He smiled. "Sounds good."
"What about you guys? Do you have a date yet?" asked Lacey.
Todd reached his hand for mine. "No set date, but we were thinking next spring, probably. Even though I would run to the courthouse right now if she'd let me. A year is a long time. But I want to give my princess the wedding she deserves."
"Aw, so sweet," Ben teased, taking a sip of his beer. "What happened to you? What have you done with my friend?"
I grinned at Todd as he tried to hide his embarrassment.
"So, how are all the betrothed doing? Need another round?" Johnny asked, stepping up to us.
We all nodded. "Yes, please!" I said.
I wanted to tell Todd I didn't want to wait either, but I wanted our wedding to be special, surrounded my our family and friends. I wanted everyone to know just how much I loved him.
Chapter 24
September
I had just finished zipping up my red strapless dress when I heard the click of the hotel room door unlocking. In walked Todd, two Mai-Tais in his hands.
"How about a few pre rehearsal dinner cocktails?" he grinned, handing me a glass with a bright pink flower sticking out of it.
I grimaced slightly, setting it down on the nightstand.
"What's wrong?" he asked, taking a sip. "Still not feeling well?"
I sat down on the edge of the bed, bracing my hands on my knees. "Yeah, it must just be the time change or something. I've just felt kind of queasy and tired since we got here."
He placed the back of his hand against my forehead. "Too sick for a cocktail? Something is wrong with you," he joked.
I looked up at him, trying to laugh. The truth was, I felt like absolute crap. But I was not about to be dramatic or whiny. This was Ben and Lacey's wedding. I needed to step up and be the maid of honor.
"Hey, you know what might make you feel better?" he asked, sitting next to me.
"What's that?" I asked as he placed his hand over mine.
"It was one year ago today that we met," he said softly.
I turned to face him, grinning. "Really?" That was hard to believe. I felt like time had flown by since we met, but on the other hand, I felt like I'd known him forever.
"Really," he smiled. "The best day of my life."
He caressed his hand around the side of my face, kissing me sweetly.
I smiled. "Me too."
Despite his sweet words and great memories, I had the sudden urge to be sick.
"Hey, I think I need to lay down for a bit before the dinner. Why don't you go meet up with Ben or something?" I did not want him to see me hunched over the toilet, feeling like he had to hold my hair back.
His hand came up under my chin. "Are you sure?"
I shook my head yes. "Yeah, I'll just be boring here, resting. Go have a drink, enjoy the ocean."
He hesitated for a moment. "Ok. Is there anything I can get for you?" he asked, his eyes full of concern.
I forced a small smile on my face. "No, I'm good. I just need a little rest, that's all. I need to be in tip top shape for Lacey tomorrow."
He stood, not letting go of my hand, swinging my arm back and forth gently. "Ok, but I have my phone if you need me."
"Sounds good. Thanks, baby," I said, laying back on the bed, adjusting the pillow under my head. I watched as he grabbed his drink, heading out the door. I gave it a few minutes before jumping up, grabbing my purse and heading down to the lobby gift and supply shop.
I walked in, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone as I stepped up and down the few small aisles of toothbrushes, mouthwash, contact solution, etc, until I found what I was looking for. I quickly grabbed the small box from the shelf, paid, and hurried back through the breezy open hallways to the room. The scent of the plumeria that was permanently in the air had my stomach rolling. I was several floors up, but I could see Todd and Ben sitting out by the pool. I couldn't help but notice how sexy my fiancé was.
I brought my hand to the side of my face as my steps quickened. I was silently praying no one from the wedding would see me. I let out a huge breath of relief when I had the room door safely closed behind me. I stepped into the bathroom, feeling my pulse start to race. I used the toilet, placing the small stick on the counter as I washed my hands. I was taking slow deep breaths, trying to calm myself. Slow your breathing, slow your breathing, I kept repeating. I had my eyes facing forward in the mirror and my body pressed up against the counter for a good three minutes, unable to look down. I had a strong suspicion what the answer was already, and I knew I needed to just look. I cast my eyes down at the test. Immediately, I saw two bright pink lines. There was no denying it, no confusion. I was pregnant.
I clutched my chest to try to slow my beating heart. I felt tears starting to pool in my eyes as my lips turned up into a smile. I was pregnant! I grabbed the stick, unable to tear my eyes away from it. I exhaled and laughed out loud to myself. I needed to tell Todd immediately. I felt if I held it inside any longer, I may burst. I stepped hurriedly to my phone on the nightstand, sending him a text.
"Hey babe, can you come back to the room?"
Within a minute, I had a reply. "On my way."
My heart was now pounding with excitement. I stepped back out of the room, resting my hands on the edge of the balcony rail, watching him make his way from the pool. He had such a sexy confident walk. These would be the last steps he would take before his whole life changed forever. I felt a small tug of panic as I watched him enter the elevator. I ran back to the room. How was I going to tell him? I didn't have enough time to plan some elaborate announcement. What if he wasn't happy about this? He would be happy, right? It certainly put a kink in our wedding plans. Would we postpone til after the baby was here? Suddenly, a thousand thoughts flooded my brain until I heard the familiar unlocking click from the door. There was no going back now. I stood by the bed with my hands clasped behind my back.
"Hey, is everything ok?" he asked, stepping over to me. "Have you been crying?"
I quickly tried to formulate the right words.
"Yes, I have. But they're happy tears," I replied, running my hands over his light blue button up shirt.
"Well I'm glad they're happy tears," he said, brushing one away with his thumb. "But what caused them?"
I took a deep breath, then looked up into his eyes: the deep blue wells of promise I had loved looking into for the past year. "I have happy tears because I'm pregnant."
His eyes widened as he grabbed my hands in his. "You're what?"
I smiled wider. "I'm pregnant."
He blew air from his mouth, sitting down on the bed, pulling me so I stood directly in front of him. I just watched, trying to gauge his reaction. "You're pregnant? But how? You just stopped the shot. Your doctor said it could take a full year before we could get pregnant. That's why we stopped it when we did."
"I guess could was the operative word. Apparently it took less time than we thought," I said softly.
He released me from his hands, bringing them up to my belly, rubbing it gently. His eyes met mine as his gorgeous smile crossed his face. "We're going to have a baby?"
I giggled, cupping his face in my hands. "Yes."
He quickly stood, bringing his mouth to mine, kissing me repeatedly.
"Oh honey, this is wonderful. I love you so much!" he cried.
I laughed, returning his kisses. "I love you too! So really, you're happy about this?"
"Babe, why wouldn't I be? This is the most amazing news. Granted, it does change some plans, but we'll get it all figured out." His enthusiasm was infectious.
"God, it feels so good to hear you say that," I smiled.
"I want to go shout it off the balcony!" he exclaimed. "Oh wait, do we need to wait to tell people? How do you want to do this?" It was cute, the sudden change in demeanor.
I sighed. "Well, I think people usually wait a little bit. According to my calculations, I'm only about five weeks, and obviously we'll have to wait til we get home to go
to the doctor. But I think my secret may be out once I turn down a cocktail tonight at dinner."
He grinned. "So what should we do?"
"I also don't want to steal their thunder. So let's just keep it to ourselves, and if they ask questions, then we'll tell them."
"Deal," he said, swiftly kissing my lips. His eyes lingered on mine. "Wow, September seventeenth really is the best day of my life. It's the day I met you, the day I find out I'm going to be a dad. I don't think it could ever get any better than this."
His words tugged at my heart. He was going to be a dad. And I was going to be a mom.
My head was spinning as we made our way to the rehearsal. It was on the beach, with the most gorgeous sunset in the background. We all gathered, awaiting our instructions. I saw Lacey stepping toward me with plumeria in her hands.
"Hey!" she called. "These are for you to hold tonight. You'll have an actual bouquet tomorrow."
I smiled, taking the flowers from her, trying to keep them as far away from my nostrils as possible.
"You look gorgeous," I said, eyeing her long flowing white dress. I could only imagine what her dress would look like tomorrow.
"Thanks!" she said.
A woman with dark hair and a clipboard walked quickly to us.
"Ok everyone. Let's get started!" she called.
Lacey rolled her eyes and whispered to me, "My wedding planner is so bossy!"
I giggled as we stepped over to where we needed to be. Todd and I were the only two people standing up in the wedding. We walked through what the ceremony would be like the next day. As I stood at Lacey's side, listening to them say their vows, I couldn't take my eyes off Todd. And he couldn't keep his off me. I absolutely couldn't wait until we were saying these words to each other. He gave me a small smile and a wink. I knew he was thinking the same thing.
After the run-through, we all made our way to one of the hotel restaurants. Lacey and Ben were at the head of the table, and I was seated to her right and across the table from Todd. I held my breath as a glass of champagne was set in front of me. I looked at Todd, trying to ask him what I should do with my eyes. His eyes widened, shrugging his shoulders slightly.
"What is it?" Lacey asked.
Oh god. What could I say?
"Nothing," I said quickly.
Lacey smiled at me. "Shannon, I've known you for how long? I know when you're lying to me."
I scrunched my nose, grinning at Todd.
"Well, I think we need to tell them," he said.
"Tell us what?" asked Ben.
I looked at Lacey, then back to Todd. "Well, we just found out today that I'm pregnant."
She gasped, bringing her hands to her mouth. "Oh my god, Shannon. That's wonderful!" she cried.
"Congratulations," said Ben, shaking Todd's hand.
I looked down, slightly embarrassed. "Thank you. I'm sorry, I didn't want to tell you and take away from your day at all."
"Oh my god, shut up! Yes, it's our wedding, but this is incredible news! We both consider you guys to be family, so of course we want to hear about our family getting bigger!"
I exhaled, letting my smile grow. "Thanks, sweetie."
She ran her hand over my stomach. "We've got a little honorary flower girl or ring bearer in there," she giggled.
I laughed, feeling relieved and incredibly happy in that moment. I picked up my water glass. "Cheers."
They all reached up their champagne flutes, clinking glasses. "Cheers."
The rest of the dinner flew by, and by the time it was over, I was ready to have some alone time with Todd. We walked hand in hand along the beach back to our room, the waves rolling back and forth, coming to our ankles. His lips pressed the top of my head.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too," I responded.
His hand reached across, resting on my belly. "And I love you, too."
I felt my heart would burst with happiness. As much pain as I had been through, every second of it was worth it if it got me to this moment right here. I was in the arms of the man I loved, the man who had saved me, the man who had shown me what real love could be. And now, he was the man I would have a family with. The future for us was as bright as the sun, and I knew this was still, just the beginning.
Finally, You (The Finally Book Duo 2) Page 23