His eyes flash to mine and then he leans forward, kissing me softly. “I concur wholeheartedly.”
“But you’d like me to take the bird away again?”
He grins. “Where did you get it from?”
“The markets.”
“I mean, where, just now?”
“Oh, here. There’s a cage. She’ll be added to the royal coup later today.”
“I think I’d like to keep her closer by. Perhaps we’ll have a new coup built just for our chicken?”
“She might get lonely.”
“That’s a fair point.” He crouches down to put the chicken away, turning back to me. “Thank you for the present, but you didn’t need to do that. You being here is a constant gift.”
My heart turns over in my chest. “Oh. Then you don’t want the other present?”
“I don’t know. Is it a cow?”
“I hope not.”
“You don’t know?”
“Well, no, I mean, we could find out, but I’m quite traditional and personally like the idea of waiting.”
“Waiting for what? You are not making any sense, my beautiful Emira.”
I lift my brows. “Actually, I think I am. You’re just not listening.”
“I’m always listening to you.”
I laugh. “Fine, let me be really, really clear.” I reach for his hand, carrying it towards myself slowly, then place it palm-side down on my stomach. “It’s not a chicken and it’s not a cow, and I’m not sure if it’s a boy or a girl, but we’ll know soon enough.”
His eyes fly wide. “You’re kidding?”
“Nope.”
“You’re pregnant? With my baby?”
I laugh again. “Well, if it’s not your baby then that would be awkward. And impossible,” I hasten to add.
He makes a groaning noise. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just, I had no idea.”
“I know. I wanted to be sure it was safe before I said anything. You’ve been so busy with the new education rollout, I didn’t want to distract you.”
“Oh, Amy, this is the right kind of distraction. This is literally the best news I have ever been given.”
“Gosh, so you like the gift then?”
“I think – though it is a close call – I like this gift even more than the chicken. And I like you most of all.”
I stand onto the tips of my toes, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “That’s a relief, because you’re completely stuck with me.”
“Promise?”
“Forever and ever.”