EPILOGUE - CHARLOTTE
Eight Months Later
“ I can’t wait for this to be over,” I said, lowering myself onto Maya’s couch. “I’m ready to have my body back.”
I was nine months pregnant, and I felt the size of a whale. My ankles were swollen, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been able to touch my feet.
“It will be over soon,” Maya said, bringing me a glass of lemonade.
At least the food aversion and incredible nausea had gone after the first trimester. Now, it felt like I was eating everything I saw. “Your due date is soon, isn’t it?”
“It was supposed to be last week. I don’t know what this baby is doing in there, but it can’t keep holding out on me.”
Maya giggled. “It will be over soon,” she said again.
I hoped she was right. As much as I liked being pregnant, the last month had been rough. Despite all the difficulties I’d had at the start, the pregnancy had gone really well, and I could easily see myself doing this again. Not that I’d said it to anyone—we would deal with this baby first, and later we could talk about having more. But I knew Alex wanted more kids.
Things had changed so much over the last couple of months. It had gone from Alex being very worried about being a parent before I’d gotten pregnant, feeling like he could never be a good father, to him being so involved and invested. Now I wasn’t sure who was more excited about the baby coming—me, so that I could get my body back, or him so that he could be a dad already.
He’d really filled the shoes of dad-to-be in so many ways over the last couple of months. He was incredibly attentive, always making sure that I was okay, really spoiling me.
And his family was just as great about us expecting our baby. I wasn’t sure which of the Blackwoods were more excited about this—Alex or his parents.
“How are things with Alex’s company?” Maya asked when she sat down with a glass of lemonade for herself, too. “He’s very busy, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, he is, but he’s always home at five on the dot, and he refuses to work weekends, no matter what they say. He says it’s family time.”
“He’s the best,” Maya said with a grin.
“The company is doing better, though. He found three new investors who are on board with his eco-friendly vision, so the worst is over.”
For the first couple of months after Alex had changed direction to be more environmentally conscious, the company had had a wobble. The stock had decreased in value, and a few people had decided to leave. It hadn’t looked good, but Blackwood Inc. had bounced back amazingly, and they were doing better now than ever.
Alex kept telling me he’d realized it was a matter of finding the right people who shared in the same vision as his, and he was right.
“He’s such a great leader,” Maya said. “I think it doesn’t matter what he decides to do because he’s so committed and so transparent about who he is and what their values are. It’s so easy to follow him.”
I nodded. At first, Alex had been worried about exactly that—being transparent. He’d been worried that if he showed who he really was, no one would be interested. But once he’d realized that his past didn’t define him, it had only shaped him, his attitude toward the world had changed, and so had his leadership style. And as soon as that had fallen into place, everything about his company, his attitude, and his life had followed.
I firmly believed that was the reason things were going so well now. Not just because he’d found the right people to invest, that had just been a happy aftermath, the result, the positive effect of a different outlook on life.
“Oh, feel this.” I grabbed Maya’s hand, pressing it against my stomach. “The little one hasn’t stopped kicking for the past two weeks.”
Maya’s eyes widened in surprise when the baby kicked against her hand.
“Oh wow, that’s wild.”
“Yeah, I’m exhausted,” I sighed. “It never stops, and here I thought the baby was supposed to be asleep sometimes.”
“I still can’t believe you didn’t want to know if it’s a boy or a girl.”
“We wanted it to stay a surprise,” I said with a smile.
My baby shower, where we’d been inundated with gifts from all our friends, had consisted of a bunch of neutral colors from yellow and gray to white and cream. The nursery in the new house we’d moved into a month ago was decorated in whites and grays, too. We could add accent colors once the baby was born and we knew what it was.
“I still don’t believe it,” Maya said. “I would die of curiosity.”
“I won’t lie, sometimes I—” I stopped talking and stared at Maya.
“What is it?”
“I think…” I glanced down, but I couldn’t see over my stomach. “I think my water just broke.”
Maya stared at me. “What?”
My stomach contracted.
“Yeah,” I said, gasping with the sudden cramp. “I think it’s time.”
“Oh, shit, shit, shit,” Maya said. “What do I do?”
I already had my phone out. “Let’s get to the hospital. I’ll call Alex.”
Just as Alex answered the call, another contraction made me gasp for air, and Maya grabbed the phone.
“Code baby, code baby!” she cried out. “I’m taking her to the hospital. Meet us there!” She ended the call, and we left her apartment.
The trip to the hospital was a quick one, but it didn’t feel like it. My contractions got closer and closer to each other very quickly.
By the time the nurses got me to a bed and Doctor Rowe came in to check on me, she looked up at me with wide eyes.
“You’re ready to have this baby, honey. Is Alex here?”
I was about to shake my head when he barged into the room, his hospital johnny only half-pulled over his suit.
“I’m here, I’m here,” he said and planted a quick kiss on my lips. “What did I miss?”
“Right on time, Dad,” Doctor Rowe said.
The rest happened so fast. I was barely ready when the head was out. I had to breathe through the next contraction before Doctor Rowe ordered me to push one more time.
“This is it, Mama,” she said, and when I cried out, a tiny cry filled the room.
Tears streamed down my cheeks, and Alex kissed me.
“You did it, my sweetheart.”
“It’s a boy,” Doctor Rowe said with a smile and held up a pink baby, screaming at the world.
“Oh, my God.” Alex swayed on his feet. “A boy.”
A nurse wrapped the baby up in a blanket and handed him to me. I held onto the little boy, crying and gasping and grabbing. Alex reached for him, and the baby grabbed onto his finger and held on tight.
Alex looked like he was going to cry.
“We did it,” he whispered.
“We did,” I said with a smile. “He’s here and he’s perfect.” I looked up at Alex. “What are we going to name him?”
“Can we name him Thomas? After the father I want to be able to be. The man I’ve looked up to my whole life. Tommy, so we can tell them apart.”
“Tommy,” I said and smiled at the perfect little baby boy we’d just brought into the world. “Welcome, big guy.”
When everything was taken care of and Tommy and I were both cleaned up and dressed, the nurses pushed us into a large private room. It was already filled with bouquets of flowers, gifts, and balloons.
Alex waited for us there with the biggest grin on his face.
“They’re all here to meet him,” Alex said. “Are you ready for it?”
“I am. You can send them in.”
“Before they come in, there’s something I want to ask you.”
I looked at Alex, and he kneeled.
“Oh, God,” I gasped.
Alex took a ring out of his pocket. “When Maya called, I was at the jewelry store, buying you a ring. I love you, and I love our little family. I want to do this with you for the rest of our lives. I want a family with you, a future. You’re my everything. Will you marry me?”
My eyes welled with tears. Alex was such a perfect man, and he’d made me so happy. He was always at my side, always here for me no matter what, and I couldn’t think of a better husband to do the rest of forever with.
“Yes,” I whispered. “Of course I’ll marry you.”
Alex stood and kissed me before he took the ring out of the box.
It was stunning—a large diamond set in a ring with a cluster of smaller diamonds around it. He slipped it onto my finger, and it fit perfectly.
“Maya helped me,” Alex said with a grin.
“I can’t believe she knew and kept it a secret.” I laughed.
Alex kissed me again. “I’m going to let them in now.”
I nodded and smiled as he opened the door, and his family, Gabe, and Maya streamed in.
They all congratulated us and grouped around the bed, meeting little Thomas Blackwood.
“Everyone,” Alex said, standing next to me and taking my hand, “we have an announcement to make.”
He looked at me with all the love and happiness a man could have in this world, and his love radiated toward me. He lifted my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles before he looked at his family—our family, soon—and all our friends.
“We’re getting married.”
The Blackwoods cried out. They all looked so happy to bring me into the family that I started crying all over again.
Was it possible for one person to be this happy?
Yes. Clearly, it was.
Thank you for reading Rival Hearts !