Chapter 29 Emily
EMILY
“Igot you something,” Donovan said, pulling a black rectangular box from his pocket.
I took it, my fingers trembling as they curled around it.
It was the wrong shape for a ring, and I couldn’t decide if I was relieved or disappointed by that.
I opened the box to find a keychain with a charm the shape of a house with the word “home” written across it in boxy letters.
“Move in with me,” Donovan said, more command than question.
“I’m already living with you,” I reminded him playfully.
“I mean permanently. Don’t go back to your apartment. Break your lease; I’ll pay the penalty if I have to, but I want us under the same roof.”
My heart soared, and the words caught in my throat. There was nothing I wanted more.
“Okay,” I rasped, clutching the little keychain that signified our commitment to each other to my chest. I couldn’t wait to add it to the key I thought would only be in my possession temporarily. Now I got to keep it.
A slow clap began from the doorway, and both our heads snapped up to find Vance watching us, a pleased grin on his face. Delilah stood next to him, her hands clasped together over her heart as she attempted to blink away tears.
“It’s about damn time, you knucklehead.” Vance strode across the room and reached out for a handshake, pulling Donovan into a backslapping hug. “You could’ve let me in on your plans, though,” he said with a scowl. “I was ready to give you a near death experience.”
A wary look flashed across Donovan’s face, and his gaze flicked to mine.
“I didn’t know until I got to Boston,” he said, regret filling his eyes.
An ache settled deep in my chest knowing how close he’d come to throwing it all away before realizing he didn’t want to lose me.
“At least not for certain,” he amended. “There was always something holding me back from signing those papers.”
“You never signed them?” I asked, surprised.
He shook his head. “Never.” That admission eased a little bit of the sting.
“I took them with me, thinking I’d feel inspired to sign once I was back in my hometown, but the urge never hit me,” he explained.
“I couldn’t sleep last night without having you wrapped up in my arms. Without the feeling of you curled into my side, rest wouldn’t come.
I knew then that I was on the wrong path.
What I wanted before no longer mattered.
You are all that matters. You and this baby,” he added, dropping his hand to my stomach and resting his palm against my bump, “are everything to me.”
“What about your job?” I asked, worried he’d risked his entire career.
He shrugged, not a care in the world. “I'll stay where I’m at for now. Another position like the one in Boston will open up eventually at this location. Until then, I’ll focus on my family and making you the happiest woman on the planet.”
Happy tears dampened my lashes and slid down my cheeks. Donovan slid his arm around my waist and pulled me to him, placing a kiss on my forehead.
“You’re off to a good start,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. He dropped his mouth to mine and pressed a soft kiss to my lips.
“Ewwwww,” a high pitched voice drew out from the doorway. We all turned to find Charlie watching us with her nose wrinkled and a clear look of disgust twisting her features. “Uncle Donny, why are you kissing Aunt Emily?”
Donovan sent a panicked look to Vance who shrugged and held up his hands. He wasn’t taking the lead on this one. Donovan was on his own.
“Well, Charlie,” he began, scratching the back of his neck nervously, “Emily and I are having a baby.”
Charlie let out an ear-piercing squeal and jumped up and down in excitement. Both Vance and Delilah gently shooshed her, reminding her Ellie was asleep.
“Sorry,” Charlie replied sheepishly before running toward us and wrapping both Donovan and me in a hug.
He chuckled and ruffled her hair. She pulled back, her gaze bouncing between us.
“Mommy and Daddy said that babies are made when two people love each other very much, but Elijah said it can only happen when they give each other a special hug,” she said, shooting a skeptical look toward her parents.
Donovan choked on a laugh then coughed to cover it up. I pressed my lips together to conceal my amusement.
Charlie crossed her arms and looked back and forth between us. “Well, which is it?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
Donovan’s gaze lifted and locked on mine as he replied, “I think it might just be both.”