Chapter 29 Jules
JULES
JULES - TWO WEEKS LATER
After spending entirely too much time in the closet attempting to find something appropriate and comfortable to wear, I’d decided on an outfit and stepped out into the bedroom.
“I’m ready.”
Beau, relaxing on the bed, smirked. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. It took me a little longer than I thought, but…” I glanced down at my outfit before focusing my attention on him again. “This looks cute, right?”
He did an ab curl and got up off the bed. As he closed the distance between us, he said, “You could make anything look great, Jules. You look fantastic.”
Surprisingly, I believed him.
After his demonstration in the bathroom a couple of weeks ago, it would’ve been difficult to question the sincerity in those words. Beau had an appreciation for the way I looked now, and he’d truly savored every stage of this pregnancy.
“Alright. Well, I just need to put my shoes on, and we can go pick up Rosie.”
With the addition of my two part-time employees, it had really freed up a lot of my time at the bakery.
A few weeks ago, Beau had asked about my schedule for December, because he wanted us to be able to take Rosie out for a day of Christmas fun.
He’d planned a meeting with Santa, gingerbread house building, and a spot where we’d be able to meet Santa’s reindeer.
It was a surprise he’d planned for her, which was enough to have me ready to burst into tears, and I was so excited to see the look on her face when we showed up at her house to take her out for a day of fun.
What I loved most about it was how this seemed to be something that was happening regularly.
Ever since I’d wound up in the hospital roughly two months ago, the change in the family dynamics had been tremendous.
We’d celebrated Thanksgiving with the entire family, and it was like Beau had been there all along.
Everything was just as I’d hoped it would be from the start.
Beau gave me a soft peck on the lips and said, “Before we leave, I have something I want to show you.”
“Oooh, a surprise?”
He chuckled. “I guess you could call it that.”
I held out my hands. “Okay. What is it?”
Instead of placing something in my palms, he took me by the hand and led me out of the bedroom. “It won’t fit in your hands.”
My eyes rounded, and a thrill of excitement moved through me. “This is getting better and better by the second. Are we even going to be able to go pick up Rosie after this?”
He came to a stop and sent a confused look my way. “Why wouldn’t we?”
I shrugged, feigning innocence. “I’m just saying that it seems like this is a big surprise. And big surprises deserve big rewards. Maybe we’ll be late to pick up our niece.”
Beau’s gaze darkened, but he didn’t reveal the thoughts that went through his mind. Instead, he reached out and put his hand on the doorknob to the spare bedroom and pushed it open.
A moment later, tears clouded my vision as the disbelief took hold. “What… How… When did you do this?”
“I’ve been keeping myself busy whenever you’re at work.”
About a month ago, Beau and I had been discussing our plans for the nursery.
Ultimately, it boiled down to me telling him that I hoped to get everything in order for it after the holiday season, in the month that remained before the baby would arrive, but that I mostly wasn’t concerned, because the baby would be with us for those first few months anyway.
But now, I was standing inside the spare bedroom that Beau had converted to a nursery. A gorgeous crib sat on one side of the room, the changing table on the opposite wall. A beautiful chest of drawers to match, and a glider in another corner.
“This is beautiful, Beau.” My hand squeezed his as I marveled at what he’d done. “I can’t believe you did this.”
“You’re not mad, are you?”
I sent him a confused look. “Why would I ever be upset about this?”
His shoulders lifted to his ears. “I held off on officially decorating, because I figured you’d be better at that and would likely want a say in some part of the process.
But I wanted to do this. It meant a lot to me to be able to take this crucial step toward becoming a father and provide my baby with a safe place to sleep and grow and, eventually, play. ”
I draped my arms over his shoulders and kissed him. “You’re already an amazing dad, Beau. The way you’ve looked after me is proof enough of that. But I love this, and I love that it meant so much to you to do. Thank you.”
His hand stroked up and down my back as he kissed the top of my head. Before he could say anything, his phone buzzed in his pocket.
Pulling it out, he said, “That’s Cooper.”
“Oh, no. I hope Rosie can still go today.”
Beau answered the call. “Cooper?” There was a brief pause before he said, “Not yet. We were just getting ready to leave. Is everything okay?”
As Cooper responded to Beau, I crossed the room to the crib and admired it. He’d done such an amazing job, not only selecting a set but assembling it without me ever knowing.
“Oh, that’s not a problem. In fact, it’ll probably be easier for us to meet you there anyway. We’ll leave now and see you in a few minutes.” Another pause. “Later.”
The ease of that conversation wasn’t lost on me. When I’d first introduced Beau to my family, I didn’t dare to dream there’d ever come a time when he’d have exchanged numbers with my grouchiest brother or that Cooper wouldn’t care if Beau set up a day of fun for us to have with our niece.
When he ended the call and slid his phone back into his pocket, he said, “We have to pick Rosie up at the hotel. Cooper was planning to spend the morning with her at the house until we arrived, but he got a call that he needed to deal with some issue at the hotel. Since Skye is already out for the day with Lily, he had no choice but to take Rosie to the hotel with him.”
“Oh, I bet that’s going to be productive for him,” I murmured. “We better go.”
“Yeah, I can imagine he might have more to fix if we don’t hurry.”
He turned to walk out, the sound of my laughter trailing behind him. There was a high probability of Rosie creating more work for her dad. But I didn’t want to overlook what Beau had done, so I reached out and curled my fingers around his wrist.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I want you to know how proud I am of you,” I told him. Gesturing to everything in the nursery, I said, “This is amazing. And I love you so much for loving me and this baby the way that you do.”
His features softened, his expression warming. “It’s been the absolute greatest joy of my life to love you, Jules. Nothing else has ever brought me such fulfillment.”
After a rather intense kiss, we left to pick up Rosie.
When we arrived at the hotel, Beau called Cooper. “Hey, we just got here. Where are you?” Silence as he waited for Cooper to respond. “No, that’s okay. We’ll come down to the ballroom to get her, so you can keep working.”
A moment later, we were walking down the long corridor that led to one of the ballrooms. I half expected Rosie to run out and greet us, if Cooper had revealed that we were coming to get her. But no such luck.
We made it to the ballroom, and when Beau opened the door for me to step inside ahead of him, I gasped.
“Surprise!”
The room was filled with family and friends and decorations and food. It was… It was a baby shower.
I spun around to look at Beau, who was beaming at me. “Surprise.”
“You knew about this?”
“Every last part of it.”
I smacked him playfully on the chest and tipped my chin up to kiss him. “What about all the Christmas stuff with Rosie?”
“That’s still happening. But we’re doing it next Sunday.”
I smiled at him. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Jules. Now, go enjoy your party.”
The squeal of excitement that escaped was bordering on extreme, but I didn’t care.
After having a less than desirable response to the news of my pregnancy, this baby shower felt like a dream come true.
And I was so grateful to each and every person in this room, especially the man standing beside me, for making it happen.
FIVE WEEKS LATER
I heard them before I saw them.
The door opening and slamming shut was the first indicator. The second was the stomping feet that climbed the stairs and entered the living space. And finally, it was the sound of those deep voices that floated into the kitchen, where I’d been busy nearly all day long.
A moment later, Tate stepped into the kitchen and declared, “I’m not sure it’s worth going back out.”
My body tensed, worry creeping in. “What? Why not?”
“Are the conditions bad?” Rhea asked.
Cooper entered the kitchen, moved toward his wife, and explained, “The conditions are great, actually.”
Skye looked back at him and wondered, “So, what’s the problem?”
Beau came over to where I was working, slid an arm around the back of my waist, and kissed my cheek. “I don’t think there’s any problem.”
Liam laughed. “Of course, you don’t. Because you totally kicked our asses out there.”
“How about it?” Wyatt huffed.
Marco moved to take his daughter out of Ivy’s hands, kissed both of them on the cheek, and grumbled, “Damn, I never thought we were that lousy at snowboarding.”
The tension eased out of my body, and a smile spread across my face. “Using all those skills you’ve got to destroy the confidence the rest of these guys have?”
He held his hands up in surrender. “Honestly, I’m not that great at snowboarding. I’d consider myself mediocre.”
Ivy burst out laughing. “So, what does that make the rest of them?”
Beau realized his mistake and tried to backpedal. “Well, I mean, I’m just saying that—”
“It’s okay, man,” Wyatt insisted. “Maybe this is just the motivation we need.”
“On second thought, perhaps we should go back out.” Tate picked up one of the sandwiches we’d prepared for everyone while the guys were out.
Layla sidled up to Liam, kissed his cheek, and joined the conversation. “That’s good. Because I need a nap this afternoon, and I don’t think it’s going to happen if you all stay here after you have lunch.”
My sister-in-law was officially in her first trimester, her and Liam revealing the news of her pregnancy to us on Christmas Day. I remembered the exhaustion I’d felt all those months ago and understood her need for a nap, even if we were technically on vacation.
It was the annual Westwood’s ski trip, and everyone was here.
Not only my siblings and their spouses, but the children were here, too.
Plus, my parents and grandparents had come along, but they were currently out of the chalet preparing over at the lodge for the celebration we intended to have tonight for Beau’s birthday.
I, of course, had spent the better part of the morning baking everything we’d need for tonight’s party.
I’d spend the afternoon—after the men returned to the slopes—working on decorating the cakes and cookies.
The rest of the women would help me as they could between needing naps and wrangling children.
Beau was aware we were celebrating him tonight, and he thought it was completely unnecessary. But he quickly learned, after a stern conversation with his mother-in-law, that he had no way out of it.
It had been months since they’d all made the change, and my heart still beat a little harder every time I thought about how well my family was loving my husband now, showing him what it was supposed to be like.
“You know, now that I think about it, I’ve always wanted to spend some time in the terrain park doing those tricks,” Marco confessed.
“Me, too,” Cooper added. “What do you say about some lessons after lunch, Beau?”
The other men nodded their agreement and interest, but before Beau could answer, Ava said, “Can all of you just remember that you’re either already fathers or soon-to-be fathers?”
“Yes, please,” Rhea said. “You have children and wives who depend on you.”
“Ah, we’ll be fine,” Wyatt insisted. “You women worry too much.”
Ivy rolled her eyes at him.
Just then, the doorbell rang, and I quickly perked up. “Oh, that must be the special gift I ordered for somebody’s birthday. I’ll be right back. Don’t you move.”
Giddy, I made my way to the front door as fast as I could at nearly thirty-seven weeks pregnant. When I opened the door, I grinned.
“We heard there was a party here.” Talon, Jamie, and Vic were grinning just as stupidly at me.
I nodded and waved my hand. “Come in, come in. You have perfect timing. The guys just got back to have lunch.”
My husband had no idea I’d invited his three best friends to join us on this trip. With it being his birthday, I thought it was only fair to have the men he considered to be his family with us.
They dumped their boots at the door and followed me through the house back to the kitchen.
“Happy birthday, husband.”
Beau saw the surprise I had for him and nearly lost his mind. “Are you kidding me?”
He rounded the counter and walked over to greet his friends before introducing them to the rest of the family.
“They’re also professional skateboarders, so I suspect the rest of you are either going to feel less qualified to be on a snowboard than you already do after today, or you’re all going to get some great lessons in the terrain park.”
As everyone took a moment to greet and exchange pleasantries with Vic, Talon, and Jamie, Beau moved toward me with a huge smile on his face. “If I haven’t said it before, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”
“You might have mentioned it a couple of times before now, but that was the first time today.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist as I draped my arms over his shoulders. “I love you, Jules. Thank you for doing this, for inviting them here.”
“It’s your birthday, and they’re your family, too. Plus, you’re not the only one who can come up with surprises.”
Beau lifted his hand to the side of my face and pushed a rogue strand away from my face. “How is it possible that I managed to get you?”
“You had a sweet tooth and walked up to my bakery for cookies. That’s how.”
He chuckled.
I giggled. “I love you, Beau.”
My husband gave me the sweetest kiss.
Then we joined the rest of the group and had some lunch, before the men returned to the mountain for an afternoon of fun before Beau’s party later that night.
Even being so far along in my pregnancy and feeling uncomfortable most of the time, it was easily the best ski trip I’d ever had to Keystone Mountain.