Chapter 17 Growing Together #2
Jamie looked up with tears already gathering.
"Emma..."
She smiled.
"I figured one day somebody's going to want to help their dad bake cookies."
Jamie's voice caught.
"I love it."
"I knew you would."
A few minutes later, another knock sounded at the door.
Marcus and Daniel stepped inside carrying containers from Jamie's favorite bakery.
Marcus grinned the moment he saw Alex.
"So..."
He pointed toward the ultrasound photograph.
"Is it true?"
Alex didn't even try to hide his smile.
"It is."
Marcus let out an excited laugh before pulling Alex into a hug.
"You old softie."
Alex laughed.
"I've accepted it."
Daniel smiled warmly at Jamie.
"Congratulations."
Jamie hugged him gratefully.
"Thank you."
Mrs. Harper arrived last.
She carried a carefully wrapped package tied with pale blue ribbon.
Jamie immediately helped her inside.
"You didn't have to bring anything."
"My dear..."
She smiled gently.
"I've waited long enough to become the neighborhood grandmother."
Everyone laughed.
After everyone settled into the living room, Mrs. Harper handed Jamie the package.
Inside rested a small hand-knitted baby blanket.
Cream-colored.
Wonderfully soft.
Tiny embroidered flowers decorated each corner.
Jamie's eyes instantly filled with tears.
"You made this?"
She nodded.
"Every child deserves something handmade."
Jamie carefully unfolded the blanket.
"It's beautiful."
Mrs. Harper looked toward Alex.
"So."
She smiled knowingly.
"Have you cried yet?"
Emma answered before Alex could.
"Three times."
"I did not."
Marcus laughed.
"You absolutely have."
Daniel nodded.
"We've known him long enough."
Alex surrendered with a sheepish smile.
"Fine."
"I've cried."
"More than once."
Jamie squeezed his hand lovingly.
"I think it's adorable."
Marcus looked around the apartment.
"I still can't believe you two are going to be parents."
Emma laughed.
"I can."
"I've been telling everyone they were basically married for months."
Mrs. Harper smiled warmly.
"You've always taken wonderful care of each other."
Jamie rested his hand over his stomach almost unconsciously.
"We're trying."
Alex looked at him with unmistakable tenderness.
"We'll keep trying every day."
The afternoon passed in easy conversation.
Marcus immediately volunteered to assemble every piece of nursery furniture.
Daniel offered to design shelves for Jamie's future cookbook collection.
Emma insisted she would become the baby's favorite aunt whether anyone liked it or not.
Mrs. Harper quietly promised that no child connected to her neighborhood would ever run out of homemade cookies.
Jamie looked around the room.
Family.
Not only by blood.
But by choice.
People who celebrated every small joy as though it belonged to them too.
His grandmother had once told him that family could grow in unexpected ways.
Looking around the apartment, Jamie finally understood exactly what she had meant.
After everyone left, the apartment felt peacefully quiet again.
Jamie carefully folded the baby blanket before placing it inside the nursery closet Alex had secretly been filling over the past week.
He smiled when he noticed another tiny stuffed rabbit sitting beside the crib.
"You bought another one."
Alex looked slightly guilty.
"It looked lonely by itself."
Jamie laughed.
"So naturally it needed a friend."
"Exactly."
Jamie walked over and wrapped his arms around Alex.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
The peaceful moment lasted until Alex's phone vibrated inside his pocket.
He glanced at the screen.
Richard Lawson – CEO
Jamie smiled.
"You should answer."
Alex nodded.
"I'll only be a minute."
He stepped onto the balcony before accepting the call.
"Good evening, Richard."
"Alex."
His CEO sounded unusually enthusiastic.
"I've been trying to reach you."
"Sorry."
"I had family visiting."
"Perfect."
Richard laughed.
"Because what I'm about to tell you is going to make your family very proud."
Alex smiled politely.
"I'm listening."
"We've officially won the Harbor Horizon Project."
Alex straightened immediately.
"The Singapore contract?"
"The very one."
Alex's heart skipped.
Harbor Horizon wasn't just another construction project.
It was the largest international development their company had ever secured.
A multi-billion-dollar waterfront district that would redefine the firm's reputation across the industry.
"It's yours."
Alex frowned slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"I want you to lead it."
Silence.
Richard continued.
"The board agreed unanimously."
"Nobody's more qualified."
Alex stared out across the city skyline.
"It would mean relocating."
"For about eighteen months."
"We'd provide housing."
"International compensation."
"A promotion to Regional Executive Director afterward."
Everything Alex had worked toward since graduating from university stood on the other end of that phone call.
Every promotion.
Every late night.
Every impossible deadline.
Every sacrifice.
This project represented the pinnacle of his career.
Richard laughed warmly.
"You deserve this."
Alex remained unusually quiet.
"I'll send the contract tonight."
"I'll need your decision by Friday."
The call ended a few moments later.
Alex stood motionless on the balcony.
Inside, Jamie quietly arranged flowers in a vase, humming to himself while occasionally resting a protective hand against his stomach.
The sight filled Alex's chest with warmth.
His phone vibrated again.
The contract had already arrived.
He opened the document.
International Executive Assignment
Duration: Eighteen Months
Primary Residence: Singapore
He read every line carefully.
The salary was extraordinary.
The promotion guaranteed.
The professional recognition beyond anything he had imagined.
For years, accepting the offer would've taken less than thirty seconds.
Now...
He slowly looked through the balcony doors.
Jamie was smiling as he arranged the tiny knitted blanket inside the nursery.
Completely unaware of the email waiting in Alex's hands.
The ultrasound photograph still rested proudly on the refrigerator.
Their future surrounded him everywhere he looked.
Alex lowered his eyes back to the contract.
For the first time in his professional life, success and happiness no longer pointed in the same direction.
He had spent years building the career he always wanted.
Now he faced a choice he had never expected to make.
Standing alone beneath the evening sky, Alex quietly realized that accepting the biggest opportunity of his life might cost him the family he had waited his whole life to find.
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