I hated that after three years I still felt this way—trying every day to tell myself she’d changed, it wasn’t going to happen, that I needed to start trusting her.
My instincts about her wouldn’t go away. One thing was for sure though…
When it happened, I’d be there to catch Kinley when she fell.
Chapter 21
Kinley
Now
“Christian, where are we going?” I asked with a blindfold over my eyes.
“I told you. It’s a surprise.”
It was official, our first trimester was over, and our baby was thriving inside of my belly. I couldn’t find the words to express how relieved I was that we’d got to this point and everything was still alright. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified I’d miscarry. It was a miracle I was even pregnant.
I still remembered our first ultrasound after we found out we were pregnant. Christian brought me into his office after closing hours.
Once I was laying on the exam table, he ordered, “Spread your legs for me, baby.”
“I hope you don’t say that to all your patients, Dr. Troy?”
I didn’t spread my legs fast enough, so he did it for me, winking at me. “You get the special VIP treatment, Miss Troy.”
I smiled. “Good to know.”
“Just try to relax for me.”
I inhaled a deep breath, but going to the gynecologist was never a pleasant experience, even when it was your husband who was in between your legs.
After he was done, he stated, “Everything looks good, sweetness.”
Seeing him in his doctor form was doing all sorts of things to my core, and of course he called me out on it.
“Things are getting awfully wet down here, baby.”
I grabbed my face. “Christian…”
He laughed, kissing my lips. “Stop being so delicious.”
The moment we heard our baby’s heartbeat through the speakers, I started crying. It was such an overwhelming, beautiful sound that I never wanted to stop listening to.
I didn’t know it then, but he was recording it. Later that night when I walked out of the shower, there on our bed was one of the stuffed animals he’d won me from the carnival all those years ago. I had no idea how he found it, but there was a sticker on his belly that said, “play me.”
As soon as I touched it, our son’s heartbeat filled our the air. For the rest of the night, he held me in his arms while we listened to our baby growing inside of me.
With my hands in his, he guided me on what felt like a boat dock.
“Stop trying to guess where we are, Kins.”
I laughed, he knew me so well. “I can’t help it.”
He led me to walk forward, and I followed as close as I could to his warm body. I was overthinking the possibilities of what he had planned in my mind when I suddenly felt him shift. He let go of my hand, moving to stand behind me. Wrapping his arms around my shoulders, he pulled me close to his chest before removing the blindfold from my eyes.
“Open them,” he whispered in my ear.
My eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the bright light. We were outside, and the fresh air and cool breeze hit all my senses.
The sun on my face.
The dock beneath my feet.
I smiled when I realized we were standing in front of a boat, named New Beginnings.
“You didn’t.”
He grinned. “I told you I wanted to own a yacht one day. I figured now was the right time to start making new memories as a soon-to-be family.” He nodded to the front of the bow where there was a makeshift picnic like there was the night we went to the carnival all those years ago.
The view was breathtaking with the autumn colors in the sky. It looked like what would only be described as a picture-perfect postcard.
“I can’t believe you did all this,” I expressed in amazement, trying to hold back the tears.
“Consider this our first date, sweetness.” He kissed my neck, stirring tingles to course down my spine.
I stood there dumbfounded for I didn’t know how long, taking in my surroundings before stepping onto the boat with him. Christian thought about everything, down to the pack-in-play that was in the living room, and the bassinet in our bedroom.
The four-bedroom yacht was fully loaded with everything we’d need for a baby.
“I can’t believe you did this,” I repeated, sitting next to him. Immediately I noticed he had all my favorite foods, from desserts, to the appetizers, and even my favorite drinks. It all lined the center of our blanket for us to enjoy.
Down to the guitar he had from college. I hadn’t seen it in years. He must have found it in our garage or attic. Christian picked it up as a hobby our freshman year and actually learned how to play several songs. He used to serenade me all the time. It was one of my favorite memories from our past, and I was excited he’d decided to bring it here tonight.
“I have no words, Christian Troy. You have officially outdone yourself.”
“Thank you, Kinley Troy.” He winked, tossing a chocolate-covered strawberry in his mouth.
“It feels amazing to be outside. God, it feels like forever since I felt the sun on my skin.”
He had put a lot of thought and effort into this date, and I couldn’t have been more grateful. We wanted to celebrate that we were in the safe zone of being able to finally tell his family I was pregnant. Although Autumn and Julian knew, we wanted to wait to tell his parents.
Just in case.
There were a lot of things that had changed in the last month, including Christian coming home early every evening so we could eat dinner together. We’d talk about our highs and lows of the day. It was something we picked up with Capri. She loved doing it when we’d babysit her for Julian and Autumn.
They had their hands full now—their son was born a few weeks ago.
Julian Adrian Locke II was seven pounds, six ounces, had bright blue eyes just like his daddy, and vibrant red hair just like his mommy. Autumn was in labor for an hour, no epidural. She was officially Superwoman and my hero. Their baby was the sweetest boy, and I was in love with him from the moment I saw him. The same went for Christian.
He adored his niece and nephew, and I had no worries that he wouldn’t be the same with our baby.
The way his face lit up when he met their son would probably go down as one of my favorite memories.
“You look good holding that baby, Christian.”
He smiled at me. “I can’t wait to hold ours, sweetness.”
The day continued on, and at one point I handed Christian his guitar. He asked me what I wanted him to play for me, knowing I had a few favorite songs that he used to serenade me with. It felt as though we’d gone back in time when we were just those two crazy kids who were madly in love with each other.
Christian ended up playing our wedding song that he actually performed for me during our reception. I sat there watching him with a fascinated regard, completely captivated by the man in front of my eyes. I hadn’t seen him in such a long time.
The hours flew by, and before I knew it, I was leaning against his chest, watching the sunset behind the horizon while he rubbed my shoulders and played with my hair.
“I missed this.”