Page 50 of Free

I should not get so much fun poking at him. But I do. I really do.

“Nope.”

“Then yes, J. It’s important.”

My wife is pregnant with his baby while he sits on the couch in the home we three share, wearing the ring that I gave him.

My heart speeds up another tick, and I lick my lips to bring the moisture back to my mouth. Neither of them is giving me a lick of attention. They can’t see how my pulse is all but pounding in my throat or that my eyes are alight with anticipation and mischief.

I’m still never quite sure how he’s going to react.

Scratch that.

I always know how he’ll react. The slightest blip to rock his boat sends him running head-first into a panic. The real question is how he’ll respond when the alarm is flushed from his system.

No help for it, then.

“I wanna introduce you as my husband, or at least my fiancé.”

Thatgets his full attention.

“Interesting…” Julia snaps closed the book she was reading, and tosses it to the floor. She climbs to all four limbs on the couch before crawling up to Remi’s side and flopping half onto his lap.

He makes a huffing sound but doesn’t acknowledge her presence. He drops his stylus from his hand and looks at me askance.

“What?!?”

His facial expression is adorable, all wide eyes and hallowed cheeks. He drags his hand through his hair then down his face, praying for the patience to deal with me.

“I don’t know what to do with you, J. I really don’t. It’s like every time you open your mouth you spew nonsense.”

Jules gently reaches over Remi’s legs to lift his tablet and place it to the side before climbing fully into his lap. His arms wrap around her automatically before he places a kiss unconsciously onto her head. He settles her against him, and she almost preens, looking out at me from under his chin and grinning ear to ear.

“I don’t know why you’re looking at me that way. I did already ask you to marry me. You did say yes. Matter of fact, you’re currently wearing my wedding ring.” I wait for a moment, then add pointedly "you told the midwife you were our fiancé."

But I know and he knows that the midwife was a different situation.

He holds his arm out and spreads his fingers. He looks just like a future bride, examining the newly gifted bauble on her finger that she probably picked out.

I tip my head to the side.

“Engagement ring?” I suggest.

Hmmm, since we didn’t have a ceremony yet, I suppose it would be an engagement ring.

“You didn’t get an engagement ring,” Julia points out.

Maybe I should have. I have very delicate fingers. I would probably look beautiful with a diamond or two.

“True, but then, I’m not as needy as Remi.”

They both give almost identical scoffs of disbelief.

“Okay, fine,” I capitulate with my hands in the universal signal for truce. “Not as dramatic?”

Remi fists Julia’s curls and twists them to the side so they’re not tickling his nose.

“Have you ever met you, man? You’re like a fucking Golden Retriever.”