Текст книги "Taking Chances"

Автор книги: Molly McAdams

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Текущая страница: 19 (всего у книги 27 страниц)

15

Brandon and I had found a townhouse that weekend and were moving in tomorrow. It was a three bedroom, two and a half bath, two car garage with a backyard and it was perfect. It was less than ten minutes away from Mom and Dad's, and even though they were sad I wouldn't be living with them, they were really happy that Brandon and I were moving on with our lives. Mom said she was going to set up another nursery in the room anyway so she could babysit and to insure we would still come over often. Yesterday we had finished picking out and buying everything we needed to furnish our new place, and the things that weren't already stored in Mom and Dad's garage were being delivered tomorrow morning. We were currently starting the ultrasound at my first appointment with Brandon since he and I had gotten back together. As suspected, Dr. Lowdry wasn't surprised to see Brandon, and was genuinely happy he was there with me.

Brandon's breath caught and he squeezed my hand as soon as Gummy Bear's heartbeat filled the room and he was on the screen. “Oh my God, Harper.”

I smiled at him and looked back to the screen. Going through this right now was completely different than it had been with Chase. It had been almost magical with Chase, emotional since he died, and felt like a perfect new beginning with Brandon.

“Okay Harper, as you can see, the baby has already turned head down and dropped. That usually doesn't happen for a couple more weeks, so unfortunately I am going to have to put you on bedrest. He'll probably still come early, but honestly with how things are going it could happen at any time now. We need to make sure he stays in there at least a few more weeks so everything can be fully developed. If it comes down to it there are medicines we can use to help with that, but I'd prefer to not do that. So the less active you are now, the better.” Dr. Lowdry turned to Brandon, “Now I'm counting on you to make sure she takes it easy, okay?”

He grinned at me, “I promise she'll be taken care of.”

I rolled my eyes, he knew I could only handle being babied for so long before I started going crazy. I usually didn't make it past two days.

The next day was ridiculous, I wanted to be putting everything away in our new home, but once the furniture had been moved in, everyone made me lie on the couch and tell them where I wanted boxes to go. I continued to whine and complain until Brandon came back with another load of boxes and frozen yogurt from Golden Spoon for me. That shut me up and I decided to play nice the rest of the day. I ordered pizza for everyone that helped four hours later when they'd finished, and we had the house to ourselves by eight. Brandon and I walked from room to room so I could see how the furniture looked in the rooms, and I couldn't have been happier with how it turned out. We had just left the new nursery when Brandon stopped me in the hall.

“Close your eyes sweetheart.”

“Why?” I dragged out the word a bit.

Brandon stepped close and placed his lips to my ear, his fingers gently rubbing my swollen stomach. “I have a surprise for you, will you please close them?”

I obeyed and he took my hands to lead me to another room, my jaw dropped when I finally opened them. “When did you do this?” I glanced around at our bedroom that was dim, the only light coming from candles, and the huge bouquets of orange lilies. At least another two dozen lilies had the stems cut off and were lying on the bed.

He kissed me gently and walked me to the bed, “I made sure you were kept busy for a while. You really thought Bree wouldn't know where to put the nursery and kitchen items?” He sat me down and bent over, kissing me again.

“Thank you Brandon, for everything.”

“Harper, I will love you forever, and I promise to take care of you and our kids for the rest of my life.”  He leaned over and pulled something out of a nightstand drawer, then dropped to one knee, my mouth popped open and my eyes widened. “Will you please marry me?”

Of course tears started streaming down my face as I nodded my head and managed to squeak out, “Yes!” I pulled Brandon's face to mine and kissed him until I couldn't think straight anymore.

I gasped when he opened the black box and there lay a thick white gold band with three large round diamonds on top. He pulled it out and gently placed it on the ring finger of my left hand. I laughed when the ring instantly fell to one side from the weight of it and pressed my lips to Brandon's, pulling him onto the bed with me. His large frame curled around my body as he kissed me passionately and slowly made his way to my stomach, which he kissed tenderly and told Gummy Bear that Mommy and Daddy were getting married. There was fire in his eyes when he brought his face back to mine and began unbuttoning my top. To be honest, with how big my stomach is, I thought he wouldn't even want me like that right now, but the way his lips moved over my throat and chest, and his fingers caressed my body, it didn't seem he thought the same. I was craving to be with him, but after a while he groaned and fell to his side on the bed, both of us breathing hard.

“Why did you stop?”

He'd been running a hand over his face and it stopped halfway down, “Wait, you're ready?” I nodded and blushed, he let out a frustrated laugh and pulled me close to his chest, “So once again you decide you're ready, and something stops us.”

“No you're stopping us.”

“Sweetheart, trust me when I say I don't want to stop, especially after you telling me this. But Dr. Lowdry told me we couldn't.”

“What? When?!” I pulled myself up on my elbow and looked into his hazel eyes.

“When you went to the bathroom yesterday she told me two things. One, make sure you stay on the couch or bed. Two, do not have sex with you. She said normally, she encourages couples to have sex, but with how worried she is that you're going to go into labor too early, she said we had to refrain.” Brandon smiled and kissed my cheek, “So naturally, you're ready.”

“I'm sorry Brandon.”

He cupped my face and looked at me with bright eyes, “Don't be. When we finally do, it's going to be amazing.” He kissed my lips, then grabbed my hand to kiss the ring he'd just placed there. “It's been a long day, let's get some sleep baby.”

***

I woke up confused at first, but smiled and curled up even more into Brandon's arms when I realized we were in our place, in our room, in our bed. He had one arm under my head, the other wrapped lovingly around my stomach. I glanced at my ring and turned it every which way so the light streaming in through the blinds would catch perfectly on the diamonds. Brandon's hand started on slow circles when Gummy Bear's elbow skimmed across my side as he shifted.

“It has been way too long since I've woken up with you in my arms,” he kissed the top of my head, “and I'm glad you like your ring.”

“I love my ring, and I love you.”

“I love you too, my beautiful fiancée.”

I smiled and scooted away so I could roll over to face him, big stomachs tend to get in the way sometimes, “And I love that.” I kissed under his jaw and his arms tightened around me, “How does Christmas time sound?”

Brandon started and looked down at me, “For what?”

“To get married. I don't want to be pregnant when we get married, I don't want it to look like a shotgun wedding. And I really want to wear a pretty dress, not a maternity dress.”

“Four and a half months?” I nodded and he smiled wide, that dimple that I love so much flashed at me, “Sounds perfect.” He kissed me chastely and got out of the bed, “I'm going to make us breakfast, you're going to turn our phones off and meet me in the kitchen when you're ready. Breanna's gonna hate me, but we're ignoring the outside world and not leaving our place for the rest of the weekend. They can find out about our engagement on Monday.”

Brandon and I had done exactly what he said; I turned off the phones, grabbed a quick shower and dressed in comfortable pajama shorts and stretchy tank top. He made ham and cheese omelets, coffee for him, decaffeinated tea for me and cut up a melon. We sat at the kitchen table, my legs propped up on Brandon's lap, eating breakfast and staying long after it was gone just to talk and enjoy having our own place. The rest of the weekend was either spent on the couch watching movies, sitting out back in the evenings or curled up in bed. After complaining all throughout lunch the first day, he finally conceded to letting me stay standing long enough to help cook our meals, even though I did notice he seemed to make meals that didn't take much time to cook after he did allow my help. My family and his were coming for dinner Monday night to have everyone in our place now that it was completely done being decorated – Brandon had only let me work for five minutes an hour, and had done the rest himself, but I had to admit it looked amazing and I loved seeing him make our new place our home – and also to share our news.

There's something I had been thinking of since Brandon and I had decided to get back together, and after he asked me to marry him, all I have been able to do was think of a way to talk to him about it. I was sitting on the bed waiting for him to get out of the shower Monday evening, and as soon as he stepped into the bedroom in only a pair of jeans, I decided right now was as good a time as any.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” he crawled onto the bed and kissed me hard before sitting down and pulling me into his arms, “what's up?”

I bit my lip and took in his ridiculously handsome face. His eyes were full of love and joy when he looked at me, and coming from this intimidating looking guy, it made him just that much more attractive, “I've kind of been thinking about a name for him.”

“Yeah?” His smile was playful and patient, we continued to go over the ten names Chase and I had decided on, and still couldn’t narrow them down, Brandon thought it was hilarious, “And what have you been thinking?”

I took a deep breath and sat up, “You have to promise you'll tell me if this bothers you, okay?” I thought back to that day in his mom's kitchen in Arizona after Christmas, and how he'd looked in Chase's kitchen the day I told him I was having a boy.

His smile fell, “I promise babe.”

“Well,” My body was shaking, I couldn't believe how nervous I was about telling him this! He'd already told me he wanted a son named after his dad, and I knew he thought of Gummy Bear as his, but I didn't know if the baby not actually being his would make a difference to Brandon. “I was thinking we could name him Liam Chase Taylor.”

Brandon's next intake of breath was audible, his mouth opening slightly. His brown eyes searched mine for what seemed like an eternity before he smiled and brought his mouth to mine, “Thank you Harper.” he whispered against my lips and continued to kiss me fiercely. “I love you, thank you so much.”

“I take it you like the name?” I asked a little breathlessly when he moved to my neck.

“I love it, it's perfect for him...for us.” He cupped one side of my face and kissed my nose, “I understand why you would think it would bother me, but I promise I've never been happier than this weekend. I'm so lucky to have you Harper.”

“I'm the lucky one.” I whispered.

The doorbell rang, and he jumped off the bed to put a shirt on, “Can we tell them the name tonight too?” he asked pulling me towards the entryway.

“I think tonight would be perfect.” I kissed his cheek and answered the door. I was engulfed in hugs and kisses from my family, Mom of course started asking why I was standing, “Mom, I'm fine. I literally just got off the bed when you guys got here.” I hugged her tightly and Bree gasped.

“Oh my God! You're engaged?!” She screeched and hugged me again, bouncing over to Brandon to hug him too. She must have seen my hand on Mom's back.

“Congrats Kid.” Konrad kissed the top of my head and shook Brandon's hand.

“Let me see, let me see!” Mom and Bree were holding my hand while Dad hugged both of us, “Konrad, are you seeing this? Take notes.” Bree showed him my ring, then went back to inspecting it, “Did he just ask you?”

I raised an eyebrow at Brandon and smiled, “He asked me Friday night after everyone left.”

Breanna dropped my hand, “Whoa wait, what? And I'm just hearing about this? You're supposed to tell me these things right away, not wait…” she counted on her fingers, “three days!”

“That would be my fault, I told Harper it was going to just be us during the weekend, I asked her to wait to tell you.”

She turned her glare to Brandon, “For the next five minutes, we are not friends.”

We all laughed and I drug her over to the living room, before we could sit down the doorbell rang again and Brandon let in his mom and Jeremy.

“Oh Harper, look at your cute belly! You look like you've gotten bigger just over the weekend! You look great honey!” Carrie hugged me and when we pulled back I flashed my ring. She squealed and grabbed my hand, “Oh my goodness, congratulations you two!” She smacked Brandon on his arm, “How could you not tell your own mother that you were going to ask her! I would have given you pointers.”

Jeremy hugged us and was smiling wide, “I'm really excited for you guys.”

“Thanks Jeremy, and Carrie trust me, he did a great job!” I laughed and told everyone how he proposed while we walked them through the house to show off everything.

Everyone gushed over our home, and by the time the tour was finished, all the women were ushering me to the couch. I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything, I was just glad to have them there. The guys went out back to put the burgers on the grill, while I talked wedding with the women. They all loved the idea of a Christmas wedding and agreed that waiting until after the baby was born would be best. Carrie and Claire started discussing watching their grandson so Brandon and I could have some sort of a honeymoon, even if it was just a night or two alone in our house.

“Hey, Bree?”

“Yeah friend?”

“Are you mad at me for not telling you sooner?”

She snorted, “Not at all, I was joking. I'm so excited for you!”

“Well since you're not mad,” I smiled and winked, “will you be my Maid of Honor?”

“Um, YES! Of course I will! Who else are you going to ask?”

“Just you. I know sometime while they're out there, Brandon is going to ask Konrad and Jeremy. It will be uneven, but I'm not really friends with anyone else other than everyone here. Brian and Marissa haven't talked to me since the funeral, so I can't ask her.”

“I think it will be just fine to only have Bree. Either both guys can escort her up the aisle, or they can be with Brandon already and she can walk herself down.” Carrie added.

“Do you think we'll be able to put something together by then? It really doesn't have to be anything extravagant. I just want to wear a dress, I want all of you there, and I want to marry him. Other than that, we can get married here for all I care.”

“Oh no,” Bree shook her head, “Mom has connections. It will be awesome.”

“I do indeed!” Mom agreed, “We can definitely come up with an amazing wedding by then.”

I smiled, “Okay! I think Brandon and I decided on December fifteenth, if we can't get that day, we can do the weekend before or after. Oh my word I can't believe all this is happening.”

“Are you happy Harper?” Mom asked.

“I'm so so happy.”

The three of them smiled wide at me and we went back to talking about the baby and wedding plans. When dinner was ready, we ate outside, adding the guys into our earlier conversation. Brandon had already asked Konrad and Jeremy to be in the wedding, we got the colors figured out, and figured out a few venues to look at this week. Most of Brandon's friends had graduated this year, and though we planned on sending them invitations, we weren't sure if they would all fly back out here. The majority of the guests would be his, and the Grayson's, extended family. Mom said we could try to reach Sir again, but I wasn't going to get my hopes up. I hadn't received even an e-mail back from him since I told him I was pregnant, and didn't expect that to change now. After it got dark we went back to the living room and were all lost in different conversations when Brandon spoke up.

“So we have something to tell everyone.”

“You're getting married?” Bree guessed.

I gasped, “How'd you know!” Everyone laughed and Brandon tried again.

“Okay we have something else to tell you.” He looked at me and his face was so elated my breath caught, everyone snickered. “Sweetheart, you want to tell them?”

“We decided on a name for the baby.” I was smiling so wide my cheeks were hurting, I tore my gaze away from Brandon to look at our family, “We're going to name him Liam Chase Taylor.”

It sounded like they all gasped at once, and instantly started on how perfect it was, and how they loved it. Soon everyone was crying and hugging each other. When we all sat back down, Brandon held me tight.

“I don't think there could be a more perfect name for him.” Robert said, and the rest of the group agreed.

“That's what we think too.” Brandon responded “Thank you all, for being there for us through everything. We've all gone through a lot of hard times to get to where we are now. But Harper and I are very thankful for your support, it means a lot to us.”

I kissed his jaw and rested my head on his shoulder. I couldn't have said that better myself.

“Breanna,” Mom leaned over and gave her a look, Bree quickly got out of her seat and walked toward the kitchen and came back with her large purse, “We made something for you two. Do you still plan on telling him about Chase?”

My throat locked up so Brandon answered for me, “We do. We think it's important for him to know.”

Mom nodded while Bree handed us a large scrapbook. “If for whatever reason you didn't, that would be fine, no one would blame you for that. But in case you do, we made this so you could show Liam who Chase was, instead of just telling him stories.”

Brandon sat the book on his lap and opened it, so the top was on mine. I gasped as we flipped through page after page of Chase. Pictures from right after he was born, to funny toddler, first day of school to sports and first time surfing. Watching him grow up right before my eyes was incredible, and as we neared the end, tears started falling down my face. This was the Chase I had known. The tall handsome tatted up artist. There were pictures of all the guys at the house he had rented for his friends to live in over the last two years, pictures of him and Bree, ones of him at the shop, and pictures of us together at the end. The first was on my birthday after Chase and I had come back downstairs. He was standing behind me, holding the picture of my second ultrasound on top of where my small bump had been and I had my neck craned up so we could kiss. A second was of us sitting on the tailgate of his truck with Bree and Konrad at the beach one day. The last two were hard for me, but I was so thankful they were in there. One was after Chase's last class of college, we had our arms wrapped around each other and foreheads pressed together. The next was of the last full night of his life, we were standing outside Mom and Dad's talking. I remember that conversation perfectly, he was giving me reasons for him not to go to the party, and I was standing my ground telling him he had to go. I hadn't even known someone took a picture of us, but it was beautiful. The sun was setting behind us, Chase was kneeling on the driveway and I was laughing while running my hands through his shaggy blond hair. He was holding my stomach with his face close enough that his nose was touching my belly button. Chase kept saying that if Gummy Bear kicked for him, he wasn't going to the party, so Chase had continued to talk to my belly, hoping the baby would wake up. But he hadn't and eventually Chase had left. That had been our last happy time together.

When we shut the book, Brandon turned to me and ran his thumbs over my cheeks, wiping the tears away and pressed a soft kiss to each cheek. He stood up and walked to the other side of the room, pulling Mom out of her chair, he wrapped his big arms around her and thanked her while she cried. This was one of the many reasons why I loved him. Beyond the tough guy exterior, was the most gentle and caring heart. What Chase and I had done had ultimately crushed Brandon. He had quietly stepped aside when he found out instead of taking it out on either of us. He had been there for me when I thought Chase broke my heart, and had helped me out of my catatonic mourning period when he died. He loved me and my baby, despite the mistakes I had made, and was now holding and thanking Chase's mother for a book to help us tell Liam stories of “how great his dad was”, as Brandon had put it that day. After Mom finished crying, I hugged her tightly while Brandon hugged Bree, Dad and Konrad.

“Brandon,” Mom croaked and cleared her throat, “I hope you know how much we love you too. We're so happy that you and Harper are together, we couldn't imagine her with anyone else. We know you'll take care of her and Liam.”

“I will. Forever.” He vowed.