Reckless (Thoughtless, #3)(180)
Reaching over, I stilled his leg. Eyes wide, he turned to me and whispered, “I’m nervous. I’m really f*cking nervous. I never get nervous. What the hell is wrong with me?”
Smiling, I told him, “You’re human. And I think it’s pretty safe to say that everybody in here is nervous on some level.”
As the pair in front of the microphone tried to lighten the mood with really bad comedy, Kellan told me, “You’re not nervous.”
I stared at Kellan for a few seconds, debating whether or not to tell him something. I’d been planning on waiting ’til all the hoopla had died down, but I knew it would absolutely take his mind off of his nerves. It was going to blow his mind. It had sure blown mine. A short movie started playing clips of the nominated bands. When I heard Kellan’s pitch-perfect voice filling the auditorium, I leaned forward and whispered my secret in his ear. His mouth dropped wide open as he stared at me in shock. Tears filled my eyes as I nodded at his unasked question.
A smile spread over Kellan’s face right as the announcers spoke in unison, “And the winner for Best New Artist is . . .” When they paused for dramatic effect, Kellan leaned forward to kiss me. “The D-Bags!”
The room erupted in cheers and applause, but I was sure Kellan hadn’t heard a word of it. Grabbing my face, he finished his descent to my lips. The other band members started standing, but Kellan was still sitting in his chair, plastering my face with light kisses. Cognizant of millions of viewers watching this on TV, I pushed him back and urged him to stand up. His face was exhilarant as he finally did. Evan and Matt clapped him on the back, urging him forward. I stood with the rest of the girls and clapped as they fumbled their way to the stage. Kellan looked back at me every five seconds, his euphoric face still in disbelief. Whether that was over winning or over my news, I wasn’t sure.
The boys climbed up the steps to the stage and exchanged polite hugs with the celebrities who’d announced them. As if on cue, Evan and Matt stepped back and let Kellan take the microphone; Griffin was subtly restrained by both men with a “supportive” hand on each one of his shoulders. Shaking his head, Kellan clutched his golden gramophone statue as he walked toward the mike
“Oh . . . wow . . . I don’t know what to say. I want to thank . . .” His voice broke and the tears in my eyes rolled down my cheeks. Bringing the back of his hand to his mouth, Kellan stopped talking. Shaking his head again, he slowly lowered his hand. “I’m sorry.” His voice warbled with barely contained emotion. “My wife just told me she’s pregnant.” He had to step back again as the moment overwhelmed him.
People started hollering. The D-Bags jumped on Kellan, congratulating him. Every head in my vicinity swiveled my direction, including my sister’s and my girlfriends’. I hadn’t told anybody about this yet. I’d really only just found out about it. Last week to be exact. And surprised wouldn’t even begin to describe my initial reaction. I was on birth control pills for one thing, so I hadn’t even been worried about getting pregnant. I just thought I was late because I was stressed, or excited. A lot of big things had been happening lately. But I just felt . . . weird. I wasn’t sick or anything, I just didn’t feel normal. I was more tired than I should be, and I alternated between not being hungry and being hungry enough to eat two loaves of bread in one sitting. I’d made an appointment with my doctor just to rule out any illnesses. She’d assured me that I wasn’t coming down with Spanish influenza, that I was pregnant.
When I matter-of-factly told the doctor that pregnancy was impossible, since I was a fastidious planner and I’d never missed a birth control pill in my life, she then informed me about a bad batch of pills that had hit the market. Apparently, the pills had been distributed in the packet incorrectly, so the dosages were wrong. Good to know. All of the mislabeled batches had been recalled, but I had apparently hit the birth control jackpot. Our baby was due in September.
While my sister and Jenny started quietly grilling me on details, Kellan finally composed himself. Approaching the microphone again, he let out a long exhale. “Well, I can honestly say that this is the best day of my life.” When the cheers died down, he told the crowd, “I want to thank every single person who has ever supported us. Your dedication has meant the world, and we wouldn’t be here without you. I may be overly emotional right now, since I’m about to be a father, but I really do love each and every one of you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
I couldn’t tell from where I was sitting, but I was pretty sure tears were in his eyes when he waved and stepped away from the microphone. I knew this emotional moment was going to be replayed on every show playing Grammy highlights tomorrow. It was going to be talked about on every radio station. It was going to be mentioned around every water cooler. And for once, I was glad. I wanted this moment to live on. I wanted to be constantly reminded of this memory. I wanted to replay this video in twenty years so I could remember the look on his face when Kellan found out he was going to be a father. And I wanted to show it to our son or daughter—so they would know, without a doubt, that they were loved. From day one, they were loved.
Chapter 31
Epilogue
Denny spared no expense when it came to giving Abby her dream wedding. Everything was picture-perfect, straight out of a bridal magazine. It was breathtaking. The ceremony took place at the impressive Fairmont Olympic hotel in downtown Seattle. With twenty-foot ceilings, crystal chandeliers, arched floor-to-ceiling windows, white brocade linens, table skirts, and china place settings, the place was top-notch.