Noah nudges me. “Let’s do it now.”
I smile, then feel a bit of embarrassment. I hate being the center of attention no matter the reason. “Okay.”
“Ready, baby?” he whispers.
I nod and pick up the knife, having to go extra slow so my mom can snap pictures. I’m smiling again as I slice through the cake, making two careful cuts. Noah gets a plate for me to put the piece of cake on, then holds it up for everyone to see.
The kitchen erupts in a chorus of “it’s a girl!” and I’m grinning even more. I look around at my close friends and family, all here to celebrate with me, and catch a glimpse of Jenny’s forced smile. She’s got her arms tightly wrapped around herself, and it’s anything but cold in here. Mom and Dad aren’t fans of turning on the air-conditioning until it’s ninety degrees.
“Do you have a name picked out?” Mom’s finally calm enough to speak. Dad was right; she was hoping for a granddaughter.
“Ella,” Noah and I say in unison. His eyes meet mine. “Lauren picked it out before we knew.”
“Oh, it’s beautiful!” Mom wipes her eyes. “I’m going shopping tomorrow. Mom, come with me? Let’s start spoiling this baby!”
My grandmother, who is in incredible shape for seventy-six, excitedly agrees. I take the cake from Noah and sit at the table, eating it while everyone else fills plates with the hamburgers Dad made on the grill. I’ll have one too.
Just after my cake.
* * *
“So,” Noah starts, lacing his fingers between mine. We’re laying in my bed, both naked after sex. “We should start thinking about living arrangements after the baby is born.”
“We should,” I reply sleepily. And really, we should. After the gender reveal yesterday, my mom and grandma brought over enough clothes to fill Ella’s closet already. I hung everything up, not wanting to divide and keep half here, half at Noah’s house. I’ve brought it up a few times to Noah, and we’ve both skirted around the subject, knowing it isn’t going to be easy to make a decision. “I want us both to live together. All three of us, I mean.”
He leans forward and kisses me, then settles down, wrapping me in his arms. One hand settles on my stomach, waiting to feel movements. I swear Ella knows when it’s his hand. She stops moving immediately.
“One of us should move in with the other.”
“That’s a huge step,” I blurt and roll over to look into his blue eyes. Stubble covers his face, even though he shaved yesterday. His hair grows faster than anyone I know, and it’s not fucking fair. “Too big?”
“I don’t think so,” he says without missing a beat. “I … I want us to be a family.”
“I do too, Noah. I want Ella to grow up with her mom and dad.”
“Then we’ll have to pick a house and live in it. Together.”
Together sounds nice. Together sounds right. Andtogetheris something we can do. They say you can’t change someone, but someone can change for you.
Noah has. Not just for me, but for us.
“If I move in with you, I’d have to sell my house.”
“Fuck.” Noah takes a breath, not saying what we both are thinking. “Well, my lease is up at the end of the year,” he starts and pulls me onto his chest. It takes a bit of creative rearranging to get my growing belly to fit against him, but we make it work. I run my nails up and down his arm, listening to his heart beat. It’s steady, then gets faster and faster. “I want to be with you. I want to take care of you and Ella … and even your dogs. Making you happy makes me happy. I’ve never felt that before, never realized that one person could impact me in such a way, but you do, and thinking about not having you there when I wake up in the mornings hurts. I want you in my life, Lauren.”
“I want you in mine.” Tears pool in my eyes. Hormones make me extra emotional right now, and damn, he is good with words.
“We don’t need to make a decision now,” he says, probably sensing my hesitation.
“I know. One thing we do need to make a decision on is what to put on our registry list for the baby shower.”
“When is that?”
“I’m thinking have it around thirty weeks. It’s a little early, according to the baby books, but you know me. I’d rather do it a bit earlier and have everything in place. I could go into labor early.”
“I hope you don’t,” he says and puts his hand on my belly. “But I agree with you on being prepared. It won’t hur—was that her kicking?”
“Yeah, that’s her.” With a smile on my face I put my hand over Noah’s, feeling Ella’s little kicks. I’m still smiling when I close my eyes. Maybe happy endings do exist.