Quiet Longing (Quiet Love #2)

Epilogue.

Charli

One year later

Hiding in the bathroom next to Rhys’ and my new main bedroom to take a pregnancy test was not how I’d planned to spend our housewarming party.

The trouble was, I was late, and everything had been so hectic the past week that I hadn’t gotten around to taking the test.

How was I having a pregnancy scare the very first week we decided to move in together? Well, okay, I knew how. I was on birth control, by my own choice, but Rhys and I had been having unprotected sex. A lot of unprotected sex. I’d thought it was okay because we were both clean, and I was on the pill, but I should’ve known it wasn’t one hundred percent. The trouble was I often let go of sensibility when it came to the man in my life. My passion for him made me just a little bit dumb, and currently, I was sitting on a closed toilet seat facing the consequences. A paw scratched at the door, followed by an annoyed “Meow.” Bobby didn’t appreciate me closing the bathroom door since he often liked to come in and watch me pee. Yeah, he was a weird cat.

My mind ran through the possibility of a positive result, but oddly, it didn’t fill me with fear or trepidation. I’d always wanted kids, but that dream had been lost somewhere along the way as I’d just tried to survive through my marriage to Jesse. But I was with the love of my life, and there was no fear. I wanted Rhys’ child. I just didn’t know how he would react to the news. I imagined positively, given he sometimes waxed lyrical about filling our newly joined up houses with a couple kids. I’d brushed it off as fanciful imaginings. I didn’t know if the reality of a baby would change his mind.

The first six months of our relationship had been pure bliss. Honestly, it still felt like a honeymoon even though the second six months had been much more stressful as we’d committed to tear through walls and hire contractors. But our love for one another never faltered. Whatever hiccups we’d faced only made us better as a team, stronger and more united.

I knew it was time to look at the result, but I hesitated to pick up the stick. Whatever I found there would change the course of Rhys’ and my lives. Forcing myself, I turned it over—and immediately burst into tears at the little plus sign.

I was pregnant.

Rhys and I were having a baby.

And I had to tell him while downstairs the house was filled with our family and friends. I took a couple minutes to calm down, and when my mind finally quit racing, a broad, joyful smile spread across my face. I was going to have Rhys’ baby, the man I adored more than life itself.

Dabbing away happy tears, I checked my appearance, fixed my hair, then went downstairs. I thought about the fact my mom and her husband, Michael, were coming to visit next month, and I’d be able to tell her the news. She was going to be over the moon; she’d always wanted to be a grandma.

Rhys, my Rhys , was opening the door as I came downstairs. Maggie, Shay, and Jonathan had just arrived. Thankfully, Rhys had warmed up to Jonathan a little better, which was a good thing because Maggie often invited him along to various outings and get togethers.

I let my gaze trail over his back and shoulders encased in a dark shirt and was filled with so much love I felt I might get teary again. I really needed to pull it together.

“Maggie, Shay, Jonathan,” I greeted as I came and took Rhys’ hand in mine, all the while my head was filled with questions like, when do I tell him? Now? Later after everyone left? I was a bundle of nervous energy, and a part of me just wanted to blurt the news in front of everyone. I just about managed to keep it in.

“The place looks great,” Maggie exclaimed while her brother, not looking like his usual confident self at all, muttered, “I need a drink.”

Jonathan stalked by us into the house and directly to the kitchen where a selection of beverages was spread across the counter.

“Sorry about him,” Maggie said, her lips forming a sad shape. “His mother passed away the other week, and he hasn’t been himself.”

“My goodness,” I exclaimed while Rhys cast him a sympathetic glance. “Poor bloke.”

“Yeah,” Maggie exhaled. “It’s been rough. That’s why I invited him tonight. I thought being around people might help. Get his mind off it, you know?”

“Anything’s worth a try,” I said before we ushered them farther into the house.

After that, I was swept up giving people tours and was so exhausted talking about what we’d done with the place by the end of the night that I just wanted to collapse. Not to mention, it had been nerve-racking declining drinks every time someone tried to hand me a glass of wine. To my relief, no one had mentioned my out-of-the-ordinary choice to remain sober.

It was almost one in the morning by the time Rhys and I had the place to ourselves again. I was so exhausted I nearly forgot the momentous news I had to share with him. Perhaps I should wait until the morning after he’d had a night’s sleep before laying it on him that he was going to become a father.

“Hey, are you feeling all right?” Rhys asked, eyeing me where I was strewn out on the couch. He lifted my legs, sat, then kept my feet in his lap and proceeded to rub them. Did I mention that I adored him?

“I’m okay, just a little tired.”

“Yeah?” he said, digging his thumb into a particularly achy spot, and I sighed. “I noticed you weren’t drinking after you bought all that nice wine for the party.”

Huh. Well, it appeared my alcohol avoidance hadn’t gone completely unnoticed. “Right,” I said, sliding my feet away from him as I sat upright. “There’s actually a reason for that. I found out earlier, and I wanted to tell you right away, but people had started arriving, and I thought it was better to wait for privacy.”

“Charli, what are you trying to say?” He looked concerned.

I swallowed down the lump in my throat, excitement and anxiety warring for dominance as I finally whispered, “Rhys, I’m pregnant.”

As soon as the words left me, his concern faded away. He blinked several times, merely staring at me as he responded dumbly, “You’re pregnant.”

I bobbed my head soberly. “I am.”

Another blink, and then, the most glorious smile I’d ever seen on him. Relief smacked me hard in the chest. He was happy. I was happy. And we were having a baby. I expected him to haul me into his arms, perhaps kiss me, but instead, he rose and left the room. It was my turn to blink. Okay .

Rhys went upstairs, and I heard him rummaging around in our bedroom before he came back downstairs. There was something small in his hand, but I was too perplexed by his odd behaviour to pay it much notice.

I grew upset. “Why … why did you leave?”

A second later, Rhys was on his knees before me. “No, Charli, don’t cry. Fuck, I’m messing this up. I just … you’re pregnant, and I’m a little … I’m not myself.”

I swallowed thickly. “Expected.”

“I’ve never taken drugs, but I think this might be a similar feeling. No, this is definitely better than drugs. I’m so immensely happy I’m not sure how to express it without scaring you.” He dropped whatever he was holding on the floor to palm my thighs.

I laughed, and my relief returned. “Oh.” I paused. “Don’t worry, you can react however you need. I’ll admit I cried a little when I saw the positive result. Happy tears, mind you.”

Rhys stared at me with such love it knocked some of the air from my lungs. “We’re going to have a baby.”

“Yes,” I breathed.

He leaned in then and finally kissed me, his lips soft and reverential. “This is the best day of my life,” he declared when he came up for air, and I cupped his cheek.

“Mine, too,” I whispered, and our gazes remained locked for a long time before Rhys seemed to recall something. He looked down and picked up the item he’d placed on the floor. At long last, I had the wherewithal to see what it was and found him holding a very small velvet box. Then he was opening the box, and I grew dizzy headed as I stared at the pretty, sparkling diamond.

“Charli,” he said, his voice heavy with emotion. “I hadn’t planned on asking you this until we’d been living together for a couple months, but I bought this a while back with a plan to—”

“Rhys Doyle, are you proposing to me right now?” I asked in disbelief.

A flash of tender annoyance moved across his face. “Hey, now, don’t spoil my surprise.”

“You are not proposing,” I said, and his expression warmed. He had the audacity to look amused at my shock.

“Why aren’t I proposing, Charli?”

“Because everyone’s going to think it’s a shotgun wedding.”

“Screw what people think. I know I always planned to ask you, baby or no baby, and right now, I’m kneeling in front of you, Charlotte Moretti, asking you to be my wife so you better say yes, or I swear to—”

I cut him off with a kiss, then a sob escaped me. It was too much. I was feeling too many things, and it felt like testing fate to have so many blessings in one day. Rhys and I had just moved in together, I was pregnant, and now, a wedding. Then I thought of all we’d been through, him and I, the long road to get to this moment and decided, no, it wasn’t testing fate. Rhys and I had lost each other for too long, but we’d found our way back, and we deserved to embrace every bit of happiness that came our way.

And that was why I pulled back, smiled at him, and replied, “Yes, Rhys Doyle, I would be honoured to become your wife.”

END.