by Jen Andrews
He gave me that look, picked up the frosting container, put the lid on it, and stuck it in the fridge. “I’m saving that for tonight after everyone leaves,” he whispered in my ear.
Hell yes!
Later, after everyone finished dinner, we had cake and homemade strawberry ice cream. I looked around at all our wonderful friends and family.
Adam and Angie had been married in May. Noah and Jess had their little girl, who they named Chloe. She was almost exactly the same age as Jai. Will and Justin had adopted an adorable four-year-old boy named Daniel.
Heather and Jason were here with Jake, Alex, and Mya. They were expecting baby number four in about three months. A couple months after the fire at the shop, Tara started dating Kyle Sherman. They were recently engaged, and I considered Tara a very dear friend of mine.
“Earth to Zoey!” Sasha bellowed from across the table.
I looked over at her and laughed.
She was sitting on Ben’s knee and waving at me like she was trying to help land a 747 airplane. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me I should not be this fucking pregnant in August? I think I’m going to die of a heatstroke or drown in my own sweat.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Sorry, Sash. I’ll remember next time.”
She rolled her eyes at me.
She and Ben were also engaged, and planned to marry as soon as their baby was born.
As I continued to look around, I wondered where Jeremy was. I hadn’t seen him in a while. My mom and dad sat under a large umbrella with Sarah and Hamish, sharing a bottle of wine from the case that they brought from Sonoma.
It was time for Andy to open his presents. He opened gifts from all our guests, and it was finally time to open my special gift to him.
I had hid the present at my feet under the table so it would be the last one he would open. I took Hannah off my lap, set her carefully on her feet, handed her the bag, and asked her to give it to her daddy.
She walked over and held it up to him. “Daddy pressie,” she said in her tiny voice as she grinned up at him.
“Thank you, Hannah-banana.” He smiled, using the same nickname he had given his sister when she was a small child.
He sat her on his lap, kissed her on the cheek then wrapped one arm safely around her while he opened the bag. He pulled out the tissue paper and then the stack of tiny black clothing.
I could tell by his expression that he recognized what he held in his hand.
He laid it on the picnic table then unfolded the tiny All Blacks onesie. In silver lettering across the front, it read,
I’ve been inside for 9 months, now let’s play rugby.
He smiled over at me and his questioning eyes became watery.
“Zoey, are you trying to tell me what I think you’re trying to tell me?”
I went and sat on his other knee across from Hannah. As our friends and family sat around us, clapping and congratulating us, I placed his free hand on my stomach where our second child was growing.
I leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Yes.”
Jen Andrews was raised in a small town in Northern California, and still lives in the same county where she was born. She is a self-proclaimed music and lyric addict. She grew up in a ‘car family’ so her life has been spent around old hot rods. She and her husband, Jake, even have a few of their own. In her spare time, Jen loves to travel wherever she can. She finally lived her dream of traveling to New Zealand to see her favorite rugby team, the All Blacks, play. Jen loves to do photography as a hobby and continues to write.
Find Jen here:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7762025.Jen_Andrews
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJenAndrews
https://www.facebook.com/jenandrewsauthor
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20755729-the-reason
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22585630-just-say-yes
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24312326-beautiful-with-you
https://twitter.com/jennysnowflakes
Table of Contents
Author’s Note
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Epilogue
Author Bio