Sweet Nothing(66)

“What are you waiting for?” I asked. “Let’s go start our forever.”

Josh lifted me into his arms, kissing and carrying me the whole way.

I covered my mouth with my hands, muffling my gasp as we stepped inside the main house. The many smiling faces of our friends and family peppered the room.

“How?”

Josh lowered me to my feet, taking my hand in his and guiding me to our seats.

“We couldn’t have them come all this way and not spend time with them.” He shrugged as he pulled out my chair.

I sat, still in shock. “But the logistics of getting them all here, and the money …”

“Don’t worry about it,” Aunt Ellen said. “Just enjoy your day.”

Josh pressed his lips to my hair, and then he took the seat next to me.

Aunt Ellen was beaming. Sitting down to eat, surrounded by everyone I loved, felt like Christmas dinner. I scanned the small group, shaking my head.

“What?” Josh asked.

“I just … I guess I don’t understand. This just seems impossible.”

“Stop,” Maggie said with a grin. “We all wanted to do it. It’s not like Josh had to organize the mass exodus of three hundred guests from Philly. We rented a car and drove Josh’s parents.”

“That was fun,” Zane grumbled.

Aunt Ellen jabbed her elbow into her son’s ribs, still smiling wide.

“Ow!” he said, rubbing his side.

Maggie lifted a flute of champagne. “To Josh and Avery.”

Everyone else followed her lead, except Zane. Aunt Ellen smacked his hand away when he reached for her glass.

“To Josh and Avery,” our family and friends said in unison.

I glanced at Mary, who lifted her flute and then set it back on the table, pushing it toward Silas. He nonchalantly placed it on his other side.

“Did you see that?” I whispered to Josh.

“She just finished thirty days of sobriety. I think she wants to start over with grandchildren.”

I looked up at him. “Then let’s give her some.”





I paced the floor until my feet ached, nearly biting my nails down to the bone.

“You’re going to wear a hole in the floor,” Quinn said with a yawn as he rested his head against the doorframe. We’d been working all night during a full moon, and I had barely dragged my tired ass through the door when my cell phone chimed.

“You should come,” she said, trying to subdue the excitement in her voice.

“Really?” I asked, blinking to keep my eyes open.

“Really.”

I hurried to the hospital lab. The elevator was taking too long, so I ran up the stairs two at a time and pushed open the door.

Avery sat in the waiting room wearing her scrubs, her stethoscope still around her neck.

“Have you gone in yet?” I asked.

She shook her head, too excited to talk.

I scanned her face, taking in how beautiful she looked in that moment. “You are absolutely stunning, you know that?”

Her eyes softened, and she opened her mouth to speak, but a phlebotomist opened the door. He looked at the chart twice before calling her name. “Avery Avery?”

Avery smiled and stood, but when I did the same, the phlebotomist pointed at me with his pen. “This will be super quick, so if you could just wait here, that would be fabulous.”

“Uh … sure,” I said, frowning at the sight of Avery disappearing down a short hallway.

I ran my hands through my hair and bobbed my knees up and down while I waited. I played Angry Birds on my phone, shot out a few sarcastic tweets, and then looked at the clock.

“Fuuuuuck,” I hissed under my breath. My eyelids felt like sandpaper as they raked over my bloodshot eyes.

“We’ll call you with the results, Mrs. Avery.”

My beautiful wife stepped into the waiting room, gorgeous in her purple scrubs and a matching tourniquet wrapped around her elbow. I closed the distance between us, gripping her waist as I planted a kiss on her forehead.

“It will be a few days,” she reminded me with an easy smile.

My face fell. “A few days?”

“You act like you haven’t done this before.”

I frowned, unhappy about the reminder. “Not this part.”

I kept my palm on the small of her back as we walked into the hall toward the elevator. Avery looked so happy, grinning at everyone who passed. A heavily pregnant mother waited with us, pressing on her back with her hand.

I leaned over, whispering in Avery’s ear, “It’s happening this time. I can feel it.” I pressed my palm against her stomach as her hand covered mine.

“I don’t want to get my hopes up just yet,” she said.

“I will. They’re up. This is it. I’ll bet my paycheck on it.”

She leaned against me. “Stop,” she said, sounding like a mother already. She lifted her wrist and frowned at her watch. “I have to get to work.”

I nodded even though I didn’t want to let her go. “I’m already looking forward to your maternity leave so I can see you once in a while.”

“You love your job just as much as I love mine,” she said, stepping inside the elevator.

The doors opened, and she walked toward the ER while I headed for the parking lot.