“Hmmm,” the doctor mumbled as he moved the mouse and clicked onto a new screen. “Your last period was a couple of months ago?”
“Yeah, but I’ve never been regular,” I answered. “I’m a professional dancer, so I get an insane amount of exercise. Sometimes, I’ll go three or four months without getting one.”
“That makes sense,” the doctor replied. “But I’d still like to rule out pregnancy before we run additional tests. It’s standard practice with your symptoms and age.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
The doctor called for a nurse, who came in with a specimen cup for me to fill. Walking to the bathroom, I was in a daze as I considered the possibility that I might be pregnant. Jackson and I were careful and always used a condom. I had just assumed that it was stress causing these problems and hadn’t even thought that I might be carrying Jackson’s baby. But now that the idea was in my head, I found myself hoping that it was true.
The nurse was waiting outside the door, and I handed her the cup before heading back to the exam room. Jackson was sitting in the chair, his head in his hands as he stared at the floor. When he looked up at me, I couldn’t tell if he was excited, angry, or just plain scared.
“Maybe a baby, huh?” I asked shakily.
“Is it fucked up that I’m hoping like hell she comes in here and tells us you’re pregnant?” he asked.
I giggled nervously. “Only if I’m crazy for having wished that the test is positive when I was peeing into that cup.”
“Thank fuck,” he sighed, grabbing my hands when I sat down in the chair next to him. “I know people will tell us it’s too soon—
“Not the ones who count,” I said, interrupting him. “Sure, some people said it was crazy for you to come to New York with me and for us to move in together, but your family and our friends supported our decision.”
“My parents are going to flip the fuck out if you’re pregnant.”
“Only in the best way possible,” I replied. “Your mom will be excited to be a grandma and your dad will use the baby as an opportunity to talk us into coming home.”
“The baby,” he repeated. “You’re talking like you know you’re pregnant.”
I thought about it for a second and realized he was right. “I guess I am.”
“And you said ‘coming home,’” he continued. “Isn’t New York home?”
I squeezed his hands and gave him the answer I’d been slowly coming to terms with ever since the announcement that the show was going to close. One I hadn’t admitted to myself until this moment.
“Living here with you, being able to dance professionally? It’s been a dream come true. If you’d asked me before I met you if I would ever want anything more than I wanted to be here doing exactly what I’ve been doing, my answer would have been no. But I did meet you, and I fell madly, deeply in love with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. To build a family with you. And I just don’t see us doing that here.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart,” he said before he moved out of his chair and dropped to his knees before me. “I can’t believe I’m going to do this here, and I promise it’s not as spur-of-the-moment as you think.”
My stomach fluttered as I looked at him kneeling before me with determination in his eyes. “You don’t have to do this now.”
“I don’t have to,” he agreed. “But I don’t want to wait until we know the results of the test. I never want you to have any doubt about why I want to marry you. Baby or no baby, it doesn’t change the fact that I want you to be my wife. And if you say yes, I’ll give you the ring I have hidden on a shelf in the closet.”
I gasped when he said the word ring. “Are you trying to bribe me into saying yes?”
“I don’t know. Is it working?”
Although this moment wasn’t the most romantic one in the world, it was perfect for us. Seeing his blue eyes twinkle with humor as he leapt into the future without any doubts about what was going to happen next was just so Jackson. It was part of why I loved him, that certainty.
“I think you need to ask me a question first so I can answer it.”
“Will you marry me, Kaylie?” he asked, his eyes turning serious as he lightly rubbed the spot where his ring would rest on my finger.
“Yes!” I squealed, leaning down to kiss him. I was so absorbed in the moment that I hadn’t even heard the door open or notice that the nurse had walked in until she cleared her throat.
When I glanced up at her, she had a huge grin on her face. “I guess I don’t need to ask if this is happy news,” she said.
“Happy news?” I repeated.
“The test was positive. You’re pregnant.”
Beach Wedding
Jackson
Although I knew it would piss my mom the hell off, the moment Aubrey suggested that Kaylie and I get married on a beach in Mexico, I knew it was the perfect solution. Kaylie was fairly low maintenance and wanted a simple wedding, which worked perfectly for me because I needed to make her my wife as soon as possible. Ever since she accepted my proposal and the nurse confirmed she was pregnant with my child, getting to the day when Kaylie would say, “I do,” was my driving force. With motivation like that, I felt like I could move mountains. Right about now, Kaylie probably felt like I had.
It took me less than two months to get everything settled and move us from New York back to my hometown. I used some of my trust fund to buy a house that had plenty of room for the family we were building and maybe even a dog or two. Choosing the right one was simple because Kaylie’s head had about snapped off as she’d swiveled in her seat when we’d driven past it during our trip back for Aubrey’s graduation. The movers came the day after I’d finished out my notice at work, and then we were on the road.
My dad was thrilled to have us back in town and gave me a job at the bank. He wasn’t as excited when I told him that I wanted to wait a few more weeks before I started, but he understood when I explained why.
After the house was unpacked and all of our furniture was moved in, I surprised Kaylie with tickets to Ixtapa, Mexico. We left the next day and checked into the same hotel I’d stayed at when my parents had taken us there for family vacations. It wasn’t until we made it to our room and the bellboy called it the honeymoon suite that Kaylie realized what I’d planned.
“We’re getting married?” she gasped.
“That’s usually what happens when you accept someone’s proposal,” I teased.
She slapped my arm and laughed in response. “I mean, we’re getting married now? Like, during this trip now?”
“You said you liked the sound of a beach wedding when I talked to you about it at Aubrey’s graduation party,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, but that was only six weeks ago! Since then, I’ve kind of been preoccupied with other things, like being pregnant and moving halfway across the country,” she grumbled, looking adorably cute and flustered.
“If you decide you aren’t ready to do this now, I’ll understand.”
“Bullshit,” she interjected.
“Okay, I’ll try to understand,” I conceded. “I don’t want to wait to make you my wife. To be able to call you Mrs. Kaylie Silver.”
“Awww,” she cried, tears running down her cheeks.
“You’re going to have my baby,” I said as I placed my hand over her slightly rounded belly. “And I don’t want you to have any added stress. It isn’t good for either of you.”
“I’m sorry I’m such a mess lately,” she apologized. “These damn hormones.”
“If you’re a mess, then you’re a damn beautiful one,” I assured her.
“I didn’t bring anything to wear to a wedding.”
It was such a typical female thing to say that I couldn’t help myself from laughing—until she glared at me.
“It’s not funny! I’m serious. Even if I had packed something, it wouldn’t matter because none of my dressy stuff even fits right anymore.”
“My mom is
bringing everything you need,” I explained. “Everyone’s flying down to meet us tomorrow, and the only way I could get her to accept the idea of a casual beach wedding was if I let her help with some of the planning.”
“Everyone?” she repeated, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at me.
“Pretty much everyone,” I answered. “My whole family, Charlotte, Shane, baby Callie, Drake, Lex, and her dad.”
“You planned our entire wedding?”
“With help from my mom,” I admitted. “But you can change anything you want.”
When she started sobbing and threw herself into my arms, I thought for sure I had royally fucked this up. I carried her to the couch in the sitting room of the suite. It took a few minutes for her to cry it all out before she looked up at me with a tearful smile.
“I’m sure it will be perfect.”
Perfect was exactly the word I would use to describe the moment when I watched Kaylie walk along the beach to me in her wedding dress. My mom might have gone a little overboard with the shopping since she brought six dresses—three different options in two different sizes just to be safe. Her body was wrapped in white lace, and her feet were bare—something that surprised me considering how much she hated them. She’d spent yesterday being pampered at the spa with the girls, and she was glowing with health in the afternoon sun. Her hair was swept up and away from her face, and as she moved closer, I could tell she had managed to talk my mom into going easy on her makeup. It was a damn good thing too because she was already crying.
Watching her walk to me and seeing her alone while all my family and our friends were nearby to witness our wedding, I couldn’t resist the impulse to go to her. Laughter and murmured comments sounded over the music of the wedding march as I moved past everyone to reach Kaylie. When I got to her and reached for her hands, she stopped and giggled.
“I thought I was supposed to come to you.”
“Couldn’t wait,” I replied. “You’ve spent too much of your life alone. From now on, I’m by your side no matter what.”
The beaming smile she flashed my way told me that she liked my answer—a helluva lot. Following my instinct had made the day a little better for her, and that was worth all the teasing I was certain to endure later.
“Is it any wonder I love you so much?” she asked.
“Nope. I’m fucking awesome,” I answered.
She continued to laugh as we walked hand in hand to where I’d been standing moments before. The music stopped as we turned to face each other in front of the judge who had been hired by the resort’s wedding coordinator to perform the ceremony. His voice wrapped around us as he spoke, but my focus was so completely on Kaylie and the fact that she’d said, “I do,” that I almost missed my cue. I couldn’t even blame it on a language barrier because he was speaking English.
“I do,” I vowed.
“Kaylie, please hand off your bouquet,” the judge instructed.
Charlotte jumped out of her seat and took the mixture of bright-orange blooms and white roses from Kaylie.
“Jackson and Kaylie, having heard that it is your intention to be married to each other, I now ask you to declare your marriage vows. Please face each other and hold hands,” he continued. “Again.”
Kaylie turned back to me and placed her now empty hands in mine.
“Kaylie, please repeat after me,” he requested.
Listening to her clear voice as she repeated each word was one of the best moments of my life—along with the day she’d told me that she would marry me and we’d learned she was pregnant with my child.
“I, Kaylie, take you, Jackson, to be my husband. I will share my life with yours, build our dreams together, support you through times of trouble, and rejoice with you in times of happiness. I promise to give you respect, love, and loyalty through all the trials and triumphs of our lives together,” she said, tears still leaking from her eyes even as they shone brightly with her happiness. “This commitment is made in love, kept in faith, lived in hope, and made new every day of our lives.”
When she finished, I let go of one of her hands and swept the tears away before kissing her lightly on the lips.
“We haven’t gotten to that part yet,” the judge said with laughter in his tone.
I was certain marrying us was different than what he was used to. When I stepped back and held both of Kaylie’s hands in mine, he began again and I repeated the same vows she had just said to me.
“Your wedding rings are the outward and visible sign of the inward and invisible bond which already unites your two hearts in love,” he continued. “It is my understanding that the ring Kaylie will receive today is the same one her mother received when her parents married. A wedding day is often a day when couples miss family members no longer with them. In speaking with Kaylie this morning, I know she wishes that they could be here today and they could have met Jackson, but she knows they are watching and happy for them both.”
Fresh tears streamed from Kaylie’s eyes as she listened to the judge speak about her parents. She gasped when she looked at the ring my father handed to me—the one I’d paid an insane amount of money to retrieve from her aunt. She didn’t approve of us getting married or Kaylie moving back home with me, but she was willing to part with the ring once I made a good enough offer. It pissed me off to hand over any cash to the woman who should have taken better care of Kaylie after her parents died, but I did it anyway because I knew how much it would mean to her to be able to have this part of her parents with her forever.
“I can’t believe it,” she whispered as her hands trembled in mine. “My mom’s ring.”
The judge waited a moment for Kaylie to gather herself. “As this ring represents a family heritage, may it be a joy for Kaylie to wear for the rest of her life. Jackson, place the ring on Kaylie’s finger and repeat after me.”
“I give you this ring. Wear it with love and joy. As this ring has no end, my love is also forever,” I said as I slid the ring onto her finger.
Aubrey left her seat and placed my ring in Kaylie’s hand—the one I’d had custom made to match the ring she was now wearing.
“Kaylie, place the ring on Jackson’s finger and repeat after me,” the judge said.
Her voice was shaky as she spoke. “With this ring, I marry you. Wear this ring forever as a sign of my love.”
“May the wedding rings you exchanged today remind you always that you are surrounded by enduring love,” the judge said.
Kaylie lifted her face to mine as he spoke and then turned towards him, looking surprised by what he said next.
“This is normally where I would introduce the newlyweds, but Jackson has requested that the ceremony be performed in Spanish today as well, to celebrate the location where their marriage is taking place,” the judge said before repeating the steps a second time.
“Marrying me once wasn’t enough for you?” Kaylie whispered.
“A thousand times wouldn’t be enough.”
Valentine’s Day Letter
Kaylie,
Happy Valentine’s Day, sweetheart. It isn’t our first and it sure as hell won’t be our last, but I felt like I needed to make it a special one. Our baby will be here any day now, and we’ll be spending next Valentine’s Day as the parents of an almost one-year-old. Our world has changed so much lately, and I never want you to feel like you’ve given something up to come back to my hometown and build a family with me. When you’re on stage dancing, your happiness shines through, and I want you to have that every day of your life. Don’t get me wrong… I know you love me and the life we’re building together. But it’s my job to make sure you have anything you’ve ever wanted and everything you ever need.
Since we left New York, there’s been something missing from your life. I hear it in your voice every time you talk about dancing. That hint of sadness for something you think you’ve lost. Here’s the thing though… Loving me will never mean losing something else you love. Not if I can do something
about it. And this is something I can fix for you. I bought that vacant storefront on Main Street for you to use to build a dance studio. The one you’ve eyed longingly when you thought I wasn’t looking.
You’re a kickass wife, and you’re going to be an amazing mom. There’s no reason you can’t be the best dance teacher this town has ever seen too. Whenever you’re ready, it will be there waiting for you.
Love,
Jackson
V
Winter Wedding
Prologue
Alexa
“Yes!” I shrieked as I threw myself off the bed and into Drake’s arms in response to his proposal. “A million times yes.”
Knowing he’d been holding on to an engagement ring for so many months was a shock, although a much more pleasant one than the other one I’d received tonight. Sure, the idea of marrying Drake had crossed my mind from time to time even though our relationship was still relatively new and we were young. I’d been hiding after what had happened with Brad. His betrayal had made me lose faith in boys and love. Meeting Drake had brought me back to life and made me want more again, but we still had another year of school until we graduated from college. As much as I could picture myself with him forever, I hadn’t expected us to be engaged this soon.
Even though the timing wasn’t perfect and tonight was terrifyingly insane, there was no other answer I could give. The bottom line was this: I loved Drake beyond distraction and wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.
“You know you’re crazy, right?” I asked as I stared at the ring he had slid on my finger.
Drake flashed a grin my way, the one that showed off the dimple on his left cheek. “Crazy in love with you.”
My panties practically melted at his answer. “Your kind of crazy must be contagious then because I love you more than I ever expected it was possible to love another person.”
The Blythe College Complete Series Box Set Page 59