37. Sawyer
SAWYER
“Okay, this looks so much better than I thought it would,” Beckett said, stepping back to examine our handiwork.
We’d been here a large portion of the day, carefully turning the space into the perfect room for our son.
It’d taken a lot more than I anticipated.
At one point, just over halfway through, I wasn’t sure we’d ever reach a finish line, but I was still glad we’d done it ourselves.
Beckett brought his shirt up to wipe away the sweat along his forehead. He said something as he did it, but I was too distracted by the sight of his abs to pay attention. It’d been happening all day, not that I was complaining.
Thank god he hadn’t insisted on painting shirtless, though. We wouldn’t have gotten anything accomplished.
I turned in a circle, following his gaze before settling in front of the large window overlooking the front lawn.
Music filtered through Beckett’s phone, playing softly in the background.
None of this felt real yet. I was still struggling to come to terms with the fact that I lived here now.
This place was so much more than anything I could’ve dreamt up, and it wasn’t just Beckett’s, but mine and our son’s as well.
After months of tears and apologies, we were finally going to be a family.
Beckett came up behind me and slipped his hands beneath my belly to offer support. I groaned, leaning back into his chest. There were streaks of green all over our clothes, and probably our skin, too, but I didn’t care.
Here, with him, in our freshly painted nursery, this was the happiest I’d ever been. Ever since he’d shown me the house, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the life we could build here. It was the perfect beginning to our forever.
He tucked his chin in the crook of my neck, pressing a kiss to my exposed shoulder as he whispered, “How are you feeling, baby?”
“I’m tired,” I admitted. Today had taken a lot out of me. We’d been on our feet since six in the morning, and now the sun was going down. “But I’m happy.”
Beckett’s smile curled against my cheek. “Me too. I had more fun than I thought I would, but I think that’s just the company.” He squeezed me carefully. “Thank you for talking me into this.”
“Thank you for going along with it.” I shrugged. It was a silly thing I couldn’t let go of after seeing it in a movie once. The parents had looked so happy and in love, and that was what I hoped for our own son.
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I’d do whatever you wanted just to see you smile.” He kissed my cheek and slowly let go of my stomach. “But let’s get you home so I can take care of you, hm?”
“You always take care of me,” I said, rolling my eyes. It wasn’t even just about the sex—which I was absolutely loving, by the way—but how he doted on me every second of the day. Foot rubs, belly massages, food cravings… Whatever I wanted, Beckett dropped everything to keep me comfortable.
He reached for his phone to cut off the music, but then he stopped and looked at me. I was beginning to get concerned before he held out his hand and said, “Dance with me.”
“What?” I asked, glancing down at his open palm and laughing nervously. “Why?”
There were many things I wasn’t good at.
One of them was dancing. I was a wallflower at school dances growing up.
No matter how hard I tried, rhythm eluded me completely.
Duke had once spent a solid hour trying to teach me a simple two-step.
Needless to say, it hadn’t ended well. I’d stepped on his toes so many times that I was sure I’d caused some permanent damage, but Olivia had gotten more than a good chuckle out of watching the whole debacle.
“Why not?” Beckett shrugged, a playful smirk on his lips. “Come on. Indulge me.”
The song playing was a slower country ballad. It was perfect to sway back and forth, which was great, considering that was all I trusted myself to do. “I don’t think you realize how much of a danger I am to myself and others when I dance.”
“Please,” he begged, giving me the most pathetic puppy-dog eyes I’d ever seen. God help me if our son inherited that ability. They’d both get away with anything they wanted.
As if he could sense me wavering, he slowly reached for one of my hands and brought it up to his neck. He waited, watching me with a cocked brow before doing the same with the other.
Then we began to move.
It was slightly awkward at first, especially given the giant belly between us, but we quickly fell into sync. There was no fancy footwork to memorize, and no need to worry about crushing his feet beneath my own as we gently swayed to the beat even after the song had changed.
There was something about this moment that felt bigger than Beckett or me.
It was a puzzle piece slotting into place, allowing us to step back and look at each of the choices we’d made that led us here.
The odds had been stacked against us from the very first day, yet we beat them every time.
Even when we had no idea what we were fighting for.
But now I did, and I refused to lose this.
I’d spent most of my life wishing I could bypass anything that made me feel uncomfortable and still enjoy the good things coming my way.
But that wasn’t how things worked. You couldn’t have one without the other.
After all, what good came from planting flowers if they weren’t able to withstand a little rain?
Beckett’s movements slowed as he ran his hands along my back. “Come on. I’ve kept you on your feet for too long. Let’s get home, and I’ll make us dinner.”
“Is Tate joining us tonight?” I asked.
Beckett’s sister was still in town. It was only supposed to be a temporary visit, but after chatting with Duke and Liv about the mural idea, she decided to stay around for a little while longer.
Each night since then, the three of us had dinner together.
I wasn’t complaining. I loved Tate. She was a breath of fresh air, and reminded me a lot of Olivia in some ways, too.
Her sass was unmatched, and she didn’t take any shit.
It was entertaining as hell to watch her cut Lukas down with the sharpness of her tongue.
But I was eager to have Beckett all to myself for a night. Tate was finally able to snag one of the nearby cabins, so that she was close but not too close. It felt like weeks rather than days since we’d been alone, which was something I planned on using to my advantage tonight.
“Nope,” he said, flashing me a smile. “I’m all yours tonight.”
I had a feeling he was just as ready to be alone as I was.
The night of our baby shower was the last moment we were truly by ourselves, save for the precious time we had in the morning before I had to go to work.
Tate’s presence hadn’t necessarily derailed our new sex life, but she did have a habit of staying over long after we’d eaten, and I missed the nights where it was just Beckett and me.
Those moments would be a struggle to find after our baby was born. I wanted to soak them up while I could.
There was still so much we needed to do. We still hadn’t even talked about a name, and this house was a mess. There was furniture and boxes of baby supplies scattered between Liv’s place and the cabin. Lukas would do what he could to ensure our home was move-in ready, but time was slipping away.
Beckett turned off the music and led me from the nursery.
I glanced back only once before he turned out the lights.
It was strange to think that in a matter of weeks we would be holding our son in this very room.
Where had the time gone? It seemed like I’d met this man yesterday, and now we were getting ready to be parents.
Life was as weird as it was beautiful.
We walked out, hand-in-hand beneath the stars. He helped me into the car, making sure I was buckled up before he slid behind the wheel. As we turned onto the highway, I said, “You know, I plan on making full use of all this alone time.”
He shot me a grin and winked. “I’m counting on it.”