The Marriage Pact: A Baby Romance

by Tia Siren

  “I am. I have to go back to LA in a couple days, but I need to look at the house. You’re going to come with me, right?”

  She nodded. “Yes. Now that I don’t have to go into the office, I am free to do a little house hunting. I can’t believe you put an offer in on a house you haven’t even seen. You’re brave.”

  I shrugged a shoulder. “I saw a lot of pictures, and I did hire an inspector to check it out.”

  “Still, you know what I mean. That’s crazy. I can’t believe you’ve been doing all this stuff and never told me!”

  I smiled. “I wanted to surprise you.”

  “Uh, you did.”

  “You didn’t tell me something kind of big either. Don’t forget that. I’m going to hold that against you for years to come,” I warned her.

  She giggled. “I think I made up for that yesterday, don’t you?”

  The blush on her face made me want to take her into the bathroom and join the mile-high club.

  “So, we’re both freelancers now, or work-from-home people or whatever you call it. I can’t believe you decided to take that leap. It’s kind of funny we both did the same thing without telling one another. From here on out, we have to be straightforward. I want to know everything, and I will tell you everything. No more secrets,” I said.

  She nodded. “I promise. I won’t keep anything from you.”

  She held out her hand, looking at the ring on her finger.

  “Do you like it?”

  “Of course I like it. It’s beautiful. What’d you do with the other ring?” she asked.

  “I took it back. It had bad juju. I didn’t want to risk you turning me down again. I figured it was best to start fresh.”

  She smiled. “I can’t wait to show my mom. I know she’s going to be a little upset she didn’t get to see us get married, but she is going to be thrilled that we actually did it.”

  “Good. I know she’ll be glad I made an honest woman out of you.”

  She burst into laughter. “Oh yes, that’s the part that is going to make her happy.”

  “So, are you going to sell your condo?” I asked, hoping she would say yes.

  “I think I have to. I can’t let you buy that house on your own.”

  I shook my head. “No, you don’t have to do anything. I decided to buy the house. Don’t feel obligated.”

  “I don’t. We’re married. We’re sharing our lives together. It makes sense we share a home together. Unless you plan on me living in the city while you live out in the suburbs?” she asked, one eyebrow raised high.

  I grinned. “Hell no! I want you and my child with me under one roof.”

  “Good. Then maybe we can talk to your realtor and have him list my condo.”

  I smiled and nodded, leaning my head back against the seat. She grabbed my hand as the plane started the take-off.

  “I can’t believe you ever doubted this would work between us,” I mumbled.

  She giggled. “Well, it isn’t like I had a lot to work with. It’s hard to imagine a life with someone who hasn’t been in your life for eleven years.”

  I leaned over and kissed her. “But never again.”

  She nodded, and we both sat back and enjoyed the comfortable first-class seats I had managed to get. As soon as we got back to New York, Mia insisted we go see her mom. We dropped our luggage off at her place, freshened up a bit, and then made our way to her mom’s house. I insisted we stop and buy her flowers to help soften the marriage blow.

  Maria opened the door and had a big smile on her face. “Let me see the ring!” she said.

  I looked at Mia, wondering if she had already told her. She shook her head in response to my unasked question.

  “How did you know?” Mia asked.

  Maria chuckled and held the door open, motioning for us to go in.

  “I’m your mother, dear. I know these things. When I heard Brad was meeting you in Vegas, I just knew you two would find your way into a chapel.”

  “I’m sorry,” I told her, handing her the flowers. “It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I know you wanted to be there. We can have a real big wedding here in New York.”

  She waved a hand. “I don’t care about any of that. I’m excited for what the future holds,” she said with a wink.

  “I told him, Mom,” Mia said.

  “I know that too, dear.”

  “Of course you do,” she muttered.

  “Sit, sit. Tell me everything. What’s your plan? Will you be moving here?” she asked me.

  I nodded my head. “Yes. I have worked out an arrangement with my station. I have a studio I’ll be renting here. I get to keep my show and my audience while increasing my listeners.”

  “Very good. Where will you live?” she asked, not holding back.

  “Actually, I have an offer in on a house in Jericho. It’s a little out of the way, but it’s a nice neighborhood and the house is big enough for our family to grow,” I said with a smile.

  Maria clapped her hands together. “Yes! I’m so happy for you both. I always knew you two were meant to be together. I am only sorry it took you so long to figure it out. Better late than never, I suppose.”

  I laughed and agreed with her. “Your daughter is the stubborn one,” I teased.

  “You’re the one who couldn’t figure certain things out,” she shot back.

  “Well, I did. Let’s go look at the house. Maria, will you come with us?” I asked.

  Maria’s face lit up. “Are you sure? Maybe this is something you guys should do alone. I can see it later.”

  “No, Mom. Please, I want you to come. I need your opinion. If I don’t like it, you have to help me convince Brad to look for a different one.”

  Both women burst into laughter. I was a little horrified at the thought.

  “I hope you like it,” I croaked out. “Hell, I hope I like it. I had to fork over some cash to hold it.”

  Mia laughed some more. “I’m sure it’s going to be lovely. Let’s go. I’m anxious to see this place.” She turned to her mother. “He wouldn’t even show me any pictures of it. He wants me to be completely surprised.”

  “Good. Then we will see it for the first time together.”

  I called a car service to pick us up at the corner café. Mia was hungry and insisted we eat before doing any house shopping. I had a feeling the next eight months were going to be like this. I didn’t mind at all. I couldn’t wait to run out to the store in the middle of the night to buy her pickles and ice cream.

  We ate a quick small meal while we waited for our ride. The drive out wasn’t too bad. The driver told us it was usually about a thirty-minute commute, sometimes longer depending on traffic. I figured I could handle that. With Mia working from home, she wouldn’t have to worry too much about commuting.

  The driver stopped in front of the address of the home I had fallen in love with from all the way across the country.

  “This one?” Mia said breathlessly.

  I nodded. “Yep, this is the one. Come on, let’s go check it out.”

  Another car pulled up. A man wearing a business suit climbed out. “Are you Brad Jones?” he asked.

  “I am, and this is my wife, Mia, and her mom, Maria.”

  It felt weird to call her my wife. I loved the way it rolled off my tongue.

  The realtor shook each of our hands and led us through the small gate that was attached to a white picket fence.

  “I cannot believe this. It actually has a picket fence,” Mia said, completely in awe.

  “I know. It’s what first caught my eye.”

  We walked inside, and I knew right away I was in love. Maria and Mia climbed the stairs to check out the rooms while I walked around the bottom floor with the realtor pointing out the many features. I was sold. Now I just had to convince Mia.

  When she and her mom came back downstairs, they were talking a mile a minute.

  “Did you want to see the kitchen?” the realtor asked. “I know the ladies feel that�
��s the most important room in the house.”

  Mia burst into laughter. “Not this lady, but yes, I would love to see the kitchen. I suppose I’ll have to learn to cook at some point.”

  Mia’s eyes lit up when we walked into the huge open kitchen with a center island.

  “This is gorgeous,” Maria said.

  Mia had tears in her eyes. “This house is amazing.”

  “Wait until you see the backyard,” I told her with a grin.

  We walked through the dining room and paused to look through the sliding glass doors. “Wow,” she and her mother said at the same time.

  The realtor slid open the doors and we walked onto the small patio. Beyond us was a lawn full of lush green grass, plus a beautiful maple tree that would provide plenty of shade.

  “This is gorgeous, Brad. You did a great job picking this place,” Maria said.

  “Thanks. Well, what do you think, Mia?”

  Her hand was over her mouth as she nodded her head. “Absolutely. I can almost see our baby out here playing.”

  “There’s enough room here for several babies,” Maria said with a smile.

  I nodded in agreement. “Yes, there is.”

  “Do you folks need a minute to talk it over?” the realtor asked.

  I looked to Mia, knowing my mind was made up.

  She didn’t hesitate for a moment. “Yes. I want this house. I want it now. How long before we can have the keys?”

  The realtor burst into laughter. “Well, your husband has the offer in. The buyers have until tomorrow to counter or accept it. I would say a month or two if they accept the offer.”

  “Good. I want it. Brad, you pay what they want. I want this house. Now,” she said, turning back to the realtor, all business. “I’ll be needing my condo listed. Do you handle listings in the city?”

  The realtor lit up. “I sure do. Let’s talk specifics tomorrow.”

  Mia nodded her head. I loved that she had fallen in love with the house so quickly. When you knew, you knew. This house was ours. It was where we would raise our family and have backyard barbecues every weekend.

  Maria was watching it all and beaming.

  “Congratulations,” she said, hugging me close. “Welcome to the family.”

  Epilogue

  Mia

  Eight Months Later

  The nursery had finally been finished last week, and I was busy putting everything in its place. My mother and I had really upped our shopping game and had full wardrobes. I was convinced the babies would never wear the same thing twice.

  After my article about baby fashion, I had designers sending me clothes left and right. I had been inundated with some of the most beautiful baby gear and was thankful to have it. It had gotten to a point where I had to politely ask that nothing else be sent my way until we began our adventure into the toddler genre. The excess items had already been donated to charity.

  As I was bending over to put a stack of onesies into a drawer, I felt a sharp pain shoot around my middle, starting in my back. It wasn’t the same kind of pain I had felt with the false labor.

  “Brad!” I screamed his name as I made my way down the stairs, holding on to the handrail for support.

  Another sharp pain followed by a trickling sensation running down the inside of my leg had me pausing halfway down.

  “Brad!” I hollered again when he didn’t answer.

  He came out of his office and looked up at me. I was stuck a few steps from the bottom, the pain still cramping my stomach.

  “What? What’s wrong?” he asked, seeing the look on my face.

  “My water just broke!” I gestured to my legs, which I knew had to show visible evidence of my claim.

  He looked at me in confusion. “No. They can’t come yet. We still have a month. It’s probably false labor. Maybe you sneezed or coughed and peed. You know, from all the pressure.”

  I glared at him. “You ass. I didn’t pee my pants. My water broke!”

  He looked at my legs. “Oh shit.”

  I nodded. “Exactly.”

  “But, we still have a month. You’re only thirty-six weeks. You’re supposed to be pregnant forty weeks,” he said, looking as if his world was spinning. He reached out and grabbed the handrail to steady himself before reaching out and taking my hand.

  “Well, you tell them that,” I growled. “They’re coming. They’re clearly as stubborn as you are and have decided to do things their way.”

  “Okay. Okay, don’t panic. I’ll get the bag. Don’t panic,” he said, obviously panicking.

  I found my phone in my purse and called my mom to let her know it was time. She had been my backup coach in case Brad couldn’t get to the hospital. I was worried she may need to step in while my normally cool husband lost his shit. I laughed while I watched as Brad went up and down the stairs at least three times before he finally came back down with the bag.

  “Don’t panic!” he said, rushing out the front door.

  I waited, wondering if he would forget me. He burst back through the door.

  “Are you ready?” he asked.

  I nodded my head, holding my stomach as a strong contraction came on.

  “Oh shit. Are you having them now?”

  “No!”

  “Let’s go. The car’s ready,” he said, putting an arm around my shoulders and guiding me out the door to where our new SUV was parked in the driveway.

  Neither one of us had owned a car but figured with twins on the way, we would need our own vehicles for doctor’s appointments and trips to the grocery store. It had been a bit of an adjustment to move out of the city, but we had finally gotten the hang of living in the suburbs.

  The drive to the hospital was relatively calm. A sense of peace had washed over me once the doctor had assured me it would all be okay. A month early was normal for twins. The labor and delivery had been rather smooth and fast. Now I was staring at my identical twin girls lying in their little incubators.

  “They’re beautiful,” Brad said for what had to be the hundredth time.

  “You’re going to give them a huge ego if you keep telling them that,” I warned.

  “I don’t care. They are, and I want them to be confident.”

  “With you as a father, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” I quipped.

  My mom came through the door with a huge bouquet of pink balloons. “There are my beautiful girls,” she cooed.

  A nurse came in and asked if we were ready to hold our babies.

  I sat up in bed, anxious to feel my babies in my arms.

  “I’ve got Gracie,” Brad announced. “You get Fiola.”

  I held my daughter for a few minutes before giving her to my mom. Brad handed me Gracie. For the next thirty minutes, we passed the girls around among us, oohing and ahhing over their cuteness.

  “I should go and let you rest and settle in. I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” my mom said, kissing each of the girls on the head. “Do you need anything?”

  “No, thank you. We’ve got everything we need right here,” Brad said, beaming with pride.

  I smiled and nodded. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  I leaned back against the pillows and watched as Brad tucked in his baby girls into their shared incubator.

  “Twins,” he said, shaking his head. “I still can’t believe we got two for the price of one.”

  I laughed. “Trust me, there were no freebies.”

  “I can’t wait to tell the world we have twin girls. My listeners are going to go crazy.”

  “Now you can finally reveal the sex. I can’t believe you managed to keep it a secret this long. My mom and I had a bet you would slip up, but you never did.”

  He smiled. “Nope. It was tough, though.”

  “Now what are you going to talk about on your show?” I teased.

  “Parenting! I can’t believe how many music stars have kids. It’s crazy. I guess I didn’t know because most of them don’t talk about their kids
in interviews. I like that they all felt comfortable talking to me about parenting and what it was like when they were pregnant, or their wives were pregnant. It’s been great for ratings as well.”

  I smiled and nodded. “You’re killing it, babe. I know you were a little nervous at first, but people love you.”

  He took a deep breath. “It was a little scary at first, but that first show after we found out it was twins was what changed things. People seemed fascinated by what I was going through, and they all wanted to share their stories. Now we will get to talk baby poop and late-night feedings, and soon enough teething, I suppose.”

  I burst into laughter. “Only you could think that was the fun stuff. I, for one, am not looking forward to that.”

  “Yes, you are,” he said, kissing my nose. “Every minute with our babies is going to be awesome, even when they’re puking all over us.”

  I shook my head. “You have a weird sense of humor.”

  He crawled into the bed beside me. I snuggled in close. We sat and stared at our sleeping daughters for a while. We were both madly in love with them, and with each other.

  “Can you believe we have babies?” I whispered.

  He shook his head. “No. Not yet. I mean, obviously they’re right here, but I can’t believe this is really my life. I feel like I should pinch myself.”

  I pinched him. He yelped, startling Gracie. “Shh,” I scolded.

  “You pinched me,” he protested.

  “You suggested it. I was just trying to help you out,” I said with a grin.

  We fell silent again as the girls squirmed in their sleep.

  “I hope they sleep that well at home,” he murmured.

  I sighed. “I have a feeling we should enjoy the peace while we can.”

  “I’m glad we had everything ready. I guess the doctor wasn’t lying when he said to be ready at least six weeks ahead of the due date. I thought he was being cautious,” Brad said, shaking his head.

  “I’m glad too. I didn’t get to finish putting away all their clothes, though. Oh well, I’m sure we’ll be going through them pretty fast. Why bother putting them in the drawers?” I chuckled.

  Brad leaned down and kissed me again. “I love you. You have made me the happiest man on this earth. I don’t even care if the radio show tanks. The only thing that truly matters in this world is you and those two sleeping beauties. Nothing else matters.”