Elisa (19 page)

“So, we’re okay?”

I kissed her on the forehead. “We’re more than okay.”

She practically jumped on me as she hugged me tightly. I laughed as I held her to me. I knew how much she loved Ethan. She was more than in love with the guy—obsessed. Even if I did hate Ethan, I wouldn’t stop her from marrying him. As long as he treated her right and made her smile like she did every day, then I wouldn’t jeopardize that. But it did make me feel better knowing that she would sacrifice that relationship for me.

After a few hours, the kids feel asleep on the couch so I put them to bed in their rooms. Ethan, Sadie, and their dog went into their bedroom and retired for the evening. The house was really cramped but I loved everything about it. I loved hearing the kids wake me up every morning. I love having E
than and Sadie to help with the children. It was perfect. I was actually sad that Ethan and Sadie would eventually leave and start their own lives together.

When I went into
the bedroom, I stripped off my clothes because I wanted to make love like I did every night, but Elisa was already asleep. I listened to her breathing and it sounded like she was awake but she didn’t open her eyes. I kissed her neck lightly but she still didn’t stir. I assumed she was tired so I just went to sleep instead.

22

The next morning, Elisa went into the bathroom and vomited right away. I was starting to get worried. Perhaps there was an internal injury that we didn’t consider. When I asked her to go to the doctor
, she insisted it was just a bug. I wasn’t so sure. I told her if it didn’t go away in a few days, she was going—whether she wanted to or not.

For the next few days she act
ed odd. She wasn’t as talkative or animated as she normally was. It seemed like her mind was somewhere else. I asked if I did something wrong but she always insisted that she was just tired.

When we were sitting at the table having lunch
, she looked at me. “I’m going out to dinner with my brothers. I want you to come.”

I looked at her. “You do?”

“Of course I do, Jared. They want to meet you.”

“You told them about me?”

She smiled. “Yes.”

That meant the world to me. She would never understand that. The fact that she asked me to move in was already indicative of her commitment to me,
but this really made my heart squeeze. I wanted to be completely accepted into her family. It looked like I finally was.

That evening, Sadie and Ethan stayed home with the kids while we walked to the restaurant. Elisa was scared
to be out but she didn’t comment on it. I held her close to me as we walked down the street. I didn’t think she would ever move on from what happened. It was understandable. Her husband had passed away and she almost—I didn’t like to think about it.

When we walked inside
, I spotted her brothers immediately. They looked like Ethan.

“Hello, I’m Jared,” I said as I extended my hand. The man took it. He was bigger than Ethan but with the same blue eyes.

“Kyle,” he said with a nod.

I turned to the second brother. “Hello.” I shook his hand.

“Scott,” he answered.

I pulled out
Elisa’s chair and helped her sit down before I took my seat next to her. They both seemed to notice my actions because they slightly nodded their heads in approval. At least the night was starting well. I hoped they wouldn’t be as confrontational as Ethan was, or worse.

Kyle looked at me. “Ethan said you’re a good guy.”

“He did?” I blurted.

He laughed. “Was he wrong?”

“No,” I said quickly. “He’s just threatening me all the time so I can never be sure.”

Scott rolled his eyes. “Ethan acts like a tou
gh guy but he’s a big pussy who loves pussy.”

“Is your sister going to marry him?” Kyle asked.

“Yep,” I answered.

“Tell her to get out while she can,” Scott said.

I smiled. “Well, that makes me feel reassured,” I said sarcastically.

Kyle laughed. “We’re just joking. Ethan’s not that bad.”

“Another golden compliment,” I said.

Scott took a drink of his water. “He used to be a disgusting pig but when he met Sadie, he changed. I didn’t believe it until I actually saw it. He’s being serious.”

“I think so too,” I answered.

Elisa placed her hand on my thigh. “Jared is a wonderful
with the kids. They love him.”

“Is that so?” Kyle said. “Good, because Ethan
has been playing Mrs. Doubtfire for too long.”

Scott laughed. “He actuall
y started to grow breasts at one point.”

“Stop teasing him,” Elisa said. “Ethan is a wonderful man and I’m so grateful to have
him in my life.”

Kyle nodded. “Ethan is a badass—don’t tell him I said that.”

“What do you do for a living?” Scott asked.

“I work on Wall
Street with Ethan,” I answered.

He nodded his head in approval. “How much money do you make?”

“Scott!” Elisa yelled.

“What? How am I supposed to know if he can take care of you if I don’t know how much dough he has?”

“It’s okay,” I said quickly. “But if Ethan can take of Elisa and the kids, then logically I can as well.”

Kyle nodded. “But what if you’re an intern or something? How do we know?”

“I’m a certified financial analyst. I graduated from Harvard.”

Kyle whistled. “Oh shit. Step back. He just dropped the Harvard card.”

I laughed. “Well, I’m throwing all my chips in. I better win.”

Elisa rolled her eyes. “Jared is one of the greatest men I’ve ever known and I want to spend the rest of my life with him.”

I turned and looked at her, shocked by her public declaration. If she was ready to get married, I would propose right now. We were basically already married anyway.

“Damn, don’t pull a Taylor Swift on me,” Kyle said. “I don’t want to listen to the mushy love shit.”

She glared at him. “Maybe you should settle down.”

“Nah,” Kyle said. “I’ve got too many cherries to pop.”

“You’re so disgusting,” she said.

Scott shrugged. “At least he’s honest about it.”

We talked about everything from sports to literature while we ate our dinner. Her brothers were talkative and disruptive like Ethan but I liked them immensely. I could see myself hanging out with them at the courts, the gym, or the bars. Elisa was lucky that she had three men to care for her—four including me.

Before we left the restaurant, they both shook my hand and gave me a nod of approval.

“Thanks for putting up with my sister,” Kyle said. “She can be a drama queen.”

“Super annoying,” Scott said.

“I guess I’m immune,” I said.

“Apparently,” Kyle said. They both turned around and walked up the street.

I looked at Elisa. “I’m assuming they don’t know what happened?”

“No.”

“Are you going to tell them?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“It’
ll just hurt them.”

I nodded. “Okay.” I could understand that.

We walked back home and went inside. The kids were coloring at the table and Ethan and Sadie were wrapping presents in the living room. There were more presents than we could fit under the tree. Most of them were for the kids.

Elisa sat at the table and watched them color then she took her own paper and started to doodle herself. She seemed to be lost in her work so I moved into the living room. She seemed sad and depressed. I knew the incident was weighing heavily on her mind. She seemed to be out of touch for the
past few days. We didn’t make love nearly as often as we normally did. I wondered if she was in pain and refused to tell me. I was definitely taking her to the doctor the next day. She couldn’t argue with me this time.

W
hen it got late, everyone retired to bed. We put the kids to sleep then read to them before we turned off all the lights in the house, checked the locks, and went into the bedroom. Instead of just taking off her clothes like normal, she changed into pajamas and put on a robe. That shit wasn’t going to fly.

“
Ellie, tell me what’s wrong.”

She looked startled. “What do you mean?”

“I know you are upset. I can see it everywhere. Are you in pain? We’re going to the doctor tomorrow. You don’t get a choice in the manner.”

“That’s unnecessary.”

“Like I said, you don’t get a choice. We’re going—that’s final.”

She ran her fingers through her hair then sat on the bed. “I need to tell you something.”

I felt my heart race. This wasn’t going to be good. I could tell that this was going to break my heart. “Uh, okay.” I sat beside her on the bed and looked at her.

Tears started to fall down her cheeks. “I don’t know how you’re going to react. You might be mad
or disappointed. I really don’t know.”

I took a deep breath. “No matter what it is, I’ll still love you as much as I do now,
Ellie, so please tell me.”

She averted her gaze then clutched her hands together. “Jared—I—I’m pregnant.”

My heart burst from my chest like an explosion. I replayed her words in my mind over and over. I was shocked. She was on the pill. I wasn’t sure how this happened. It was completely unexpected. She just stared at me but said nothing, her hands still held together.

“
Are you sure?”

She nodded. “I’ve checked many times.”

I jumped up. “Yes! This is so amazing! I can’t believe this.”

She almost fell over she was so surprised.

“I’m gonna be a dad—for real!” I clapped my hands together. “This is perfect!”

“What?”

I walked out the door into the hallway. “I’m having a baby! I’m having a baby!”

Ethan opened his bedroom door with his shirt off. “What are you yelling about?”

“We’re having a baby. Elisa is pregnant!”

He broke into a smile. “That’s awesome!” He hugged me. “Congratulations.”

Sadie came to me next and jumped in my arms. “I’m so happy for you.”

“I am too,” I said as I squeezed her.
“So happy.” When I pulled away, Elisa was standing beside me. I grabbed her face and kissed her. “This is so wonderful.”

She continued to cry. “You aren’t—mad?”

“What? Why would I be mad? I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.”

She smiled and wiped her tears away. “I’m so relieved.”

I picked her up and held her to my chest. “I’m so glad that’s why you’ve been throwing up. I was so worried, Ellie.”

“I’m sorry. I was just scared to tell you.”

I set her down then pressed my forehead against hers. “How long until it gets here?”

She smiled. “Eight months.”

“
Eight months
? That’s forever.”

“Did
n’t you take a general biology class at Harvard?” my sister asked with a laugh.

I rolled my eyes. “I just don’t want to wait that long. I want my baby now.”

“I’m so glad you’re excited,” Elisa said.

“Excited is an understatement,” I said. “Do you know the sex yet?”

Elisa laughed. “No.”

Sadie patted my shoulder. “Okay. Calm down. It’s still a long road ahead.”

I groaned.

Ethan pulled Sadie into the bedroom. “We’ll celebrate tomorrow. For now
, we need to sleep.” He shut the door behind them.

I picked up Elisa then carried her into the bedroom. I closed the door with my f
oot then laid her on the bed. I ripped off her clothes like a caveman then kissed her stomach, rubbing my hands across the surface. Her stomach was still flat so I couldn’t see any noticeable changes in her body. “Thank you for giving this to me.”

“You’re so sweet, Jared.”

I kissed her stomach again. “This is so hot.”

“What?”

“A part of me is growing inside you. Soon you’re going to gain a bunch of weight and you’ll have a hard time walking around. Your ass and tits will get bigger. I’ll be able to feel my baby kick inside you. I can talk to it. Everyone will know that you’re mine—that I’m the one who knocked you up.”

“So you’re excited for me to be fat and bitchy?”

“Yes—so excited.”

She laughed. “Thank you for being supportive.”

“You don’t need to thank me. But I feel like I’m more excited than you are.”

“I’m very excited,” she said with a smile. “I was just scared.”

“I love your kids like my own but I’m excited to have one with you—from start to finish.”

“I am too.”

“And I want another one.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here,” she said with a laugh.

I took off my clothes then climbed on top of her. My cock had never been harder. “I can’t wait to make love to you.”

“I don’t look any different.”

“It changes everything—believe me. And I can’t wait for you to get bigger.” I separated her legs then inserted myself within her. “I love you, Ellie.”

“I love you too.”

“Thanks for picking me. You’ve made me the happiest man in the world today.”

“Oh, Jared.”

I rocked into her gently. “It’s you and me forever, okay?”

“Yes. That’s what I want.”

“Good.”

I pinned her legs back and moved further inside her.
The knowledge that she was pregnant with my child was the hottest thing I’ve ever heard of. “I can’t last much longer.”

“We just started,” she said as she gripped me.

It was too late. I came inside her. “Oh—god.” I bucked inside her until I was completely done. “Sorry. I told you it changed everything.” I pulled out of her then moved my mouth down to her entrance. I started to kiss her gently and rub her clit with my tongue.

She moaned for me and gripped my hair. I inserted my tongue within her and rubbed her clitoris with my thumb. Within a few second
s, she reached the edge and exploded.