Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Oh, God. This beautiful, selfless man. Just when I don’t think I can love him any more than I do, I fall that much harder for him. “Pierce, I could never hate you. What happened was a horrible, tragic accident. I’m so thankful that you drove by when you did and saved me and my little girl, but you are not responsible for Trent’s death.
“There was so much that went wrong that night: The faulty wiring, Trent taking sleeping pills. The alarm not sounding upstairs. My cell phone wasn’t with me. The fire and smoke… The bars on the windows. A million factors led to Trent’s death, but none of them include you. You only get to take responsibility for saving me and Jordan. Because of you, instead of three people dying, two of them lived.”
I cuddle closer into Pierce and wrap my arms around his neck. “I love you and I’m so thankful that you saved Jordan and me. I refuse to focus on the negative. We both went through something horrible that night, but you saved me. Then three years later, standing in the grocery line, you saved me again. It’s kismet, Pierce. Every broken road we took led us to each other. It’s like the Rascal Flatts song we danced to the other night. After that tragedy, we were both lost, living with the ugly truths of our reality. But we’ve taken that ugliness and morphed it into something beautiful.”
“Fuck, I love you so damn much,” he says, scooping me up and carrying me to our bedroom, where he makes love to me over and over again, showing me just how much he loves me. And in return, I show him how beautiful we are together.
“Merry Christmas, sweetheart,” Pierce murmurs as he kisses along my neck, gently waking me up while he tugs on my nipple from behind.
“Mmm.” I tilt my head slightly to give him a better angle.
As I reach back and stroke his cock, totally on board for some morning sex, a bout of nausea hits me. I fling myself off the bed and barely make it in time to throw up in the toilet.
Pierce joins me in the bathroom, concern etched on his face. “This isn’t the first time you’ve thrown up, Kels. Do you think you’ve caught some kind of bug? I hate to say this, but do we need to postpone the wedding?”
I take a few seconds to catch my breath then quickly brush my teeth, rinsing out my mouth. “I could be wrong, but I think the only bug I’ve caught is one that lasts nine months and ends with me giving birth.”
I smirk up at Pierce, and his eyes go wide. “Holy shit, you’re pregnant?”
“I don’t know.”
I pull out the box of tests I bought a few days ago, when I realized my period was late. Not wanting to take it without Pierce, I hid it under the sink to wait for the right time. Only it never came. We’ve been a little busy between the last-minute Christmas shopping, getting ready for the wedding, attending Jordan’s adorable Christmas show, and having Christmas Eve dinner with Pierce’s family. And if I’m honest, I was afraid I was wrong and would be disappointed if it came back negative.
“I kept waiting for my period to come, but it’s pretty late now. So I could be.”
“Well, let’s find out.” Pierce rips the box open and hands me a stick. After taking the test, we stare at it, both of us silently watching and waiting for something to happen. Not even two minutes later, the word PREGNANT illuminates the screen.
“Fuck!” Pierce lifts me gently onto the edge of the counter and kisses me with fervor. “I can’t believe it.” He drops onto his knees and lifts my shirt, exposing my flat belly. “There’s a baby in here,” he murmurs. “A piece of you and me.” He glances up at me with shimmering eyes. “Thank you.”
“I think before we tell anyone, we should see a doctor first to confirm everything is okay. I wouldn’t want to get Jordan’s hopes up, and then something goes wrong.”
Pierce stands and nods in understanding. Then a huge smile stretches across his face. “She might not know it, but Santa brought her a baby brother, after all.”
“Or a baby sister.”
EPILOGUE
PIERCE
“Are you ready?” Allison asks as we walk over to where Kelsie and I will be saying our vows, and she’ll be officiating. The barn has been transformed into a winter wonderland. My family is sitting in chairs on either side of the makeshift aisle, and my mom and sisters have just sat down, confirming Jordan and Kelsie are ready.
“More than ready,” I admit truthfully.
This has already been the best Christmas I’ve ever had—between finding out Kelsie is pregnant and spending the day with my two favorite girls. I haven’t told them where we’re going on our first family trip, but I have a feeling it’ll be the perfect end to today.