by Jayne, S. L.
She had agreed with Matt on it being a girl, while Ryan, Aimee, and Walker had said they think it’s a boy.
“Mom and Max think it’s a girl too. Connor said he isn’t bothered as he can teach them to play soccer whatever the gender,” I chuckled.
“And no matter what, I will spoil them… oh my god, if it’s a girl I can buy her a princess play house and little dress up outfits with sparkly shoes,” she squealed. “You have to have a girl now, you know that right?”
Throwing my head back, laughing at her excitement, I hold my hands out in front of me. “Um, I don’t know if it’ll be a girl, so please don’t mentally shop for all things pink and glamorous just yet. I don’t want you disappointed.”
“Oh, sweetie, I won’t be disappointed! If it’s a boy I’m sure I can find just as many things, cars and trucks and things like that.”
A short while later, we were interrupted by Matt chuckling as he crosses the room.
“We’re all done, Princess. Ready to go home and leave these two to pick up the mess?” he said, wrapping his arms around me and kissing my forehead before leaning down and placing a kiss on my bump.
“Sure… you have enough mess to pick up at home, bad boy, your things are scattered all over,” I laughed.
“Yes, boss, don’t be kicking my ass out because I leave a few things laying around,” he smirked.
“Oh, you give me such good ideas, babe,” I said, pursing my lips to hold back the laugh.
“Your. Ass. Home. Now,” he whispered in my ear.
Laughing, I said goodbye to Ava and Ryan and followed Matt out to the car.
Chapter Twenty Five
A week has past and it has been full on busy. Matt helped Corey move into his old apartment, apparently he had told Corey he needed the apartment for an extra week for us to stay there while he and Ryan decorated the nursery; he wants to go baby shopping next week for the nursery furniture, we’re painting the room white and pale yellow; we can add pink or blue after we find out the gender, and also accessorize with those colors too. He didn’t want me at home with the paint fumes, even though I wouldn’t have been the one painting and I wouldn’t have needed to go into the room that was being painted. I don’t think the pregnancy rule book says that I am not allowed to be in the same building, but Matt’s rule book states otherwise.
Ava and I have been spending the evenings together at her place while the decorating was being done; another of Matt’s rules are that I don’t be left unattended. We spent most of our time together going over her wedding plans as they have decided they are getting married in twelve months, that is a reasonable timeframe to get everything organized and family to get time off work and plan travel. We went to see some dresses yesterday and she has her eye on a princess style one. No surprise there. The colors for the maid of honor and bridesmaids are deep red, which did surprise me as I was expecting her to go all out with pinks.
“C’mon… we have a crib to buy!” Matt shouts down the hall to me.
Smiling at his enthusiasm, I take one last look in the mirror at my appearance, smooth my hands over my bump and walk out of the room.
“I’m ready!” I beam at him.
Six hours later and we have just walked in the apartment door, I am about ready to drop. First, we went to what must have been the biggest baby shop in America. I had walked around the place in amazement, thinking to myself, who knew that in one building you could get every baby item in absolutely any shade or color you wanted. After Matt and I had a debate over which crib would be the best one, we settled on a white sleigh style 4-in-1 convertible one; it will last throughout the baby’s childhood. The nursery furniture we chose matched the wood of the crib, the room is going to look incredible when it’s all in there. We didn’t originally plan on getting anything else until we knew the gender, but I fell in love with a cream stroller and Matt said he would push it too, which was a bonus.
After our trip to the store, we stopped by to see my mom and Max. They invited us to stay for dinner and had wanted to know all what we had bought and what is left for them to buy. We had told them they didn’t have to, but as the baby’s grandparents, they insisted so we settled on them buying a moses basket.
Pouring our drinks, I hear Matt’s voice as he comes into the kitchen to find me.
“Go sit down, Princess, you’ve done enough today,” Matt said as he came up behind me, gently placing his hands on my waist and turning me to guide me to the living room.
“It’s movie time, bad boy, and I get to choose,” I beamed at him over my shoulder as I crouched down in front of the DVD collection.
I had told him he would have to stand in for Ava and watch chick flicks with me, and tonight I’m marking my words. Swiftly opening Sweet Home Alabama, I quickly grab the disc, slide it in the player and put the case back on the shelf before he sees which one I have chosen.
Grinning as I settle down on the couch and lay with my head resting on his lap, he moves one hand to rest on my bump and uses the other to softly stroke my hair.
“I can only imagine what utter shit you’re about to torture me with, Princess,” he chuckled.
Playfully slapping his knee, I turn to look at him and grin. “Trust me, this one’s a good one.” I said turning to face the TV, seeing the flashes of lightening as the movie starts.
Not even twenty minutes into the movie, Matt starts talking to me. I turn my head and laugh at him disrupting it.
“Yes, Mr. Morgan?” I smirked. “This had better be good for you to disturb this movie,” I quipped.
“I’m always worth it, baby,” he winked with a grin. “I think Ryan wants a poker night next week, are you good with spending the evening at theirs with Ava?” he asked.
Lifting my brow at his question, I laugh. “You’re asking me now if I’m good with it. Babe, I’ve been there every time you’ve gone out.”
“That’s my girl… I just don’t want anything to happen to you,” he said, leaning down and placing a soft kiss on my lips.
“It won’t and I didn’t say I was good with it…” I muttered against his lip.
“You’re still going… no negotiations,” he said as he claimed my mouth, kissing me deeply.
All disagreement left my mind and desire took its place. I kissed him back with the same ferocity I was feeling from him. My tummy fluttered with an unfamiliar feeling, something stronger than the usual feelings I get when I’m kissing Matt.
Breaking our kiss, I press my hand over Matt’s that is still resting on my stomach and look down. “Did you feel that?” I asked, breathlessly.
“Feel what?” he frowned.
“I don’t know if it was the baby or your kiss giving me butterflies.”
“I don’t feel anything,” he said, gently stroking his hand back and forth over my bump.
We both continue to stare at my stomach, waiting for it to happen again. I’m not one hundred percent sure he’ll feel it from the outside, but I’ll know if it is the baby this time as I’m not kissing him again, just in case.
“There, again… feel that?” I said as I felt what I can only describe as feeling like pop rocks popping on your tongue.
“I don’t feel it! That’s so damn wrong, I want to feel it too,” he said, shifting in his seat and moving us both so he can press his ear to my stomach.
“I don’t think that will help, babe,” I sniggered.
“That might now, but it still somewhat helped, trust me… it distracted us from the movie and saved me from growing a pussy overnight,” he laughed, pressing his lips down on my bump. “Thanks for saving daddy’s life,” he whispered.
No matter what he says when he speaks to our baby, it always melts my insides. Not letting him get out of watching it, we move back into position and continue the rest of the movie, I snuggle into him and sigh in happiness as I think about my life and my future.
***
This morning has dragged, minutes have felt like hours, and hours have felt like years; today
is the day of the scan, and the anticipation has been simmering since yesterday. All this week my emotions have felt heightened and as alcohol isn’t an option for me, I needed a day that consisted of coffee, ice cream, and anything that would take my mind off of my hormone level, so I visited Ava on Saturday. When I arrived she seemed a little standoffish, I know something was wrong; after knowing her for over fifteen years -and spending almost every day together- you become in tune with someone’s emotions and you no longer have to wonder if something is wrong, you just know.
I had tried to find out what was on her mind throughout the day, asking about her and Ryan, and if she’s settling in the new house okay- and I came up blank every time, she and Ryan are absolutely great and she’s loving their new home together. But I won’t stop until I find out what is wrong with her.
“Let’s go see our baby, Princess… Ava and Ryan are meeting us there,” Matt said as he leaned over in the driver seat, cupped my face in his hands and brushed his lips lightly across mine.
“Okay… and please don’t be disappointed if it’s a boy,” I said, kissing him back.
“Never, baby, I’m happy with either,” he said, flashing me his gorgeous full smile.
Pressing play on Matt’s playlist, excitement bubbles in the pit of my stomach as I sing along to Katy Perry’s song, Unconditionally- the song we chose for each other. Matt reaches over and rests his hand on my thigh, idly stroking his thumb back and forth.
Feeling my phone vibrate in my purse, I pull it out and see a text from my mom.
Mom: Hi sweetheart, good luck at the scan, I’m super excited right now and can’t wait to find out! Meet us at Lavish bar afterward, we’ll all have a late lunch together xx
“Mom wants us to meet for a late lunch after the scan, is that okay?” I asked.
“Sure, baby.”
I type a quick reply as we pull into the hospital parking lot.
Me: I’m excited too, Mom. We’ll see you there, can’t wait! Xx
Grabbing my hand, helping me out of the car, we walk inside the hospital and spot Ava and Ryan immediately. She’s smiling at us, a genuine smile, so she must be feeling better.
“I’m so nervous and excited at the same time,” I said as we approached them.
Ava throws her arms around me and hugs me tight. “I’m excited too, thank you for letting us be here with you.”
Hugging her back, I lean back and smile at her. “Don’t be silly, you have to be here- you need to know first-hand if you’re going to have a niece or a nephew.”
I hear a choked laugh escape her and see tears in her eyes. “Ry, I have no words.”
“Enough of the mushy shit, girls, let’s go see my baby,” Matt chuckled, interrupting our soap box moment.
Twenty anxious minutes later, we’ve finally been called in and I’m lying on the bed, looking around at everyone. They look how I feel; the waiting is killing us all as the sonographer glides the wand over my stomach, stopping every few minutes to press buttons on the machine. The baby has grown so much since my last scan; it looks like an actual baby now.
The bed dips as Matt sits next to me, taking my hand in his, gripping lightly as he intertwines our fingers.
The sonographer turns to look at us all, smiling. “So, I guess you’d like to know what you’re having, right?”
We all nod, eagerly. We’re desperate to know.
“It’s a girl…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Matt gasped. “Oh my god,” he said, pulling me into him, wrapping his arms around me. “Fuck, baby… we’re having a girl,” he said in my ear.
Tears filled my eyes as I kissed him. Turning to look at Ava, we beamed at each other and I saw a tear fall from her eye.
“Congratulations, guys,” Ryan smiled, sliding his arm around Ava’s back, pulling her into his side.
“Thank you,” Matt and I said together.
***
Walking into Lavish, I see mom, Max, Connor and Summer sitting at a table talking amongst themselves. It doesn’t take mom long to notice us, she jumps out of her seat, almost knocking the chair over and darts across the room.
“What is it?” She demands, a smile spreading across her face.
“Just wait, Mom, I’ll tell you all together,” I laughed, linking my free arm with hers as she leads us to the table.
Seating ourselves at the table, I smile over at Summer, who is sitting quietly between mom and Conner. The first couple of times that Matt and I had met her, she was shy and a little reserved, but came out of her shell once she had gotten to know us and realized that Matt isn’t as intimidating as she had first thought. Granted she had first met Matt when he was in a bad mood over a screwed up stock delivery, but he soon had her laughing and made her feel more relaxed.
“Come on, tell us!” Max said, raising his glass, waiting to do a toast.
We all raised our glasses and Matt stood up.
“We’re having a baby girl-”
The “awws” and clinking of glasses around the table cut him off mid-sentence; we both thanked everyone and waited for them to stop talking before he continued. I know he’s about to tell us the name he wants her to have and I’m anxious to know what it is and why he chose it.
“It’s no secret that I had hoped for a girl because of the name I had in mind, not because of favoritism, having a boy wouldn’t have been bad; either way, I’m protective by nature so my daughter will grow up knowing she’s protected and treasured, and if we had been having a boy, he would have been brought up to love, respect, and protect. The name I’ve been concealing for weeks is Faythe…” he stopped and looked down at me, gauging my reaction.
I take a short intake of breath at the beautiful name he has chosen and smile at him. Everyone is silent, waiting for the reason behind the name.
“It’s perfect,” I said, nodding my head.
“I’m happy you like it, Princess, because you and what represents our relationship is what that name means… confidence, trust, and belief. Our baby girl is a result of the confidence you put into yourself to get to where you are today, the trust we put into each other, and the belief that we gave one another,” he grins, leaning down and kissing my lips softly.
Tears sting the back of my eyes as I open them and look around at my family. Ava and mom are beaming at me with tear brimmed eyes and Max and Ryan are on their feet, making their way around the table to Matt.
“That was beautiful, Matt,” mom said, smiling at him.
“I agree, dude, and I can still teach my niece to play soccer and do awesome tricks,” Connor laughed.
“Yeah, man, you can. And thank you, Lexi, both of my princesses mean the world to me.” Matt nodded at him.
Max stopped in front of me, reached out his hand and gently pulled me up from my seat. He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me tight.
“Rylee, I know I haven’t been there, but I want to say that you’ve made me the happiest man alive these past months. I thought having your mom back in my life alone would have been the best thing that would ever happen to me, but bringing you, my daughter with her, there are no words that could ever describe how that feels. I know I’m not Connors biological father, but to me he is a son, you’re all a package. My package, and now I have a granddaughter on the way, too. I’m so proud of you sweetheart, the woman you have become, I’m honoured to call you my daughter.” He said, smiling at me with his hands resting on my stomach.
I’m choked up; his words have hit me deep. I am truly speechless. I have never called a man dad before, Nate sure as hell didn’t deserve it, and before we moved here I had no idea what it would be like to even have a father figure in my life. This man went from being my kind and caring boss to my kind, caring, loving father. He’s taken everything in his stride and accepted things for how they are; he’s never pushed me or demanded anything in return. He truly is one of the most selfless people I have ever met.
“I’m proud to call you my dad, you’re an amazing man
and you deserve your happy ever after with my mom,” I said, smiling up at him.
After a few more sentimental moments exchanged between us all, we sat down to eat and made small talk between ourselves. Ava, mom, Summer, and I talked about babies and weddings and Summer had asked if Matt and I would be getting married, I had told her it isn’t something either of us had thought of; it’s true, we haven’t. I’m not saying we never would, but right now it isn’t on the cards. We’re happy as we are.
An hour later we’re all ready to leave, Matt and Ryan have arranged to meet at the bar after Matt has dropped me off to spend the evening with Ava. We say our goodbyes, leave the restaurant and head home.
“Come here, baby,” Matt ordered as he sat down on the couch.
Walking over to him, I stop in front of the couch. He leans forward, his hands splayed across my bump and bring his mouth closer to it.
“Hello, baby girl… I can’t wait to meet you, you have a beautiful mommy and really protective daddy, but don’t worry I’m sure you’ll have me wrapped around your finger just like your mommy does.”
I snigger at his words, no time like the present to start preparing her for his protectiveness.
“Have you finished? You’ll make her want to stay in there if you tell her too much about your caveman ways,” I laughed.
“Get your smartass ready to go to Ava’s,” he chuckled.
***
Kissing Matt quickly, I climb out of the car and make my way into Ava’s house. She will have my ass if I knock on the door as she told me the other day to stop knocking, I am to just walk in, so I do. Closing the door behind me, I walk down the hall. I don’t see her in the living room, so I head to the kitchen, she isn’t in there either. Climbing the stairs, I call out to her as I reach the top step.
“I’m in here,” I hear her call from her bedroom. Her voice sounds weak.
Rushing to her room, panicking, wondering what’s wrong with her, I open the door and see her wiping her eyes.
“What the hell is wrong?” I ask as I cross the room.