Chapter 17
“Oh, honey, you look beautiful!”
“Thanks, Mom,” I say.
My senior prom is tonight. I won’t be engaging in the post-prom bonfire/drink fest that all of our friends will be at, though. I convinced Beck to keep the pregnancy a secret until after graduation. Neither one of us are big partiers, but we’ve definitely had some alcohol during get-togethers and such. Since I don’t want to explain why I’m not drinking, we’ve avoided those types of gatherings. I’m fortunate that I’ve had minimal morning sickness, so I haven’t raised suspicion in that respect either. I know it will be a shock, especially to my parents, because I waited so long to tell them. Call me crazy, but I just wanted to get through graduation feeling like a high school student, not a mom-to-be.
“That dress looks absolutely perfect on you. I’m glad you went with it.”
She doesn’t know that I chose this dress because the eggplant color and layered chiffon hide imperfections well. Or, in my case, a small baby bump.
I touch up my pink lip gloss. “Thanks, Mom. Beck should be here any minute, so get your camera ready.”
Her eyes light up as she grabs her Nikon off the table. “I can’t believe this is the last time I get to do this! How are you about to graduate high school already?”
Or become a mom.
“Hello?” Beckett calls from the other room.
“In here!” I say.
I turn as my mother gasps, and I do the same. Beck never fails to take my breath away, but holy hell, Beck in a tux is a magnificent sight. I can feel my skin heating as my eyes travel over his purposely messy hair to his broad shoulders down to his toes. Then I do it all over again in reverse. These damn pregnancy hormones aren’t helping either. I thought I was bad before, but all I want to do lately is have sex. Of course, Beck doesn’t seem to mind, and it’s not like I need to worry about getting pregnant, right?
“Hey.” He smirks, obviously picking up on my ill-timed arousal.
“Hey.” I smile. “You look incredible.”
He steps into me and grabs my hand. “You’re stunning, Pres.” He turns to my mom. “Hello, Mrs. J.”
She smiles. “Hello, Beckett. You two are so gorgeous! Go on over by the fireplace so I can get some pictures.”
We deal with my mother’s exuberance for a good twenty minutes before she finally lets us out the door. When we get to school, we walk straight to the gymnasium. Navy and gold balloons float through the air, and fairy lights are twinkling from every available surface. It’s impressive what dimmed lighting and a few decorations can do to completely transform a space.
“Wow, the prom committee did an excellent job.”
Beck jerks his head toward the dance floor. “Care to dance?”
“I’d love to.” I smile. “But I thought you didn’t dance.”
He smiles. “For you, I dance. Just don’t be mad if I occasionally step on your toes.”
I laugh. “Deal.”
We say hello to several friends as we make our way to the makeshift dance floor. When Beck pulls me into his loving arms, everything else disappears. I don’t know how he does it, but this man has a way of making me feel like there’s nothing we can’t handle, as long as we have each other. Initially, I was upset when I learned I was pregnant. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared, but that doesn’t mean I’m not happy about it. Beck was right; we’re legal adults, and this baby was conceived in love. He or she is a product of our love. Plenty of children have been brought into the world under lesser circumstances.
Beck’s hand moves from my hip over to my baby bump. I’m not sure if it’s a conscious move, but he’s been doing that a lot lately. I don’t know how many songs we’ve danced to at this point, but we haven’t moved out of our close embrace, regardless of the music’s tempo.
He rests his cheek against mine and whispers, “You and this baby are everything to me, Pres. I can’t wait to officially make you mine.”
I tighten my hold on him. “I’ve been yours since we were five years old, Beck.”
He pulls back and smiles. “You wanna get out of here?”
“Sure.” I take his hand as he leads me out of the building. I had assumed we were heading to the parking lot, so I’m confused when he takes me to the football field. “What’re we doing here?”
Beck walks backward, still holding my hand until our toes touch the sideline. “I can’t wait any longer to do this, but I didn’t want an audience. This should be ours.”
My eyebrows pinch together. “What should be ours?”
I figure it out quickly enough when he gets down on one knee and produces a small velvet box from his jacket pocket. “Presley Anne James, I’ve been in love with you practically my whole life. You’re the reason I look forward to each new day. You’re the reason I strive to be a better man.” He briefly glances at my stomach. “You’ve given me the ultimate gift, and I can’t wait to show you how grateful I am by being the best daddy that I can be. Pres, you’re my best friend, and I would be honored if you’d also be my wife. Will you marry me?”
I nod furiously as tears drip down my face. Marrying Beck was always a when, not an if, but having an actual proposal makes it official.
“Yes, Beckett. I’d marry you ten times over if you asked me to.”
He jumps to his feet and slides a beautiful diamond ring onto my trembling hand. “It’s not much—it’s all I can afford right now, but I promise to get you a bigger diamond one day.”
I shake my head as I stare at the thin platinum band with a small round diamond in the middle. “I don’t want another one, Beck. This is perfect.”
He grins. “Yeah?”
I sniffle. “Yeah. I love it, Beckett. So much.”
He cups my face in his hands. “I love you, Pres. So much.”
“I love you so much.”
He pulls me into a sweet kiss. When we break away, he says, “I want you to be my wife before the baby is born. What do you think about making it official this summer? We can have a small ceremony on the ranch—just a few friends and family.”
“That sounds perfect, Beck. Absolutely perfect.”