Glancing up into his gray eyes, she felt her panic ebb away. Those eyes were filled with so much love and devotion she knew nothing she could tell him would ever change that. No, he might be shocked, but he would never be angry. Steeling her courage, she gave him a nervous smile.
“I’m pregnant.”
He jerked abruptly to a halt. The color drained from his face and his eyes widened. “What?”
“I’m pregnant, Cole. I was late, so I took a test, and it was positive. I know we haven’t really talked about kids yet, and we were taking precautions and everything, but sometimes these things just happen.” She had to keep talking. He looked like he’d just been run over by a truck, and she couldn’t stand the silence. “I have an appointment with my doctor next week, and we can get the due date and stuff then. But, yeah,” she finished with a croak. He was still motionless. “Cole? Please say something.” Her heart clenched.
“Um, okay,” he shook his head, trying to clear it. “I mean, wow. Are you sure?”
“Yes, Cole,” she eyed him sardonically. “I’m sure.”
He let out a long breath, and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, I’m just trying to process this. It’s quite a shock.”
“Yes, it was for me, too,” she quipped.
She saw a small smile form on his lips, and slowly he looked up at her.
“A baby?” he asked again, his eyes beginning to dance.
“Yeah,” she breathed, relieved as his smile widened. “We’re going to have a baby, Cole.”
He gave a choked laugh and pulled her to him, holding on tightly. “Damn, Bri. This is… God, this is amazing!”
“You’re not mad? I know this changes things,” she whispered into his shoulder.
He pulled back aghast. “Of course not! Why would you even think that? We’re starting a family. There’s nothing more beautiful than that.” He glanced down to her stomach and gingerly put his hand across the still flat skin. “There’s a little piece of me growing inside you. We’ll forever be a part of each other. Little Bri’s and Cole’s running around, with their mom’s fiery temper and their dad’s good looks.”
She laughed, her eyes filling. “Oh, we’re talking about multiple kids now, are we?”
“Oh yes,” he didn’t hesitate. His own eyes sparkled with unshed tears as his whole face lit up. “This is only the beginning, Bri. The beginning of a greatness we can’t possibly fathom. It’s you and me, together forever, after all. We may as well add to the party.”
Unable to stand it anymore, she crushed her lips to his. She had never loved him more than in that moment. Sprung with sudden responsibility and uncertainty, he hadn’t balked a bit. He was confident in their love, in their ability to conquer anything thrown their way, in their ability to take on the world together. And she felt that answering certainty growing inside her, filling every inch of her, so there was no room for doubt. No, with Cole by her side and their absolute, indestructible love, there was no reason to even doubt in the first place.
“I love you,” he whispered against her lips. “My stubborn, feisty, amazing, sexy as hell, beautiful mess of a wife.”
‘I love you, too,” she whispered back. “My gorgeous, wonderful, supportive, brave, certified disaster of a husband. I always have, and I always will.”
The End
Cole’s Set List
Wrong
The Airborne Toxic Event
Just Breathe (Live)
Pearl Jam
You and Me
Dave Matthews Band
Just Give Me a Reason
Pink, Nate Ruess
No One’s Gonna Love You (Live)
Band of Horses
All I Want is You
U2
Peace
O.A.R
I don’t wanna break
Christina Perri
Falling Slowly
Glen Hansard Marketa Irglova
All of Me
John Legend
Romeo and Juliet
The Killers
Bri’s Dance Concert
Fell in Love With a Boy
Joss Stone
When You Were Mine
Night Terrors of 1927
Apologize
One Republic
Jar of Hearts
Christina Perri
Make it Right
The Narrative
What Kind of Man
Florence + the Machine
Hungry
Doltan
I Hate Myself for Loving You
Hannah Fairlight
The Giving Tree
Plain White T’s
A Letter to Georgia
The Airborne Toxic Event
Take it All
Adele
Check out these and the Perfect Imperfection, Certified Disaster, and Beautiful Mess playlists on Tidal and Spotify
Books by Jennifer Preston
Beautiful Mess (Beautiful Mess #1)
Certified Disaster (Beautiful Mess #2)
Perfect Imperfection (Beautiful Mess #3)
Acknowledgements
Oh my goodness, where to start?
First of all I’d like to thank all of you who picked up this series and gave it a chance. Writing this series had been an amazing, crazy adventure, and I’d like to thank all of you for coming along for the ride. Thank you for your kind words, and for being so excited about these books. And most of all, thank you for loving these characters as much as I do.
I’d be very ungrateful if I didn’t thank my Father in Heaven for blessing me and surrounding me with such amazing and supportive people in my life. My family and friends have been instrumental in this whole process. And while there are far too many of you to thank individually, know that I love you all.
I’d like to thank my husband for always believing in me, and giving me the support and encouragement to follow my dream. You are my rock and my life, and I love you more than anything.
A big shout out to my kiddos for all they bring to my life, and for letting me work with minimal interruptions. ;)
Thank you to my betas: Emily, Lynsay, and Jaime for helping me to shape this series into something special. And thank you to my awesome editor, Jenny, for helping to smooth and polish it. I’m so lucky to have such amazing and talented friends!
This has been a life changing experience, and while I’m sad to say goodbye to these characters that I’ve lived and loved for the past two years, I’m excited to move onto the next story.
On to the next adventure…
About the Author
Jennifer Preston lives outside of Denver, Colorado, with her husband, their three kids, and their dog. She is an obsessive reader, who never goes anywhere without her trusty e-reader (best invention ever!). When she’s not busy being a mom, writing, or reading, she enjoys running, shopping, sleeping in, and singing along (loudly and badly) to the radio as she drives.
Connect with Jennifer
On Facebook at www.facebook.com/authorjenpreston
On Twitter at @jen_m_preston
On Instagram at preston_jen.
On Pinterest at preston_jen
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