Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
“There is nothing to tell you. We need to get ready to go; otherwise, we are going to be the last to show up for dinner.”
“Aria.”
“Tide.” She holds my stare, and I let out a breath.
“All right, let’s go get ready.” I give in, knowing she’s going to have to come clean sooner or later. When we get upstairs, Olivia is in her room, torturing Mittens with the laser light he will never be able to catch, so I head with Aria into our bedroom, and we both change. She puts on a pair of tights and a long sweater dress with a high collar that looks amazing on her, and I tug on a different pair of jeans and a button-down shirt.
When I’m coming out of the closet, buttoning up my shirt, Olivia comes into the room, wearing a frilly pink skirt over a pair of leggings and a long-sleeved black shirt with writing across the front. It takes me a moment to read her shirt, but when I do, my heart stops in my chest.
“This is for you.” Aria places a box in my hands that has a big bow tied on top, the ribbon the same as the one stuck to Mittens.
My chest feels odd as I open it and expose the small piece of fabric under the mound of tissue paper, one single word written across the front.
Surprise.
“Really?” I meet Aria’s gaze, and she nods, and I drop my eyes to her stomach.
“I’m going to be a big sister,” Olivia says proudly, running to me and wrapping her arms around my waist. Palming the back of my girl’s head with one hand, I pull my wife toward me with the other, then kiss her deeply, thinking that once again she’s proven there is no limit to the love I have for her.
Aria
Nine Months Later
With Luca’s tiny, warm body curves around me and his mouth latches onto my breast, I watch Tide move to the front door when the bell goes off. Since we just got home from the hospital with our sweet boy, I’m prepared to see a lot of people today. But really, there is only one person I want to see, and judging by the bell ringing again, I’m guessing she’s here now.
Unlatching Luca, I adjust my shirt, then lift him to my shoulder to burp him as Olivia comes around the corner. I watch her kick off her shoes, then tiptoe across the carpet, and smile as she crawls up onto the couch to sit next to me.
“Hi, sweet girl,” I say quietly, and she leans in to touch her nose to mine, then rests her hand against the back of Luca’s head and bends down to kiss his cheek.
“Can I hold him?” She looks at me, and as soon as I nod, she falls to her bottom, and I place him in her arms. Seeing them together causes tears to burn the back of my throat just like they did when she came to the hospital to meet her baby brother.
I look across the room at my husband and know the look in his eyes reflects the one in mine. Pure happiness. I don’t think either of us ever believed we could be this happy, but here we are, and somehow the outside drama in our lives has sorted itself out. Not that everything is perfect, but like he told me when we first started, we are in this together, and really, that is the key. Because at the end of the day, as long as we have each other, and our kids are happy and healthy, nothing else matters.
Aria
Four years later
“I’m not walking the red carpet.” I roll my eyes at Rachel, and she sighs dramatically, which has always been her style.
“You have to walk the red carpet. It’s your vision that has come to life.” She plops down on the chair opposite of me, and Tide laughs. He thinks she’s funny, something I’m thankful for, especially when she’s being so annoying.
“It’s not happening. I don’t need to walk in order for the movie to show.” I rub my stomach that has seemed to grow three times its size in the last four months. Really, I’m just as shocked as everyone else that I’m only carrying one baby with how big my belly is already. Then again, maybe because this is my second baby, this little girl has more room to roam.
“Tide, you really must talk some sense into your wife. This is her big day. She should be there to bask in the excitement.”
“I think you know as well as I do, Rach, that you can’t tell Aria anything or get her to do something she doesn’t want to do,” he says, and I smile up at him, watching him grin.