time, but she won’t fucking listen.

  Stubborn woman.

  “If you’re going to stand there, make yourself useful and hand me that.” I point to a screw that’s rolled away.

  She sighs. “You could at least ask nicely.”

  I sigh, removing my baseball cap and putting it on backward. “Please,” I bite out.

  “That still didn’t sound very nice, but okay.” She grabs the errant screw and hands it to me. “Do you want me to ask Cade to come over and help you? There’s a lot to put together.” She looks around at the items still in their boxes.

  “I can do this,” I assure her.

  I already have the dresser together, which also functions as the changing table, and the armoire, but the crib, rocker, bookcase, and chest are still left.

  Thea stretches her legs out on the floor, rubbing her stomach and groaning.

  “She’s kicking up a storm.” She lifts up her shirt. “Look.”

  I look over and my jaw drops because she’s not kidding. Her stomach ripples as the baby moves around and around.

  “That’s crazy.” I shake my head, in awe of the whole thing.

  “Ugh.” She presses her hand to the spot and the movement disappears. “I feel like I’ve been pregnant forever. I wish she’d come already.”

  I chuckle. “She needs to cook some more. Leave her alone. We don’t want her to come out until she’s ready.”

  “True,” she agrees. “But I’m going to really hate life the closer I get to my due date.” She lowers her shirt and lets out another groan. “You know what else?”

  I sigh, resolving myself to the fact that I’m going to be here all night putting this stuff together.

  “What?”

  “I want a refund, aren’t you supposed to get bigger boobs when you’re pregnant? What kind of sorcery is this? Mine are still small.” She glares down at her chest.

  “There’s nothing wrong with your boobs, Thea.”

  “What if something’s wrong though? I read this article the other day about this woman that accidentally starved her baby to death, because she was breastfeeding and thought the baby was eating but it wasn’t. Maybe I should bottle feed.”

  “Do you believe everything you read on the internet?” I ask her, finally finishing the frame of the crib. I stand it up and move it to the spot she wants it, beneath the canopy on the wall.

  “Well, no.”

  I grab the mattress and lift it over the railing. “If you want to breastfeed, go for it. If you want to do the bottle, do that. You wanna try both? Knock yourself out.”

  “The crib is perfect,” she breathes, admiring it. She rubs her fingers over the wood finish. “I know she won’t be sleeping here at first, but this … this is the most beautiful nursery I’ve ever seen. It’s perfect for her.”

  “She might be a tad bit spoiled,” I admit, looking around the room. It’s a fairy princess wonderland for a little girl.

  Thea busies herself with fixing the bedding on the crib, which allows me to start on the glider uninterrupted.

  This isn’t how I imagined spending my Christmas Eve, but it’s not so bad.

  Seeing everything for her room come together makes it more real.

  We’re going to have a baby in a little over a month.

  It takes Thea a while to get the bedding just right, so I manage to finish with the glider. I’m opening the box for the bookcase when she collapses on the fluffy rug in the middle of the room, staring up at the chandelier.

  “She’s doing somersaults,” she complains, rolling up her shirt again so we can watch her stomach move. “Sweetie,” she scolds, “you’re going to make Mommy pee her pants again if you keep that up.”

  I snort and she laughs too, looking over at me. “Hey, handsome, I want to have your babies.”

  I shake my head, pulling out the pieces for the bookcase. “I’m pretty sure you’re having one.” I point at her belly.

  She smiles, rubbing her stomach. “Lucky me.”

  “Really? I think you hated me in the beginning.”

  She fights a smile. “I may or may not have contemplated chopping off your dick and feeding it to the dog, but I’ve since forgiven you.”

  I bite out a laugh. “Thanks, I think.”

  She shrugs, biting her lip. “I won’t lie, I wasn’t happy. I didn’t think I was cut out to be a mom yet, but now …” she pauses, rubbing her stomach absentmindedly. “I’m really excited to meet her. I don’t feel scared. I can do this. Is it going to be hard? Yeah, of course. But I’m ready for the challenge.”

  “You’re going to be a great mom,” I tell her honestly. It isn’t the first time I’ve said it, and I’ve meant it every time, but it means more now that she trusts that it’s true.

  “You’re going to be an amazing daddy. This little girl is lucky to have you. Truly.” I lean over and kiss her and she smiles. “What was that for?”

  “Because I can. Merry Christmas Eve, Thea.”

  “Merry Christmas Eve, Xander.”

  “It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas! Wake up!” Thea bounces on the bed. “Xander, it’s Christmas!” She shakes my arm.

  I yawn, covering my eyes with the crook of my elbow. “What time is it?” I mumble sleepily.

  “That’s not important.” She grabs my arm, shaking me. “Get up, get up, please. Let’s open presents.”

  I groan and sit up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, and she claps, pleased to have gotten me awake.

  I look at the clock and the blinking numbers. “You have to be kidding me,” I groan. It’s only five-thirty in the morning. “I’m going back to bed.” I roll over, hugging the pillow to my chest.

  She rubs my bare back. “No, no, get up. I want to open presents.”

  “One more hour,” I beg.

  “Xander,” she pleads. “Get up.”

  “You’re not going to go away, are you?” I ask.

  “Nope.” She bounces on the bed.

  I roll back over to face her. “All right. I’m showering first, though. Can you start some coffee for me?”

  “You got it.” She hops up and dashes out the door. She moves pretty quickly for someone so heavily pregnant. I’m impressed.

  I roll out of bed and head across the room into the bathroom, starting the shower. It isn’t long until the room is steamy. I shower, taking longer than normal, but it helps to wake me up.

  Only my wife would be psychotic enough to wake me up at five-thirty on Christmas. I should be used to it. She does it every year. Something tells me next year she’ll be even worse since it’ll be the baby’s first Christmas.

  I finish in the shower and change into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, since we’re han
ging out at the house today.

  I start down the stairs, inhaling the scent of coffee.

  I round the corner into the kitchen and Thea hands me a cup of coffee. In her other hand she holds a glass of lemon water. Shocker.

  “Can we open presents now?” She dances on the tips of her toes.

  I sweep my hand toward the tree. “Knock yourself out.”

  Our tree is decorated with white lights and pink, silver, and purple ornaments. It’s a pretty girly tree, but seeing as I now have a wife and daughter, I figure I need to get used to it. My life is going to be surrounded by all things girl for a while. Though, our daughter could grow up to be a tomboy, which would be fine too. I want her to do and be whatever it is she wants to be. I’m looking forward to teaching her to play football and punch guys the right way—because my little girl is going to know how to defend herself if she needs to.

  I sit down on the floor beside Thea, and she’s already tearing through her stocking. It’s filled mostly with bath products, like those bath bombs she loves and body wash and bubble bath. I take a long sip of coffee and then grab my stocking. It’s filled with shaving stuff, a watch, socks, cologne, a portable phone charger, and other random items.

  Thea sets her empty stocking aside and starts tearing through her gifts.

  I’m not going to lie, shopping for her is hard. She’s picky and she’s not afraid to tell you if she hates something. Plus, the girl has a shopping addiction so sometimes she buys something before I have the chance to get it.

  She opens her first gift and gasps. “I love it. This is beautiful.” She holds up the new ivory leather purse I picked out for her.

  “You really like it?” I ask, surprised.

  “Yes, it’s perfect. I can get so much stuff in this.”

  I open my first gift and bust out laughing. It’s a boxed set of all the Jaws movies. “Can’t have too many copies of these,” I tell her, setting it aside.

  She opens another gift, and then me, both of us alternating until there’s nothing left.

  “I have one last thing to give you, but it’s actually for the baby,” I explain.

  “Oh?” She raises a brow and waits.

  I hop up and grab the wrapped gift from the closet.

  I’m nervous about the gift. I got it for the baby’s room, but she might hate it. When I saw it, I couldn’t resist having it made. I thought it was beautiful and different, like us.

  I hand her the wrapped gift. It’s thin and kind of long, maybe four feet.

  She unwraps it, revealing the white box beneath and lifts the lid off. She pushes the tissue paper aside and gasps.

  “Oh, my God. Xander …” she breathes, pressing a shaking hand to her lips. “This is stunning.”

  I help her lift it out of the box.

  “Do you think it’ll go in her room?” I ask worriedly. “I had to get it, but I thought you might not like how it looks with everything else.”

  “No.” She shakes her head. “It’ll be beautiful.”

  I had the baby’s first name spelled out on a piece of reclaimed wood with twigs and greenery intertwined around it so that it stands out boldly. I thought it was unique and different, but I wasn’t sure if Thea would like the rustic style compared to the girly and pink look she has going on in the nursery.

  “It’ll be perfect above the door in her room. It’s amazing, Xander.” She rises on her knees and leans over to press a kiss to my lips.

  I grin, pleased that she loves it. “I thought it would be special for her first Christmas since she isn’t actually here yet.”

  Tears fill her eyes. “So special. This little girl is so lucky. You’re already the best daddy and she’s not even here yet.”

  Thea wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me, kissing the scruff on my cheek.

  I close my eyes, content to stay wrapped in this moment a little bit longer.

  I’d say Christmas was a success, and I finally allow myself to breathe a sigh of relief.

  Now, we just have to make it through the baby shower.

  Thea

  38 Weeks Pregnant

  Baby is the size of a stalk of rhubarb

  “Xander Kincaid, where are you taking me?” I groan, staring out the car window.

  “Just be patient. You’ll see,” he urges.

  I sigh, wiggling uncomfortably in the passenger seat of the Range Rover. I’m huge now. At thirty-eight weeks pregnant, I’m reaching the end of my pregnancy and with it all my patience for everything. I haven’t slept in two weeks. I’m hot. I’m uncomfortable. I’m nauseous. I’m crampy. It’s always something.

  “I want to go home, eat snacks, and watch TV,” I protest, figuring he’s going to force me to socialize. I didn’t even want to put pants on this morning, which is a big deal for me, because I love clothes and dressing up.

  “Trust me, this is better,” he assures me.

  Ten minutes later, he pulls up outside a café I’ve never been to before. There’s a sign with yellow and white balloons attached, swaying in the wind.

  Xander parallel parks and then comes around to help me out. I don’t really need the help, he’s just paranoid the baby’s going to fall out or something.

  She’s definitely dropped, that’s for sure.

  He takes my hand and helps me out, guiding me into the café. He seems to know where he’s going, unlike me.

  He reaches a back room and I gasp.

  “Surprise!” yells our friends and family.

  “Oh, my God.” And then I burst into tears, because hormones.

  The room is decorated with more yellow and white balloons with a sign when you first walk in that says, Where troubles melt like lemon drops. The tablecloths are all yellow and there are even cookies make to look like lemons.

  “It’s perfect,” I confess, as my friends come around the table.

  “Do you like it?” Rae asks, coming up to hug me. “I was worried it wouldn’t be pink enough for you, but Xander said with your lemon craving we should do a lemon theme.”

  “This is better than I could’ve dreamed of,” I admit. “It’s … wow.”

  I look around a table piled high with gifts and another with food. On the food table there are mason jars filled with lemon water and a yellow and white-striped straws.

  Behind the table are streamers of yellow, pink, and white circles.

  For decorations there are vases full of lemons and all kinds of lemon treats.

  “I can’t believe you guys did all this for me.”

  “We love you.” Nova takes my hand and squeezes it. “And we love this little girl already. We wanted to do something special.”

  I wipe away my tears and look up at Xander. “You’re forgiven for making me wear pants.”

  He chuckles. “Good to know.”

  I kiss him and look around the room again. “Where do we start?” I ask.

  “Well, there’s food, gifts, and games. You’re the baby mama. What do you want to do?” my mom asks, already munching on a cookie.

  “I’m starving,” I admit.

  “Food it is,” Xander’s mom declares.

  An hour later, we’re all stuffed and done with games, so we start on the presents.

  “We know you guys have gotten pretty much everything you need, so most of this stuff is clothes,” Rae admits. “But no baby can have too many clothes.”

  Cade reaches over and rubs her shoulder and she smiles back at him. They’re both tan and glowing from their Hawaiian honeymoon.

  Rae hands me a bag. “This is from us.” She indicates herself and Cade.

  Xander sits beside me, watching as I open the bag.

  I bust out laughing. “Continuing with the lemon theme, I see.” I pull out a cute lemon jumper and a swaddle with lemons.

  Rae shrugs. “It was too perfect to pass up.”

  “This is from us.” Nova hands me a large bag

  “Actually, it’s just from Nova. I don’t know what the fuck’s in there so I shouldn’t ge
t any credit.”

  Nova shakes her head and sighs. “Boys,” she mumbles.

  I pull out the first item. “Aw, this is adorable.” It’s a cute floral romper with pom poms on the sleeves and legs that’ll be adorable for summer. Next I pull out a pair of gray flats with pink bows on the feet. Then I pull out a shirt for me that says Boss Lady and there’s a matching one for the baby that says Mini Boss. “These are great, Nova. Thank you.”

  She laughs. “You know I like my word shirts, so I thought you and the little lady could continue my tradition.”

  I fold everything again and put it back in the bag.

  My mom points to a large box. “That’s from me.”

  I try to lift it off the table but it’s much too heavy. I stand up and rip the paper off, revealing the package beneath.

  “Mom,” I breathe in a scolding tone. “This is too much.”

  It’s an infant seat that bounces, rocks, and sways. I’d looked them up and was planning to order one but since it’s a more expensive item I’d been holding off.

  “I wanted to,” she insists. “I wanted my granddaughter to have something special from me.”

  “Aw, well thank you, Mom.” I hug her and kiss her cheek.

  I start to get a little weepy thinking about how loved this little girl already is and she’s not even here yet. She’s so incredibly lucky.

  I open the gifts from Xander’s mom and dad next. It’s an assortment of clothes, swaddles, and diapers.

  Xander’s sister Alexis hands me her gift and I open it up to reveal a plaque that says, First we had each other, then we had you, and now we have everything.

  “Alexis,” I breathe, smiling up at my sister-in-law. “I love it.”

  “Really? I wasn’t sure.”

  “No, it’s amazing,” I rush to assure her.

  “The last gift is from Xavier,” Rae informs me, handing Xander a little bag. “I had strict instructions that this was to go to you.”

  Xander sighs and takes the bag, looking at it like a snake is about to jump out and bite him. Knowing Xavier, it might.

  He removes the tissue paper and laughs at what he holds.