He pushed in one more time, and I exploded around him. As Kurt poured himself into me, something passed between us. It was intense.
Gently, he lay off to the side and cradled me against his chest. Our breaths were heavy as our heartbeats calmed. The cool air sent a shiver across my sweaty skin. “Is it me or does it get better every time?”
“It does.”
Suddenly, I was exhausted. My eyes grew heavy.
“Sleep, baby. I just want to hold you for a while.”
“Mmmkay. I don’t ever want to lose this.”
“We won’t.”
I drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
The sound of a phone vibrating woke me up, and I lifted my head. Kurt answered my silent query. “That’s Anna. We have the initial layout.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
“About four hours.”
Whoa. It had to be early evening. The sound check must have been moved to tomorrow. I sat up and stretched. “Let’s go see it. My computer is on the table.”
I threw on some clothes and then stood
at the door. “I’m going to walk fast, so don’t yell at me for jiggling the baby.”
We grinned at each other. This was love, no doubt about it. When will we say it? I wanted to blurt it out now. But I knew Kurt needed to do this in his own time. Once he said it, he was done; it was the ultimate commitment from him.
I pulled up the email and read it aloud.
Hope you like how this turned out. It’s a true testament to what I’ve witnessed today. Let me know your thoughts. Everything is rough, but you’ll get the gist for preliminary approval.
–Anna
I opened the layout and was instantly blown away. It was a rough mock-up, and the first picture was the one of me sitting on the floor, surrounded by organization. My eyes were wide, my expression saying, “Can you believe how messy he is? I can’t, but I love him anyway.” Kurt grinned at me like he knew it annoyed me so he did it more. And George was simply adorable.
I read the article out loud. “Kurt Hendrix and Sawyer Wade showed up today with a bundle of surprise—news of a baby.”
From there, the article turned into the Q&A part. And it was truly us. Anna had done a magnificent job.
In closing, it read, “The pictures are a mixture of both staged and candid. At one point, they had no idea the camera was still clicking. I want to close with a poetic statement Ms. Wade made that shows the depth of love these two feel for each other.
“I asked if we would hear wedding bells in the future, and the answer was no. When asked why, this was her response, ‘Because what we have feels like perfection. We’re the same in so many ways, opposite in the ways that keep life fun and exciting, and we’re confident in what we have. Changing anything would be tempting perfection. And I’m happy. Truly happy.’”
I stared at the words. “I meant it, Kurt. I am happy.”
“Me, too, Sawyer.”
No comment was made about love. I was glad. Having another woman prompt him to say it wouldn’t be us. It needed to be in our own time.
I scrolled down and saw pictures of Kurt kneeling, kissing my tummy, and staring into my eyes. Another with him biting a huge chunk of my cupcake and me with a huge grin. The last one was of Kurt holding me while he walked out of the studio with George on his heels.
Touching the screen, I was overcome with emotion. This was my life.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Sawyer