Beyond These Walls (The Walls Duet #2)(58)

There were now two.

And now, I had to save them both.

“Maybe a little to the left?” she suggested.

I whipped my head around to give her a hard stare over my shoulder. “That’s the exact same spot it was in before,” I said, nudging the large framed photo an inch over on the wall.

After weeks of waiting, we were finally in our own place.

Molly and Marcus had been gracious hosts, taking care of us better than I could have ever asked, but we were newlyweds.

We needed space—and plenty of alone time.

It hadn’t taken long to find this place. We’d known we wanted to be near the ocean. After our many trips around the world, we’d learned the waves had a certain pull over us both, and I couldn’t think of any greater place for Lailah to be than near the calming, healing sound of the ocean water.

We ended up renting a large beachfront house not too far from Molly and Marcus. It was large and bright, and it had endless windows, giving every room a view of the beautiful outdoors.

“It is not. Now, it looks perfect,” she answered.

Her head cocked to the side, looking at the portrait I’d been holding against the wall for what seemed like an eternity.

“Are you sure?” I asked, holding up the nail. “Last chance.”

“Positive.”

Quickly marking the wall, I set the frame down on the sectional sofa I was standing on and positioned the nail.

“Wait!” she called out.

I groaned.

“Maybe just a tad to the right?”

Looking back over my shoulder at her as she sat cross-legged in a chair with a fuzzy blanket spread across her lap, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Goddamn, she was adorable. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“I know.” She shrugged.

Moving the nail ever so slightly, I drove it into the wall before she had a chance to change her mind again. As I hung the portrait of us, laughing and looking into each other’s eyes during our first dance, I couldn’t stop the feeling in my stomach. It was a churning mixture of nostalgia as I remembered that exact moment and a twinge of panic as I worried that days like those might be numbered.

Stay positive, I reminded myself.

“It looks great!” she exclaimed.

“And it only took forty-five minutes!” I answered sarcastically.

Her eyebrow rose as she held a steaming cup of tea to her lips. “Be nice, or I’ll make you hang the rest.”

“You’re giving me a break? What kind of break?” I asked, inching forward, a cocky grin tugging at my lips.

“We’re having company,” she replied, laughing.

“Not the answer I was hoping for.”

“It’s good to know you still think I’m sexy,” she commented, rising to take her now empty cup to the kitchen.

“Whoa. Hold up.” I stopped her dead in her tracks. “Why on earth would I ever not find you sexy?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged, looking down at her faded yoga pants and T-shirt. “It’s just . . . I’ve haven’t looked the best lately, and I’ve spent a good majority of time nauseous or throwing up. I feel like we’re back to the way it used to be . . . you know, before—”

I clutched her face in my palms, centering her gaze, so I had her attention.

“I understand this is a part of the pregnancy process—issues with body changes—but believe me, Lailah, you couldn’t be more beautiful to me if you tried. Nothing will ever change that—not now and not six months from now when you’re as round as a house. I’ll only see you.”

Her eyes watered, and I knew I’d reached her.

“You think I’ll be as round as a house?”

“If I have anything to do with it.” I grinned just as the doorbell chimed. “You never said who was visiting,” I said.

She rushed to the door. It swung open, and I heard Grace’s high-pitched squeal.

“Never mind,” I uttered to myself.

“I know this isn’t permanent, but can I just tell you how much I love being able to see you whenever I want again? It’s amazing!”

I watched the two of them hug, giggling like schoolgirls. Lailah helped Grace through the door. Bogged down with a diaper bag and an infant, she looked like her tiny legs might buckle at any moment.

“Here, why don’t I take Zander while you give Grace the tour?” I offered.

They both looked at me, wide-eyed, in surprise.

“What?” I asked.

“Well, it’s just . . . I don’t think you’ve ever offered to hold him,” Grace confessed.

“I have to.”

Both females blankly looked at me.

“At least once?”

Two heads shook back and forth simultaneously.

“Okay, fine. Well, there’s a first time for everything. I mean, how hard could it be?”

Lailah and Grace gave each other a knowing grin, and I watched Grace drop the diaper bag to the ground.

“He’s all yours!” she exclaimed, giving a wink in Lailah’s direction. “Let’s go take that really lengthy tour.”

My hands wrapped around his squishy center as I carefully gripped the tiny human in my arms. Zander had already celebrated his first birthday, so this would be easy. It wasn’t like he was fragile anymore. Hell, the kid was practically an adult by now.