Going on Our Honeymoon

The morning sun found me waking up next to my wife. Her leg was draped over mine, her head nestled into my side, and her arm resting on my stomach.

I couldn’t help but smile, thinking about how I could now officially call her my wife. It felt like we’d been on a long journey to get here, but in reality, it hadn’t been that long at all.

I lay there, hands behind my head, watching her sleep for a while before we had to get up. Then I felt tiny bumps against my side.

Suddenly, a stronger bump jolted me, causing her to moan in her sleep. I gently moved her off me, careful not to wake her, and watched as her stomach moved with the punches from our unborn son.

I kissed the soft skin of her belly, whispering to our baby, “Easy there, buddy. Don’t wake Mommy up yet. We had a long day yesterday, so let’s let her sleep a bit more.”

My hand moved to where he was pushing out, as if I could hold his tiny hand or foot. Her stomach jumped in response. I kept talking to him softly, doing my best to soothe him.

When I looked up, I saw her smiling down at us. “Are you going to start making baby noises at him too?”

“Just trying to get him to settle down so you could sleep a bit more before we have to get ready for our honeymoon,” I replied, still gently rubbing her belly. Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion.

She flopped back onto the pillow with a groan. “He’s been keeping me up all night, moving around. I don’t know why he’s been so active lately.”

I moved back up the bed to face her. “The doctor said babies can be more active when you’re tired. He doesn’t know why, but it happens with a lot of his patients.”

She ran her hand over my stubbled cheek. “If I get too tired, then our bedroom will become my best friend. You don’t mind if I nap on the way there, do you?”

I chuckled. “No, love. If you’re tired, by all means, take a nap. It’s about a five-hour trip, so you can get a good nap in if you need to.”

After a quick round of love-making, we got out of bed, showered, and got ready for breakfast. As we left our room, we were greeted by Conner and Angela.

“Morning, Boss. Sleep well?” Conner asked, a smirk on his face that suggested he was thinking about more than just sleep.

Shay jumped in before I could answer. “Yes, I was so tired when we got here last night that I fell asleep as soon as I hit the bed. Then this little one kept me awake for hours while this big one here snored away.”

Conner burst out laughing.

“How much longer do you have, Shay?” Angela asked. “You seem to be growing every day.”

“Hopefully, just two more months. I’m getting to the point where I want him to come out sooner rather than later. All these sleepless nights while he kicks and rolls around in there.” She crossed her arms over her bump.

Angela smiled. “I hope to be in your shoes someday. My family is huge; each of my nine aunts and uncles have at least five kids. We all love having big families.”

Conner coughed awkwardly. “We’ve talked about having a few kids but haven’t decided on a number yet.”

Shay nudged me. “We’re not having more than three if they’re all like this one. I’d like to have one of each, but if we have another boy after this one, I still want a girl.”

“We have plenty of time to talk about that later, dear,” I said, wrapping my arm around her waist. “Right now, we need to focus on this little guy. We can negotiate about the others later.”

After a hearty breakfast, we got ready to leave while our bags were taken to the plane. Shay’s parents were staying with my parents for a few more days before flying back on my dad’s plane. We all hugged and said our goodbyes.

Shay tried to get me to tell her where we were going, but I wouldn’t budge. She even tried her charm on Conner and Noah, but they were just as tight-lipped as I was. Eventually, she gave up and went to lie down for a few hours.

“I don’t like her being mad at us, Boss,” Conner said, sinking into the chair next to me.

“She’ll get over it,” I replied, taking a sip of my beer. “You know how much she hates surprises. She’ll be fine once we get there.”

“I know, but if looks could kill, we’d be six feet under right now,” Noah said, running his hand through his hair.

The rest of the flight went smoothly. As we landed in Paris, I went back to the bedroom and gently woke her from another deep sleep.

“Baby, we’re here. The plane just landed, so you need to get up, love.” I tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

Shay groaned, then slowly got up. The plane door was already open when we emerged from the room, and we stepped out into the sunlight and into our waiting limo that would take us to the penthouse the guys had rented for our stay.

Her eyes took in the surroundings as she realized where we were. A smile spread across her face, and her eyes sparkled. “We’re in Paris?”

“Yes, love, this is the first stop on our two-week trip. Let’s get settled in before we explore. I have a few things planned for us, but the rest is up to you.”

She squealed and hugged me. She’d dropped a few hints that Paris was one of the places she wanted to visit, so I made sure we came here first on our trip.