He grinned as he gave me a quick peck on the lips. “No, you’re right. If we don’t leave now, we might be here for a few more days, and I want to go buy you a ring.”
My heart skipped a beat as I stared at the ring he’d presented me with yesterday. It was a ring he owned in high school, and it was a bit too big for my finger, but I loved it.
“I like my ring though,” I said, softly.
“I know you do, but I want to get you a proper ring,” he maintained. He placed a kiss on my neck then rolled off me and began to search for his clothes.
I stood up, letting the sheet trail behind me as I wrapped my arms around him from behind. “There’s no hurry.”
He shuddered against my touch and leaned back. “No?”
“None at all,” I whispered as I took his earlobe between my teeth, noting with satisfaction that it was a soft spot for him. He made a low noise in the back of his throat as he spun around and hoisted me up.
I wrapped my legs around his waist until his knees hit the back of the bed. He gently placed me in the center and lifted my hands up above my head.
“I agree.”
“What do you think?”
Dean crouched down in front of the display and began to scratch his chin thoughtfully. He leaned over the glass counter and peered at the rings more closely.
“I don’t know,” I responded with uncertainty. “They’re all a bit too much.”
Some of them were glaringly bright and hitting me in the eye. I squinted as I shielded my eyes and sidestepped to the left.
Dean laughed as he drummed his fingers against the glass. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever met who doesn’t want a ring that fancy or flashy.”
I slipped my hand into his and leaned against his shoulder. “You must be very lucky then.”
He turned his head to face me. “Yes, I am.”
We stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before the salesman cleared his throat, drawing our attention back to him.
“Might I make a suggestion?”
Dean gestured for the man to continue, and he reached out with a gloved hand for a small ring in the corner that I hadn’t noticed. It was a princess cut with a circle in the middle.
“Can she try it on?” Dean asked as he held out his hand expectantly.
“Of course.”
He took my hand in his and smiled as he slipped the ring on. The small jewels encrusted on the side glittered as I examined the ring closely.
It didn’t feel heavy, and most importantly it was elegant and simple.
I looked up at Dean who was staring at me with a tender expression. Hastily, he looked away and pretended to be occupied with something else.
“Do you like it?” I asked, hesitantly.
“I think it suits you, but baby, you’re the one who’s going to wear it, so what do you like?”
I rested my head against his shoulder and breathed in his scent. “I like simple things.”
“It is simple,” he noted as his hands snaked around my waist. “And beautiful.”
“I think so too,” I agreed.
“So, should we get it?” he asked, hopefully.
I nodded as I pulled away from him. “Yeah, let’s do it.”
I handed over the ring, so the man could weigh it, and Dean went about picking a ring for himself. It was a simple silver ring that slipped perfectly onto his finger.
I giggled as I helped him put it on, and he did the same for me.
We walked outside hand in hand with the sun beating down our backs. I was so busy smiling at Dean that I didn’t notice when we walked right into my mother.
“Hello, Kaitlyn,” she greeted as she shifted her bags from one shoulder to the other. “I didn’t think I’d see you here.”
“Me neither, mom,” I responded, cautiously.
It wasn’t that I was hiding Dean, but I wanted to keep him to myself for a little while longer. Once my mother found out, there would be no chance of that happening.
“It’s nice to see you again, Mrs. Alexander.” Dean held out his hand for her mother to shake. She smiled faintly as she slipped her hand into his.
Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the ring, and they immediately dropped to my hand which proudly boasted my new accessory.
“You—”
Her eyes bulged comically as she opened and closed her mouth several times like a fish trying to breathe out of water.
“But you—”
I held up my hand. “I know what you’re going to say, Mother. Dean and I are happy this way though. I’m not Tenley. I didn’t want a big wedding, and neither did Dean. We’re happy.”
Her mother shut her mouth firmly, pressing it into a thin line as her eyes traveled between the two of us
“We’d better go,” Dean said, apologetically. “I hope we see you again soon, Mrs. Alexander.”
I stopped and wrapped my arms around my shell-shocked mother. “I really hope you can be happy for us. “
I proceeded to kiss my mother on both cheeks then hurried to where Dean was waiting. We wrapped our arms around each other and walked away.
I craned my neck as we left my mother standing there, gaping after us.
I was sure I’d get a plethora of phone calls from relatives and old friends by the end of the day. News traveled fast when it came to my mother.
“That wasn’t so bad,” Dean commented, looking relieved. “Don’t you think?”
I patted his hand. “It’ll be okay. I’ll protect you.”
“Hey, don’t say it like that,” Dean said, defensively as we rounded the corner to his apartment.
“I’m not saying it like anything.” I nudged my shoulder against his. “Do you think Charity will be shocked?”
Dean nodded. “Definitely. She never thought I’d have a sincere relationship, much less get married.”
“Well, she is the reason it all happened,” I pointed out. “So, I know my mom found out before her, but she’s still technically the first to know.”
Dean lead the way down the dimly lit corridor and swung the door to their apartment open. He gestured for her to go inside as he called out for Charity.
Silence.
“I’ll try calling her,” Dean suggested. “My room is this way.”
“I’ll help you pack.”
I followed him down the corridor, nearly tripping over the plush carpet on the way. Dean helped me right myself before he pulled out a suitcase and began to pack.
“Should I pack everything now?” He cupped his hand over the speaker to ask.
“No, we can’t get everything all at once,” I considered. “Just pack whatever is essential. My place is not that far anyway.”
It was my idea for Dean to move in.
I liked my place, and it wasn’t baby proof yet, but we could fix that. He readily agreed considering he shared a place with Charity.
Dean frowned as he pulled the phone away from his ear. “She’s not answering. That’s weird.”
“Maybe she’s just busy with work,” I indicated as I folded up a pair of pants. “We’ll call her again later.”
24
Dean
I forgot how much of a hassle moving in was.
Of course, I hadn’t done much of it. I’d moved out of my parents’ house a few years ago, but I didn’t have a lot of things back then, so it seemed relatively easy at the time.
Moving in with Charity had seemed like a piece of cake.
Not nearly as nerve wracking.
Kaitlyn and I settled into a routine of sorts since we’ve been married. We’d both work during the day, and come back home at night to talk over dinner.
It was all very domestic, and something I didn’t picture myself indulging in.
Yet, here I was.
Happily married.
Me of all people.
Not only that but I was moving in with her. I wanted to leave Charity the apartment, and I’d continue to pay rent until she found a new roommate con
sidering I’d moved out suddenly.
It was only fair. I hadn’t given her any kind of warning. Not even an indication or a whisper of what was happening.
Kaitlyn began to investigate the different ways we could baby proof her place, and we’d spent the past few days getting to work. Unfortunately for her, that also meant throwing out a lot of her things. She tried to stay brave despite it all, but I could see that there were certain things she was reluctant to part with.
I felt the same way about some of my possessions.
Still, there was something about moving in together that made the whole thing seem so final. It rattled me in a way that I was scared to admit. Even to her.
I had no idea.
I’d already taken the plunge and done the part that most people were afraid of. People got cold feet before marriage not after.
At least, that’s what I thought.
Now, I wasn’t sure.
It wasn’t that Kaitlyn had done anything wrong. On the contrary, she was doing everything right, but I found myself wondering if I would measure up regardless.
She seemed to trust me implicitly, and it made me feel good about myself, but it also left me with this fear I had never known. I would be responsible for two other people now, and I didn’t want to take that lightly.
Kaitlyn had narrowly avoided calls from her family so far, but she knew it was only a matter of time before they hunted her down and demanded answers.
I told her that it was better to confront the issue head on, but she assured me that it was going to happen soon anyways, and she just wanted to enjoy the relative quiet before they descended upon us.
The idea made me chuckle, but she looked grim when she said it.
I wanted to share the news with her family. I was sure that once they saw how serious and committed we were to each other, they’d quickly recover from the blow that we dealt when we eloped.
Or, it might take some time.
Either way, I wasn’t going anywhere, and Kaitlyn was finally starting to realize. It wasn’t the marriage, or my devotion to our unborn child that convinced her.
The exact moment when it happened was transparent to me. I caught her looking at me. Her eyes were softer somehow as she watched me organize my clothes in the closet. Her mouth tilted slightly upward as she handed me my belongings.
I wasn’t certain I could explain it, but I knew in that moment that she was finally starting to believe me.
It certainly took her long enough.
Later that evening, there was a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it,” Kaitlyn called out as she poked her head out of the kitchen and wiped her hands on the back of her jeans. “It’s probably the workers.”
“Again?” I raised an eyebrow. “They’ve been over here a lot lately. Aren’t we done?”
Kaitlyn snorted. “I wish, but apparently we still have a few things that we need to adjust.”
“Like?”
“I have to get rid of that couch,” she declared. “Not because it has anything to do with the baby. I just think we need a change. It was comfortable when it was just me. I think it’s time we got one for the two of us.”
I gave her a small smile. “Can it be a couch that’s shaped like a race car?”
She rolled her eyes. “Why do guys act like children no matter how old they are?”
I scoffed. “We never really grow up, babe. We just pretend that we did.”
Kaitlyn gave a quick laugh. “Best charade I’ve ever seen. That’s for sure.”
“Just don’t tell any other guys that I said that, or they’d label me a traitor to my own kind,” I warned as I stood in the middle of her living room and shoved my hands in my pockets.
“So, what I’m hearing is you’ll bribe me to keep your secret,” she teased as she swung the door open. The wood creaked slightly on its hinges, and she frowned as she glared it. “We’re going to need to get that fixed too.”
“Ever since I moved in, there have been an awful lot of repairs that have conveniently popped up,” I accused as I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “I don’t think that’s a coincidence.”
“You shouldn’t think so much. It’ll hurt your head,” she whispered as she passed by and patted me on the head. “It’s okay. I’ll do the thinking for the both of us.”
“Hey,” I said, in mock outrage. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” she said, a little too quickly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Over here guys.” I gestured as I pointed to the couch in question. They nodded and split up on either side. They counted backwards then hoisted it up and slowly began to inch towards the door.
I anxiously kept an eye on them to make sure nothing broke on their way to the door as Kaitlyn came to stand next to me. She placed her arm around my waist and kissed my cheek.
“You should see the look on your face,” she murmured as she pushed my hair back affectionately. “You don’t need to look so grim.”
I craned my neck to look at her. “I wasn’t aware that I was. I’m not grim.”
She made a face at me. “You’re definitely grim.”
I sighed. “It’s not grim. It just all feels like it’s happening so….”
“Fast?” she asked as she waved at the workers as they shut the door behind them a little forcefully. Some of the paintings on the wall rattled as a result. “We really should talk to them about taking it easy.”
“We will,” I promised as I lead her towards the small Lazyboy in the corner. I tugged on her hand, so that we both fell onto the sofa. I grinned as I buried my face in her neck and inhaled.
The way she smelled always seemed to calm me down.
I pulled back and looked at her as she began talking.
“It’s okay, you know.” She ran her hands through my hair. “You can tell me things like that. We’re in this together, right?”
I brought her hand up to my lips and kissed her knuckles. “Definitely. I just didn’t want to worry you, or make you think like I regret this.”
She snuggled into me. “I’m not worried about that anymore. You’re here, Dean, and I never thought that would happen to me. Someday, Bean is going to be sitting across from us playing the guitar, and we’re going to look at each other and smile proudly before we look back at him, and you’re going to realize that it’s okay. When it happens, I’ll remind you of today and tell you all about how I called it.”
“Our fairy tale, huh?” I joked as I pinched the bridge of her nose.
She stuck her tongue out at me. “Exactly. Our fairy tale has a happily ever after. You can count on that.”
“So, our son will be playing the guitar? What if he wants to play the piano?” I mused.
“He can if he wants to, but I picture him as a guitarist,” she confessed.
“You haven’t even met him yet. How can you tell?” I brushed her hair back behind her shoulder and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer to my chest.
“I can’t, but I hope he can play an instrument. There’s always the possibility that he’ll be tone deaf and possess no musical ability whatsoever.”
“True,” I conceded. “So, what do we do then?”
“I think it’s obvious. We trade him in for another baby,” she deadpanned as she ran her fingers across the planes of my chest. My fingers splayed across her lower back as they began to knead the muscles there.
“Of course,” I agreed. “I’m so glad to know that those maternal instincts are kicking in.”
“Can’t you tell?” She waggled her eyebrows as I placed my hand atop her belly and grinned.
“So, you want him to be guitarist, so you can live out your dream of becoming famous, right?” I nudged my shoulder against hers.
“I get to live vicariously through him,” she kidded. “Because that doesn’t drive kids crazy.”
“Not at all.”
I removed my hand and placed them both around her shoulders. “It’
s okay. Maybe he’ll have another talent.”
“He could be a vet like his father,” she suggested. “That’s a bit too much gore for me, but who knows?”
“I’d like to say he’ll be an event planner like his mother, but guys are generally terrible at planning things,” I admitted. “So, yeah. That probably won’t happen.”
She giggled. “That’s okay. As long as he’s happy.”
“So…. your mom called today,” I said as she stiffened in my arms. She gazed up at me, her mouth pressing into a thin line.
“She called you?”
“She called the house phone technically since you’re avoiding her calls,” I corrected. “Anyways, we had a nice long chat.”
She shut her eyes firmly. “Oh, boy. What did she say?”
“Nothing bad,” I assured her. “She was just sad that she missed your big day.”
Kaitlyn’s eyes flew open, and she regarded me skeptically. “That’s it?”
I nodded. “Pretty much yeah.”
Hmph.
The sound came from the back of her throat as she stretched her legs in front of her before she curled them back up.
“Have I told you how happy I am that I married you,” I spoke, suddenly. “I’m not just saying that. I really do mean it.”
She softened and gave me a sweet smile as she wrapped both her arms around me, pulling me in for a tight hug. I embraced her even tighter, and we both basked in the moment as I felt her heart beat in sync to mine.
I had no idea how we both got here, but I was relieved we did.
And I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Kaitlyn reluctantly pulled back. “We’d better get back to the moving thing then.”
She stood up and began to twist her body to and fro, trying to work out the kinks in her back. Suddenly, she stopped and turned to face me.
“Have you heard back from Charity?”
I shook my head. “No, I haven’t, and I haven’t seen her either. I know I’m busy moving in, but you’d think that we’d run into each other by now.”
“And she still isn’t answering?”
A Baby for the Vet (Boys of Rockford Series Book 4) Page 17