Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 104288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
I’m terrified.
I’ve never been happier.
“Stay put,” I tell Maren. “I’ll get Katie, then I’ll help you out.”
Maren chuckles softly. “I’m pregnant, not broken. I can get out of the car myself.”
“Remember what the doctor said. Plus, it’ll be easier if I help you. This isn’t a small car. We’re high up. Give me a sec.”
Her brown eyes are soft. “Okay.”
I get lost in them for a second. Resist the urge to take her chin in my hand and kiss her. We still haven’t told Katie about our relationship. I figure that’ll be easier after I tell Maren how I feel. Then we can go to Katie, tell her we’re in love and this is what people in love do—create families together.
Looking at Maren, a voice inside me says it’s time. Maren isn’t going anywhere. Neither is the baby.
My heart flutters when I think about how Katie is going to lose her damn mind. My family will be thrilled.
And Maren’s face when I pull out that diamond—
“Daddy! Get me out, I want to go in.”
“How do you ask?” Maren says.
“Please please please.”
I shiver when I step outside and open Katie’s door. Settling her on my hip, I walk around the front of the car and open Maren’s door. Offering her my hand, my heart swells when I take in the sweet little curve of her belly as she steps onto the pavement.
She’s so damn cute.
We head for the door. Maren draws up short when she sees the sign beside it: Coastal Cheer & Gymnastics.
“Tuck,” she says slowly.
I smile. “Yeah?”
“What’s this?”
“A tumbling class for Katie. Food for thought for you.”
She blinks. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.” I grab the door and open it. We’re immediately hit by a cacophony of shouts, screams, and music. Katie’s arms tighten around my neck as I follow Maren inside.
The large gym is divided into several sections. There’s a corner with balance beams and several sets of bars. Another corner is covered in mats and big soft shapes in various colors. The main area is a large, carpeted floor in front of a wall of mirrors, where a group of young girls is currently practicing some kind of routine.
A Britney Spears song plays in the background.
I watch Maren’s expression transform. Her eyes sparkle, lips parting as she takes in our surroundings. She puts a hand on her belly and smiles.
“Remember any of this?” I ask.
She digs her teeth into her bottom lip. She holds her thumb and first finger an inch apart. “Just a little bit.”
“Pom-poms! Look! Maren! They have pom-poms and theirs are purple and mine are blue,” Katie says. “Daddy, did you bring mine?”
Laughing, I set my daughter down. “I asked your teacher, but he said you don’t need them today.”
“But I do need them.” She stomps her foot. “You can’t be a cheerleader without them.”
Maren bends down, slipping her hands between her thighs. “You absolutely can be a cheerleader without pom-poms. As a matter of fact, cheerleaders don’t use them a lot of the time. Like when we’re building towers.” She points to the human pyramid going up on the floor in front of us. “See? No pom-poms.”
A twenty-something guy in joggers and a hoodie approaches us with a smile. “Y’all here for the ten A.M. tumbling class?”
“We sure are.” I hold out my hand. “I’m Tuck, this is Maren, and this is Katie.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jeremiah, and I’ll be Katie’s teacher.”
Maren tucks her hair behind her ear with one hand and takes Katie’s in the other. “You hear that, Katie Bear? Your class is about to start!”
Katie pouts, wrapping herself around Maren’s leg. “I don’t want to go to class.”
“Do you like to dance?” Maren asks.
“Yeah,” Katie says.
Jeremiah nods. “We do lots of dancing in class.”
“What about jumping? And doing somersaults?” Maren asks.
“We do lots of those too,” Jeremiah replies.
Maren points to the pyramid again. “Once you learn how to do all that stuff, they teach you how to do that. And that is pretty cool, right?”
Katie’s still frowning, but she says, “Yeah.”
“You’ll also get to use pom-poms. But only if you go to class. Isn’t that right, Jeremiah?” Maren says.
He nods. “That’s exactly right.”
“I don’t want to,” Katie repeats.
Maren picks her up. “You’re going to do great.”
“You’re not supposed to lift that much weight,” I say. But when I try to take Katie out of Maren’s arms, my daughter just burrows closer, hiding her little face in Maren’s chest.
Maren smiles, pressing a kiss to the top of Katie’s head. “She’s fine. Besides, I won’t be holding her long because she’s heading to class, right?”
Jeremiah waves us over. “Y’all come to the mats. We’re about to start.”
I walk behind Maren. Grin when I see she’s starting to waddle a little. Katie looks at me over Maren’s shoulder and gives me a happy smile.
My heart twists. These two have a special bond. I’m a lucky bastard to have found Maren. Katie and I are both lucky she’s so good to us.