Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
Kinsley
Two Months Later
“Sour Patch!” Shane calls out, slamming the front door.
“In the bathroom!” I yell back.
I swipe some lip gloss on my lips, fluff my hair, and then head out, meeting Shane in the bedroom.
“You look fucking gorgeous,” he says, palming my cheek and planting a soft kiss on my lips. “How are you feeling?”
“Good.”
Since I entered my second trimester, the nausea has almost completely subsided, and I’ve gained most of my energy back. Thankfully, it was never horrible to begin with.
“Give me a few minutes to shower, and then we’ll get going.”
Shane was teaching a class at the health club. Usually, when I’m not working, I’ll join him to get my exercise on. But since we’re meeting our family for dinner, I came straight home from work to get ready. With me being almost four months pregnant, we’ve decided it’s time to tell everyone that we’re expecting a baby.
“I’m going to let Becky out for a few minutes before we go.”
“Sounds good,” Shane says. “Is Taylor coming with us?”
“No, she’s meeting us there with Logan.”
Shane grimaces, and I hold back my laugh. It’s not that he doesn’t like Logan. He just doesn’t like the fact that his little girl is dating.
* * *
When we arrive at the restaurant, everyone is already there. I give hugs to my aunts and uncles and cousins, stopping to give Natalia an extra-long hug.
“You look so beautiful,” she says, scanning her eyes down my body. “Happy and in love suits you.” Her gaze lands on my belly, but she doesn’t mention me being pregnant since nobody else but her, Taylor, and our parents know.
“Thank you. It feels good to be happy. Speaking of which …” I grab her hand so I can admire her engagement ring. She and Kevin got engaged last month when they were in London, so I haven’t gotten to see the ring or congratulate her in person. “It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you. Kevin definitely did good.”
After we talk for a few more minutes, promising to do a girls’ day soon to properly catch up, I move on to Shane’s parents, who have decided to stick around since their granddaughter was born and they found out we’re expecting.
I wasn’t sure how it would be with them living next door, but they’re great about respecting our space while spoiling us. Kurt is constantly making sure I don’t need anything from the store, and Cathy makes me so many delicious, healthy meals. I’ve also gotten closer to Katie, and I’m learning a lot from her since she has a newborn.
Once we have a seat and the waiter takes our drink orders, I stand to get everyone’s attention. “As you know, Shane and I asked everyone to come to dinner tonight because we have news that we’d like to share with you.”
Shane stands and threads his fingers through mine. “Kinsley and I are expecting a baby. She’ll be sixteen weeks next week, and she’s due on December 16. It was unexpected,” he says with a smirk that has me blushing, “but we’re very excited.”
Everyone cheers and gets up to congratulate us. When my aunt Celeste calls dibs on organizing the baby shower and I stiffen, remembering the last baby shower that took place just before I lost my husband and baby, Shane pulls me into his side and kisses my temple.
“Actually,” Shane says, “we’ve decided to do something a little different. After the baby is born, we’re going to have a celebration and invite everyone to come and meet him or her.”
We’ve talked about it, and I told him that while I feel like I’m mentally doing well, I don’t think having a baby shower is something I want to do. I would be so worried of history repeating itself that I wouldn’t enjoy myself. And thankfully, Shane understood.
“Oh, that will be lovely,” Celeste says. “And I stand by my offer to organize it.”
“Thank you.” I give her a hug, and then we have a seat since the waiter has returned with our drinks.
Dinner is a blast, and as I laugh and talk with everyone, I think about how blessed we are to have so many friends and family who love and support us.
When the waiter asks if we’d like to do dessert, my pregnancy craving kicks in, and I order two desserts since I can’t pick one.
I’m eating my way through both when Shane turns to me and says, “I got this for you.”
He hands me a book, and I glance at him, puzzled.
“I already have this book,” I say with a laugh. “You were there when I met the author and got it signed. Thank you though,” I tell him, not wanting to sound unappreciative.
“It’s different,” he insists. “Open it.”
I set my fork down and open the book despite knowing it’s the same copy I have. The author only made one edition. It’s a hardback with sprayed edges and …
When I flip the cover over, I’m met with a square hole in all the pages.
“What the heck did you do?” I gasp, wondering why the hell he cut out the pages. It’s then I notice that inside the hole is a small black velvet box.
“Shane,” I say slowly as he plucks the box out of the pages.
“Kinsley,” he says, pushing his chair back and kneeling in front of me. “I’ve learned a lot about romance from living with two bookworms.”
I hear Taylor laugh, but I can’t take my eyes off Shane.
“In every book, there are trials and tribulations that the main characters go through before they get their happily ever after. When Taylor told me about some of the things the authors put their characters through, I didn’t understand why they would be so cruel, and I didn’t understand why she would read books like that. Until I met you.”
He smiles warmly at me, and I blink back my tears.
“You are strong and resilient, loving and warm,” he continues. “You care with your entire heart, and even when life knocks you down, you get back up.
“I learned that for a book to be considered romance, the characters must get a happily ever after. Otherwise, it’s called a love story.”
He palms the side of my face, and my heart races behind my rib cage as I take in his words. He’s not only pouring his heart out to me in front of our family and friends, but he’s once again showing me how much he understands.
“Your love story was with Brandon,” he says, “and it sadly ended in tragedy. If I could give you him back, I would, but since I can’t, my hope is that I can give you the next best thing—the reason why you love romances.”
He lets go of my face and pops the box open, exposing a beautiful diamond ring.
“I want to write our own story,” he tells me. “One that ends with the happily ever after that you deserve. Chapter one was the allergic reaction—or as Taylor would say, our meet-cute.”
Everyone laughs while I start to cry.
“Chapter two was convincing you to go on a date with me.”
“You worked damn hard for that date,” my dad says, making Shane chuckle.
“Chapters three, four, and five were getting you pregnant.” Shane leans in and lowers his voice. “I gave it three chapters because we spent a lot of time unknowingly working on that one.” He playfully winks.
Despite him whispering, everyone heard, and Taylor gags while my face heats up as I remember all the amazing sex we’ve had.
“You’re thinking about that time on the pool table, aren’t you?” he whispers.
“Shane!” I gasp, praying no one heard.
“Sorry.” He chuckles. “But that was a damn good scene. Am I right?”
“You’re not wrong,” I admit.
“I love every chapter that we’ve written so far,” he says, loud enough for everyone to hear, “and now, I’m asking to write many more, starting with you marrying me.”
He takes the ring out of the box and looks into my eyes, and it’s like everyone around us disappears. “I know you thought your last book would end differently, and we both know that there are no guarantees in life, but my hope is that we’ll get our happily ever after.
“So, Kinsley Elizabeth Bryson, will you marry me and continue to write this romance with me for the rest of our lives?”
Sure, there’s a chance tragedy could strike again. As he pointed out, there are no guarantees in this life. But I’ll never regret any moment that’s spent being happy and in love. Even knowing the way my story with Brandon ended, I could never regret it. Just like I’ll never regret letting Shane into my heart.
Which is why there’s only one answer I can give him.
“Yes,” I tell him, throwing my arms around his neck. “I’ll marry you and continue to write this romance with you.”
Shane captures my mouth with his and kisses me with such passion that I feel it throughout my entire body.
When he pulls back, he rests his forehead on mine and says, “Thank you, Sour Patch. You have no idea how happy you just made me.”
“Yes, I do,” I tell him. “Because you make me just as happy every day.”
Shane came into my life when I wasn’t in a place to let love in. But little by little, with every appointment, he chipped away at the wall guarding my heart, until it was exposed and vulnerable and ready to love once again. And now, I’ll spend the rest of my life loving him—for however long that might be.