Epilogue
Seven Months Later
I breathe in through my nose, waiting for the feeling to pass before blowing out slowly. My hands are braced on the car where I sit immobile in the driver’s seat. A few more breaths and I can finally stand, the wave of nausea passing with each slow step toward the access door.
I grit my teeth, willing the bile to stay down. If this is what the next nine months are going to look like, this is going to suck.
When I open the door, I walk straight into the kitchen. The beautiful house Mason and Beth are building for us is perfectly placed on our parcel of land in Trevally Falls. The main residence and connected guest house curve around the property, maximising the view out of every window.
The guest house was finished last week, so we’re in the process of moving our things out there while the renovations happen on the main house over the next few months. I pause at the sink for a glass of chilled water before I find Caleb.
Once I make it past the family room, I find Marlin, our Australian Shepherd, flat on his back, legs pointed in the air as he sleeps in the doorway of his daddy’s office.
We’ve only had him for two months, and already, I’m sure he’s the most spoiled dog.
More than Tiny. Especially with his customised Louis Vuitton bandana.
Caleb has the same pattern as a pocket square with his own initials .
I lean down to scratch his belly, laughing as he opens one eye to spy on me. He wriggles and squirms, rolling himself over so he can greet me. I drove down to Killara Bay to do some admin for the distillery and inventory for the tavern while I watched Jed as Dylan worked on his latest blend.
It’s been truly inspiring to watch Dylan transform over the last few months as he became a single dad.
I was even more thankful for Caleb’s willingness to shift our lives further down south when Becca took off, leaving Jedidiah completely in Dylan’s care.
I was even more grateful that Caleb’s lawyer friend, Anna, had met with Dylan and Becca before my nephew was born.
I think that’s the only reason Becca managed to think of leaving a document waiving her parental rights on Dylan’s kitchen bench before she fled in the middle of the night.
Dylan hired another bar manager for the tavern to help out with the late hours so he could make sure he was spending quality time with his son, but every second weekend, Jed stayed with me and Caleb.
I’m quite sure that’s the reason why I’m knocked up right now.
Caleb would be all over me the second Dylan picked up Jed after a weekend with us, telling me how he couldn’t wait to see me with our own children.
It wasn’t even on my radar yet since our lives felt busy enough, but if there was anyone I could make it work with, it’s Caleb.
He’s taken on his split schedule between the city and here with ease.
On the weekends we don’t have Jed, we travel up to the city to see his family, as well as Claire, Lee, and Liv.
Mason and Beth come down often since they’ve been working on the house.
I pick up Marlin and make my way over to Caleb, where he’s speaking to someone on the phone. He pushes back in his chair, making room for me to sit on his lap, his arm instantly coming around me as I do.
“Thanks, Iz. Talk to you later.” He hangs up and pulls the earbud from his ear, tossing it on the desk.
“You’re back early, baby.” He smiles, rubbing a hand up and down my back. Marlin jumps out of my arms and up against his chest, licking his cheek.
“Yes, hello,” Caleb says, scratching his head and simultaneously trying to push him away from his face. “Ah, no licking.”
Marlin stops straight away, looking at Caleb with his big brown eyes. He listens to Caleb far more than he does to me.
“I had an appointment and a few errands to run. I’ll drive down a little earlier tomorrow, but I got most of what I needed done this morning.”
“Appointment? What appointment? Did you see Claire’s photos this morning? We should do a couple’s trip to Sweden, their accommodation looked amazing.”
Claire and Lee got engaged a few months ago. They ended up getting married a month later in a registry office. They had a cute little backyard party with friends and family, then straight away left for a big honeymoon.
She’s due back next month, and I’m so excited to spend a few weeks back in the city over the Christmas break. It looks like we’ll have a fair few things to catch up on. My stomach roils as I think of the news I’ve yet to share with my boyfriend.
“I did. She video called me about an hour ago as she sipped her morning coffee on the balcony. It was just starting to snow.” I smile and it wavers as I redirect us back to his first question.
I don’t know why I’m nervous. I know he wants children, and I know he’s ready for them now.
Maybe it’s my own nerves, thinking of how we’ll handle a baby as we build our house, keep growing the distillery, and keep managing Caleb’s office in the city.
But he told me months ago that we could make having it all work, and he was right.
I need to trust him. No matter how hard life can get, I know he’ll always be there to walk through it with me .
“So, back to my appointment.” My hands turn over themselves before I pull my handbag off my shoulder, where it rested against my stomach.
I pull out the small rectangular box, wrapped in white with a red ribbon, and hand it to Caleb.
“Is this an early Christmas present?” he asks with furrowed brows.
“Umm, maybe?” I shrug. It’s definitely a surprise.
He gives me a curious smile as he scoops up Marlin and puts him back down on the floor so he can open the box.
When he pulls off the lid, I watch his face, seeing how he’ll react to the positive pregnancy test lying inside.
I started getting bouts of nausea last week and craving greasy food, which is so unlike me.
All I wanted to eat was McDonald’s hash browns, and I was halfway through my fifth one when I realised how unusual that was.
I took a test last week, which came back positive, but I saw the doctor this morning, who confirmed it.
I took another test this morning so I could wrap it up for Caleb, whose eyes haven’t left the box. When he finally looks up at me, his bottom lip trembles, and his eyes have tears gathering in the corners.
“Are you pregnant?”
My own tears build as I nod at him. “Yeah.”
He looks down at my stomach, then back up at my eyes, and he crumbles. He tosses the box on his desk and hugs my body to his as he laughs through his tears of joy. We hold each other, laughing and crying as the emotions take control.
When they finally calm, Caleb lifts us from the chair, letting me find my feet as he sinks to his knees before me.
He lifts my shirt, staring at my still-flat stomach, and presses a kiss there. Right where our baby grows. Resting his chin there, he looks up at me.
“Marry me,” he whispers .
“Oh my god.” The shock holds me in time for a moment before I cover my face with my hands and cry some more.
I feel as Caleb rushes to his feet, the sound of a drawer opening, then his arms sliding around me.
“Lex.”
I tilt my head back to suck up the sniffles. My hands sweep under my eyes, and Caleb continues to hold me gently in his arms. When I find the strength to look at him again, he brings a box up between us.
A glittering pear-cut diamond sits on a band filled with more dazzling stones.
“I’ve had this for about six months. I wanted to wait until you felt settled here, but I don’t want to wait any longer to call you my wife.”
“I don’t want to wait either,” I say and smile against his lips. “Yes.”