Last Minute Fiancé

Chapter 15

Addison

Months.

It had been months of me sleeping in this stupid armchair, or in my bed with pillows propped behind me, pretending that I wasn’t going out of my mind.

Months of bed rest, and it was almost over.

Only two more weeks and this baby would come, and my life would change again.

Our life would change.

Sitting in my La-Z-Boy, I ran my hands over my swollen stomach, smiling as the baby kicked. I was only smiling now because the baby was kicking my hands and not my bladder. We had decided not to find out the sex of the baby, because we wanted to be surprised, as everything with this pregnancy and my current life situation was a surprise. It wasn’t all bad, wasn’t all scary, some of it was even good. Some of it was even surprising.

The baby was kicking, and everything was going well, and we were somehow making it work.

Luca was in the nursery, working on the finishing touches putting the changing station together. I had wanted to help, but had been scowled at when I offered, so I had sat in the rocking chair in the corner, pointing to where I wanted things, even though I changed my mind four times. This part of nesting hadn’t been in the book. These hormones were making me insane.

I had been relegated to the living room armchair again, my feet up, as I read over a few more reports, taking notes for Paisley.

My friends and family were a godsend.

I knew I wouldn’t have been able to make it through these months without them.

My parents were here often, helping with grocery shopping and helping me make sure that I was as ready for this baby as possible.

They hadn’t even blinked an eye when they realized that Luca wasn’t sleeping in the guest room turned nursery, but was sleeping right beside me.

Luca and I hadn’t even talked about it. The first night he moved in we had been lying on the bed, talking with one another about what we needed to do the next morning and for the rest of the week, when we had just fallen asleep mid-sentence.

Luckily he had set an alarm so he could head to work, but he hadn’t left my bed since.

While it wasn’t like the two of us could actually do anything with this heat between us, it was still there, even when I was grumbling about retaining water, that I felt disgusting, and just wanted to get out of this damn house, we still just clicked.

Because he was my best friend. Just like Devney was, just like Paisley was. We weren’t in elementary school where the person you shared your glue stick was your only best friend. You were allowed to have more than one. Which had surprised me as an adult, but I was grateful for it.

“Okay, baby socks are all folded, and I know that as soon as we pull one out, the whole drawer’s going to fall on the ground and we’re just going to have to deal with it at two in the morning,” Luca grumbled, and I smiled at him.

“I see my bad mood has moved to you.”

Luca sighed and ran his hand through his messy hair, and I bit my lip.

I had been so horny these past few weeks. Hell, I’d been horny this entire pregnancy, and I hadn’t been able to do anything about it.

Could you blame me?

Luca was gorgeous. He was only wearing gray sweatpants, and I had no idea where his shirt had gone and I did not mind. The man somehow had an eight-pack, and I knew it probably had to do with the fact that when he wasn’t helping me around the house or working, he was working out.

Somehow he’d even gotten more muscular, even sexier, and I wanted to run my tongue all up against those abs.

“Stop staring at me like that,” he grumbled.

“I can’t help it. Go put on a shirt.” My gaze went down to those gray sweatpants and the VPL there. “And maybe some underwear.”

“I’m doing laundry, and I’m not in the mood to dirty more clothes. And if you like the look of my dick, keep looking. But you don’t get to touch it. Apparently only me and my calloused palm get to touch it.”

I snorted. “Oh, jerking off in the shower isn’t to your liking anymore?”

“I’m so glad that I’m renting out my apartment on a short-term lease right now, because if I wasn’t, we wouldn’t be able to afford the water bill.”

“I told you you’re welcome to jerk off right next to me. I wouldn’t mind watching.” I fluttered my eyelashes at him, and he flipped me off.

“Nope. It makes it worse. Because then you get all horny, and then you get sad, and then we have to just deal with it. Plus, I don’t know, I just don’t really want to jerk off sitting next to you while you can’t do anything about it. Seems mean.”

“It’s very cruel. Will you help me up?” I asked, holding out my hands. “Uppies.”

“Do not say that,” he said with a laugh, as he helped me to my feet.

I was allowed to stand for a few minutes a day, and Luca timed those minutes when he was home.

And if he wasn’t here, Paisley or Devney or my mother was. Heath had even shown up during the day because he worked afternoons and evenings, and August had shown up a few times, growled at me over the weekends, and I just learned to accept it.

He was going to be an uncle, he was part of this family. I was part of this family, even though Luca and I hadn’t actually talked about what that meant.

We had talked about everything else. Bank accounts and breastfeeding and Lamaze classes and birth plans and house repairs and colors for the nursery. We had talked about so many things, but not actually about what would happen to us once the baby was born.

It was as if we were both afraid once we did talk about it, everything would change.

And that was the truth, but maybe it wouldn’t change for the worse.

Or maybe I was just hoping for the best.

I didn’t have a great track record knowing what I wanted, but I was learning.

At least I was pretending to learn.

“I really want some bubble water.”

“Are you allowed to have bubble water?”

“Do not take away my bubble water, you’ve taken away everything else,” I snapped. Then I cringed and gripped his hand. “I’m sorry. I’m just really excited for this baby to get out.”

I wore a half sweatshirt that I had cut up into pieces over a tank top that showed most of my belly because I hadn’t felt like changing, as well as a pair of his sweatpants.

They were dark blue, not the sexy gray kind, but they made me feel better. I had rolled up the bottoms because the man was a giant, but I felt gross and disgusting.

“We’ll get you your water, go sit down.”

“Just let me walk.”

“Okay. I’ve got you.”

We fell into our routine of him getting me water and a snack, because I was always hungry, and me getting things that I was allowed to reach.

We didn’t even talk about what we needed from each other; it was just routine now. Like he had always been here.

And I liked it.

Maybe a little too much.

“So, how did that presentation with Paisley go?” he asked as he forced me to sit down again. I knew I needed to, but I didn’t like being forced to do it. I was petty.

“Really good. She is such a godsend. I mean, I knew Paisley was brilliant because she’s my friend and I only like brilliant people.”

“You really are the mastermind behind all of this. And thank you for calling me brilliant.”

“Okay gifted child who skipped grades and started college early. We already know you’re brilliant. And I’m really excited to have those genes in this baby. But we’re not going to force our child to start high school when he or she’s a preteen, okay?”

“No problem. There’s no way I’m going to force our child down the path my parents forced me. You know they only did that because they wanted me out of their way. They were busy with Heath being sick and then August always had sports and other things, they didn’t know what to do with me. So they just pushed me into random classes.”

“They pushed you yes, but you were also brilliant.”

“Were?”

“I have baby brain. Leave me alone.”

He leaned forward and kissed me on the lips, a casual kiss that could mean nothing or everything. I didn’t shy away. We didn’t freeze in the action as if it was too much, because it was just something we did now.

We had fallen into this relationship, and I liked it.

I felt like this was family.

And I loved him.

“Okay, Paisley?” he asked, pulling me out of my thoughts and revelations. Which was probably a good thing. Maybe.

“Well, I kicked ass, and the client is happy. And that also means Nathan can come and take over some of my work, as well as two other staff members, so that way they’re not overwhelmed while I’m on maternity leave.”

Luca shook his head. “I cannot believe that you and Nathan both left that company.”

“It’s a good thing we did since the company’s being restructured.”

The company I had worked so hard to strive for, and to become the best at, was no longer the best.

Apparently the way that Travis had become the “master of his craft” was through insider trading. He was gone, Harrington-Wells III was gone, having been fired by the board since Travis wasn’t the only one who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The head of HR who never listened to us was also fired. As was the person he had been sleeping with.

All in all, the company was floundering and the board had asked me to come back, as they did Nathan. They even called with a very nice package with a brilliant retirement plan, stock options, and so much more.

Saying no to them had been one of the greatest thrills of my life, something I hadn’t even realized that I had craved.

And Nathan said no as well, and he and Kelly were expecting their first child later this year.

Somehow I had made a work family that actually wanted each other to succeed. And we were succeeding.

It was pretty damn amazing.

“Well, I’m proud of you. I knew you were going to kick ass. Are you excited to take some time off though?”

“Yes and no. I mean, we are going to have a baby.” I did my jazz hands routine, and Luca laughed.

“Okay, that was stupid to say, but once you’re done with maternity leave, are you going to continue to work remote?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so, but I’ll have the option. And there’s a full daycare center now within the company; Paisley works fast.”

“Damn straight. I’m just glad I didn’t have to add a daycare next to the puppy kennel.”

He winked as he said it and I rolled my eyes. “I’m just shocked that we don’t have a litter of kittens here right now. You got them all homes?” I asked.

It was kitten season, which meant that we constantly had newborn kittens in the house that we were bottle feeding. It was good practice for the baby, but I knew that was going to have to stop once the baby came.

“Colt and our new team members that we hired are all handling it. We are on break from at-home visits with animals for a while until we find our routine. Everybody needs to be vaccinated and ready emotionally before I bring more animals home.”

“You’re a good person, Luca.”

“I try. Although I will say, even though I haven’t done it in a while, maybe an actual family member on four legs would be nice.” He smiled at me brightly, and I narrowed my gaze. “You know, one that we don’t have to give back to its owners or find a new family for. An old dog or cat that needs a home. A little kitten that can grow up with his brother or sister.”

He dipped a piece of cucumber in ranch and stuffed it in my mouth before I could say no, and I chewed, annoyed that he knew exactly what I had been craving without me even saying it.

Damn that man.

“I know, I know, a vet without an animal at home does seem a little weird.”

“It really does. The only reason I hadn’t done it before was because I was constantly having animals at home, but now that we have the new center and our new team members, I don’t know, I’d like to have a pet. However, baby comes first.”

“That is very true.”

My phone buzzed and I looked down at it, seeing my mom’s name on the screen.

Mom:I found the cutest outfit. This one has bumblebees on it which fits your motif.

She sent a picture of a bumblebee onesie, and I shook my head before showing it to Luca.

“How many bumblebee outfits will this child have?” Luca asked with a laugh.

“I have no idea. But it makes my mom happy. And at least she’s stopped trying to learn to knit.”

Luca shook his head and looked over at the half-finished blanket behind me on the armchair. “It could be worse.”

“Yes, it could have caught on fire,” I said, before texting my mom back that it looked cute, and setting my phone down.

“That was really nice of Ashleigh’s parents, you know. Sending that blanket that she made?”

It had come two days prior, and I hadn’t brought it up, nor had Luca, but as I looked over at the couch, at the beautifully knitted yellow-and-cream blanket, I reached out and gripped Luca’s hands.

For some reason I was nervous, but then again I knew exactly why I should be.

Because Ashleigh’s parents had sent a baby blanket. Meaning Ashleigh’s parents knew I was pregnant.

I hated that I was jealous of a dead woman.

“Ashleigh’s parents are good people. They’re grandparents themselves from Ashleigh’s two older siblings. And, I don’t know, I guess they wanted to do something to show that they’re happy for me.” He shrugged, before leaning forward to kiss me gently on the lips.

“I know you didn’t read the note, but she made sure to say that she started this when she heard about the pregnancy, rather than finishing something that she started for her.”

“Am I really that transparent?”

“Of course not. But it is a little weird. I’m really sorry that you never got to meet Ashleigh, because I think you guys would have been friends.”

I glared at him. “I don’t know about that.”

“Honestly, Devney reminds me a little of her sometimes.”

My eyebrow shot up. “Really? You never said that.”

“Just in some of her mannerisms, but she was her own person, just like you and Devney are your own people. Paisley too, but I always feel weird about bringing her up, considering her and August.”

I nodded, completely understanding. August and Paisley were getting along as well as they could, but there was still something there. Or maybe I just wanted something there so it would complete our friendship set nicely. But Paisley was still in a serious relationship with Jacob, and I wasn’t going to broach that subject.

“Anyway, Ashleigh’s parents just wanted to give us a gift, to make sure that I knew that they were happy for me. It’s been years, Addison. I’m really okay, you know. I love being here and I’m really excited to be a dad and try to not screw up this child’s life. I mean, I don’t really have a great track record when it comes to parents; thank God your parents know what they’re doing.”

I shook my head and laughed, warmth filling me. “My parents are pretty great. And I’m really glad that your parents haven’t stopped by. I know that’s mean, but I am really happy about that.”

They had not contacted us at all since hearing about the pregnancy. I knew Luca had no idea what they were doing, or even if they were back in town. It didn’t matter. Because this kid, whoever they may be, was going to have a huge family no matter what.

“I’m glad that you and Ashleigh’s parents seem to be finding your new path.”

“I don’t know if I’ll ever speak to them again. Not that I wouldn’t want to, just that they’re from a different chapter of my life, one that’s closed. And they’re very happy with their grandkids and their kids. And Ashleigh’s always going to be part of my memories, but I’m looking forward to the future. With the two of you.”

I wanted to say something, wanted to tell him that I loved him, and this seemed almost like the perfect time.

This was the fucking perfect time.

“Help me stand up?” I asked. Because I didn’t want to be sitting when I finally did the one thing I should have done months ago.

Tell him what I felt.

He frowned as he helped me stand, still shirtless and wearing those gray sweatpants that just did everything to me.

“Luca,” I said just as an odd snapping sound echoed through my brain.

Warmth spread through me again, but this time it was different. It didn’t hurt, it was just weird, and then wetness slid between my legs, and I let out a shocked gasp, staggering back as Luca gripped my arms and looked between us.

“Oh my God,” he said quickly.

“Luca. My water.”

“Holy hell. Okay. I know what to do. I have the phone tree. Or the group chat. And I need a shirt. Let me get a shirt. You stand right there.”

Before I could panic, because he was clearly panicking for the both of us, he let out a deep breath, cupped my face, and kissed me.

Tears pricked my eyes as he leaned back and looked at me.

“The baby’s coming. I can’t wait.” And then he leaned down, kissed my belly, and ran off, presumably to go start our birth plan. I put my hands over my stomach, feeling the back pain that I had been ignoring throughout most of the day.

“Welcome home, baby. Let’s do this.”

Because I was about to have a baby with my best friend.

The panic over that finally started to hit.