Until Sage
Page 42

“Good, I can’t deal with crying.” He kisses the side of my head then leans over, doing the same to Ellie before stepping back. “You girls know I’ll be back from time to time to check on things and you two. Plus, I expect you to come down to Florida to visit, and do it often.”
“We will.” Ellie smiles, and Hope yawns, turning toward me and climbing onto my lap before resting her head against my chest.
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow at the closing,” Frankie tells us, giving us each another hug before leaving through the door.
“We should probably call it a night,” Ellie whispers, looking at Hope, and I glance down, finding her eyes closed.
I smile. “Yeah, it’s been a long day,” I agree, kissing the top of Hope’s head before handing her off to Ellie when she stands.
“Are you staying at the lake or in town?” Ellie asks as I gather our stuff and put it away behind the front desk.
“Probably in town tonight. That way, I can head to the hospital in the morning and go visit with June and hopefully see the baby,” I say, referring to Sage’s cousin and my friend, who’s pregnant. This morning, she was admitted to the hospital after she started having contractions, but she still hasn’t had the baby. The last time I called to check on her, she was still only dilated to a four, but her husband refused to let them kick her out, which didn’t surprise me at all. Evan is part crazy and completely in love with his wife, and he’s freaked out that she’s now two weeks past her due date.
“Since Jax and Sage are both gone, do you want to stay with Hope and me for the night? Then tomorrow we can all head over to see her together,” Ellie suggests, and Hope perks up, twisting her head toward me.
“You can stay in my princess bed with me.” Hope smiles at me sleepily, and I grin at her and run my fingers down her cheek.
“I’d love that, but I need to run home to get some clothes first,” I reply, picking up my bag and Ellie’s, carrying them toward the door behind her.
“Cool, we’ll figure out dinner when you get to the house.”
“Sounds good,” I agree, opening the door and letting her out before turning and locking it behind us. Helping her into the car, I get in mine then head home.
I pick up some clothes then head right back across town, where I spend two hours hanging out with Hope and Ellie before we get the call telling us to come to the hospital, because June finally had Tia.
“She’s perfect,” I whisper, looking down at the baby in my arms then at her momma, who is sitting up in bed looking as beautiful as ever. Her husband is cuddled up next to her with his big bulky arm around her shoulders.
“She is, isn’t she?” Evan asks.
I grin at him as June elbows him in the ribs, rolling her eyes at his arrogance. “Absolutely,” I murmur, pulling my eyes from them to look at the sleeping baby girl in my arms. Evan has a right to be arrogant. Tia is perfect; she is one of the cutest newborns I’ve ever seen.
Running one finger down her soft cheek, my heart gets tight as I wonder if I will ever have this with Sage. I want a family with him, but I’m not sure it will ever happen unless we adopt since it’s not very safe for me to get—
Oh, shit.
My heart stops, and then starts to pound in my chest as my palms start to sweat. I haven’t had my period since Sage and I got back together.
Oh, God.
I haven’t had my period since Sage and I got back together!
My stomach rolls at the realization.
“You okay?” June asks, and I lift my eyes to hers and nod dumbly then hand Tia over to November when she reaches out to take her from me.
“Are you sure? You look like you just saw a ghost,” April says, and December nods in agreement while May and July all study me, looking concerned.
“I’m fine,” I whisper then clear my throat and look at June, plastering a smile on my face. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you.” June smiles, and then her eyes go to the door as people start to come into the room.
My heart lifts when I see Sage come in behind his sisters, mom and dad, and Ashlyn, Dillon, and Jax. Giving everyone a quick hello, I move right to him and into his arms, where I rest my head against his chest.
“Hey, baby.” He kisses my hair then drops his mouth to my ear. “I tried to call you to let you know Jax and I were on our way back to town, but you didn’t pick up,” he says as my arms tighten around him.
“Sorry, I put my phone on silent when we got to the hospital.”
“You okay?”
Am I okay? I have no idea, but I don’t say that. I know he worries, so I don’t want to give him something else to worry about unless it’s necessary.
“I’m okay. I’ve just missed you.” I tip my head back, and his hand wraps around the side of my head and his thumb smooths over my cheek as he studies me with soft eyes.
“Missed you, too.” He kisses my forehead and my nose before brushing his lips across mine softly, touching his tongue to my bottom lip. Pulling back, he grins and I smile at him. Leading me across the room, he gives June a hug and Evan a pat on the back before taking Tia from November. She growls in annoyance that she’s once again giving up her granddaughter.
Watching him with Tia, tears burn the back of my eyes. I don’t know what I will do if I’m pregnant, but I know if I am, I will do whatever is necessary for Sage to hold his child like he’s holding his niece.
“Okay, give me my daughter.” June reaches out to him a few seconds later when Tia starts to wake up, and he laughs then carefully places her back in her mom’s arms. Tucking me back against his side, he turns us around, and the moment he does, everyone is there giving us hugs and quiet congrats on getting engaged.
“Your ring is gorgeous,” Willow whispers, taking my hand.
“When are you getting married?” Harmony asks, stepping closer and away from Harlen who’s been holding her possessively since he walked into the room much to the dismay of Nico who’s been glowering the whole time.
“I don’t know. Probably a year or so. It depends on how long it takes to plan the wedding,” I reply, and everyone starts to laugh.
“Good luck with getting him to wait a year,” April inserts, and Sophie, who is standing next to me, narrows her eyes on her son, making me smile.
Yesterday, Sophie called me to get my mom’s number, and twenty minutes after that, my mom called to tell me that Sophie called her to ask when she would be in town so she could take Mom out to show her a few venues. So I know she wants a wedding as much as my mother and I do.
“Okay, everyone out,” Evan calls, breaking into the moment, and all eyes go to him as he gets off the bed, tucking a thick white blanket around June, who is asleep with Tia resting against her chest.
“But—” November starts.
Before she can say more, Asher cuts her off by wrapping his arm around her and dropping his face toward hers. “You can visit tomorrow.”
“But I was going to stay the night,” she tells him, and his head goes back.
“No, you weren’t,” he mutters, and she frowns up at him then moves her eyes to Evan.
“You’re not staying. You can come back tomorrow,” Evan confirms, shaking his head in denial, and her narrowed eyes move between both men.
“Damn bossy men,” she huffs, stomping toward the door. “You guys are annoying.” She leaves and Asher chuckles, giving Evan a pat on his shoulder.
Fighting my own laughter, I say a quiet goodbye to Evan, not wanting to wake June or the baby, and leave the room with everyone else.
I stop Sage with a tug of his hand holding mine once we get outside. “My car is at Ellie’s.”
“We’ll get it tomorrow. It’ll be safe at Jax’s.”
“I need my bag from their house. Then I need to stop at the drugstore,” I tell him.
He frowns, taking a step toward me, dropping his voice while wrapping his hand around my hip. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I just need to make a stop,” I say, not sure if I’m lying about being fine, because I’m totally freaking out on the inside.