Chapter 11 Nadia
CHAPTER ELEVEN
NADIA
ONE MONTH LATER
I wake up with my mouth tasting like the inside of a cat litter box and the immediate, soul-deep certainty that something is very wrong.
For a minute, I try to pretend otherwise.
I keep my eyes shut, stretch out under the navy comforter, and make a mental note of how many ways my body feels like hot garbage.
I’m sore in places I didn’t know I had, my head is pounding, and my stomach is making the kind of noises that suggest something is not right.
I blame the late-night takeout, because why else would I feel like I’ve licked a chalkboard and then chugged drain cleaner?
Since it’s Saturday, Jay is still sound asleep next to me. I’m about to roll over and snuggle against him when my stomach does a full triple axel, and I realize, oh, I’m going to be sick. Like, right now.
I barely have time to untangle myself from the sheets before my entire digestive system stages a coup. I half-sprint, half-stumble to the bathroom, slam the door, and make it to the toilet just in time to hurl up everything in my stomach and, for good measure, possibly my soul.
It comes in waves of nausea, cold sweat breaking out all over my body, then bone-deep exhaustion.
I hear a soft tap at the door. “Nadia?” Jay’s voice is gentle, careful, but there’s that undercurrent of anxiety, the same one I heard the night he told me he loved me.
I can’t answer right away because, if I open my mouth, I might vomit again, so I just groan.
The door opens a crack, and Jay slips inside. He’s wearing boxers and an old A&M T-shirt, his hair wild and his glasses slightly crooked.
He crouches beside me, one big hand rubbing slow circles on my back, the other gently tucking my hair behind my ear. “What can I do to help you?”
I try to answer, but it comes out as a hiccup-shudder-sob. I’m wondering if I caught food poisoning from our dinner last night, when a light bulb goes off in my head.
I think of all the times we’ve had sex in the last month and a half. Without protection. I really, truly planned to get on the pill, but it just never happened. Oof. I do the math, the quick and dirty calculation, and my heart thuds so hard I worry it might come up my throat next.
“I might be pregnant,” I say, and the words don’t sound real until they’re hanging in the air like a cartoon anvil, ready to drop.
Jay’s eyes go wide, and for a split second, I’m worried about his reaction. But then something shifts. The terror melts off his face, replaced by a kind of fierce, unguarded joy I’ve never seen before. His hand slides from my cheek to my jaw, tipping my face up to meet his eyes.
“Are you serious?” His voice is low, a little shaky, like he’s afraid to believe it.
I nod, and the tears finally break loose. “I don’t know for sure. I just—my period is late, and I’ve been so tired, and—” My voice cracks, and the rest comes out in a whisper. “I’m scared, Jay.”
He kneels next to me and gently pulls me into his arms, pressing my snotty face into his chest like I’m the most precious thing on earth. He just holds me, arms iron-tight around my shoulders, the warmth of him bleeding into my skin until I finally start to believe I’m not alone.
He helps me over to the sink and holds me close while I brush my teeth. Then he gently carries me back to bed. Salty tries to jump up in the bed with us, but Jay takes the little dog back to his bed by the window.
Jay returns and slides into bed next to me. “I’m so goddamn happy,” he says as he pulls me close. “I’ve been trying my best to knock your little ass up since the first time.”
I lean back and attempt to give him my most fierce stare. “Oh, really?”
“Really.” He smiles and hugs me closer. “And since you didn’t insist on us using birth control, I figured it was okay with you, too.” He has me there.
“I love you.” I lean back against him, feeling his warmth flow through me.
“I love you more,” he tells me as he leans over to reach into the bedside drawer. Jay pulls out a small, square jewelry box and opens it to reveal the most stunning diamond ring I’ve ever seen.
“Nadia Mirewood, will you marry me and make me the happiest man in Texas?”
For a second, I just stare at him, my brain refusing to process. Then it hits me that this is real, this is my life, and the man I love is proposing to me. “Of course, I’ll marry you.”
He slips the ring on my finger and mutters, “I bought this ring three days after I met you. I was waiting for the right time to give it to you, but honestly, I don’t think there will ever be a more right time. I can’t wait another second to know you’ll be mine forever.”
“I’m yours. Forever.” I snuggle in closer, knowing life just doesn’t get any better than this.