Put a Ring on It

Jordan

The stairway was quiet as I headed toward the room that Hannah and I were sharing. Sunlight filtered down the dimly lit hallway as I pushed the door open with my hip.

There was a mound of blankets in the middle of the bed, softly rising and falling with her even breaths.

Hannah’s sudden exhaustion over the last weeks worried me, but we’d both been running on empty for the previous few months. It was inevitable she’d crash eventually. At least it happened while we were on vacation.

“Mmm…” she moaned softly as I sat on the edge of the bed beside her and peeled back her blanket cocoon.

“It’s almost lunchtime,” I whispered as I kissed the soft, exposed skin of her shoulder where her tank top had slipped down.

“Mmm. I don’t know why I’m so tired.” She yawned as she stretched backward and rubbed a fist over her closed eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry,” I shook my head. “We’re all just worried about you. It’s not like you to snooze the day away.”

I saw something flash in her eyes as she glanced away from me, and her cheeks turned pink.

Hmm…

“What’s up?” I narrowed my eyes. She looked unusually guilty.

“What do you mean?” She yawned again and burrowed into my lap, blinking sleepily up at me.

“You know you can talk to me if something is wrong,” I urged.

Her head shook slightly, and she bit her bottom lip before she let out a soft sigh. “Nothing is wrong. I promise.”

“Sit up. I brought you a snack.”

I heard a quiet grumble from beneath the rumpled covers and laughed as she looked embarrassed at her stomach’s protests.

“Mmm… these are amazing,” she mumbled through a mouthful of grapes as she settled against the padded headboard.

The soft light that filtered into the room from behind the closed blinds made her look almost ethereal as she smiled at me.

“There’s plenty more downstairs.” I smiled.

“Aren’t you going to try any?” she asked as she shoved another mouthful in, and juice dribbled down her chin.

I captured it with my thumb and laughed as she managed to devour the contents of the plate within a few minutes.

“I would... but I’m afraid you’d bite off my fingers if I get in your way.”

I placed the empty dish on the nightstand and climbed over her to settle next to her on the bed. Her head rested on my chest as I pulled her into my side.

“Sorry. I guess I was hungrier than I thought,” she said in a quiet voice before biting her lip.

“It’s not a problem, I’ve just never seen you inhale food like that,” I said, amused.

“You didn’t know me in my peanut butter cup binging days.” She giggled and pushed her hand underneath the edge of my T-shirt, her fingers scratching through the hair on my abdomen.

“Well, I have to say grapes and cheese are a much better alternative.”

“Yeah, the thought of peanut butter right now is... ugh.” She blew out a breath, and I felt the shudder against my side.

“Are you feeling alright?” I asked curiously. It wasn't like her to be averse to one of her favorite foods.

“Yeah...” Her free hand smoothed down the tank top covering her stomach. I watched as her hand settled there and wondered why that struck something inside of me.

She couldn't be... right?

“Han...” My voice trailed off as I watched her hand settle in place thoughtfully.

“Hmmm?” she hummed into my arm.

“Is there another reason besides your thyroid acting up that you'd be tired?”

She was quiet as she shifted to look up at me. Her hand stilled, and she pulled it out to rest on my chest over my heart.

“There could be,” she confirmed in a soft voice.

“You planning to share with the class?” I teased. I had a feeling we both knew exactly what I was referring to. My heart started to beat faster at the prospect that she might be...

“I am. Just wasn't sure how.” She glanced up at me.

“Talking would usually be a natural method.” I knew she wasn't purposely trying to hide anything from me.

“Okay, Mr. Smartass,” she rolled her eyes.

“So is this something we have confirmed, or is it just an idea?”

She bit the corner of her mouth again and scooted up closer to me. “Kind of.”

“Kind of confirmed?” I smiled at her shy, slightly guilty grin. “How does that work?”

“I took a test.”

“And?”

“It was positive,” she confirmed, and I felt my excitement grow.

“And you didn’t want to tell me?” I asked curiously.

She tightened her hold on me and placed her hand on my cheek. It wasn’t like her to keep things from me, but I had been distracted, busy, and stressed lately.

“I took it right before we left. I didn’t expect it to be positive, and then you distracted me before we needed to leave for the airport, and…”

I watched the blush spread over her cheeks as she obviously recalled the rendezvous that almost made us late for our flight. We’d both been pent up, and I’d gone particularly hard, spurred on by her loud moaning.

“I wasn’t too rough, was I?” I worried as I looked down at her stomach.

She giggled, and I squeezed her as the giggles evolved into full-blown laughter. “No, I obviously enjoyed it. Maybe a little too much.”

“Well, I don’t think there’s a way to enjoy it too much.” I nuzzled the side of her neck and left a lingering kiss behind. “How far along do you think?”

“Just a few weeks. It was negative last month… so…” She blew out a breath and gave me a sad smile. We’d both been disappointed then. “I was trying to come up with a creative way to tell you.”

I kissed the side of her head and pulled her on top of me. She straddled my legs and looked at me hesitantly through her lashes.

My arms opened, and she leaned into my chest, her soft, floral scent surrounding us as I hugged her. “You didn’t need to do anything crazy. Should we take another test?”

“If you want to,” she nodded. “The extra test is in a box in my carry-on.”

“In a few minutes,” I smiled into the top of her head. “I just want to hold you. This might be our last trip for a little while.”

I wondered if this would change my plans for a vacation. I hoped not. The thought of taking her to a secluded beach with her stomach gently rounded by our child was something I desperately wanted.

“You can travel with babies,” she said in a soft, happy voice.

“I know you can, but with everything going on… who knows if we’ll have time?”

I ran through the never-ending list of my responsibilities for the next several months. If we went through with the expansion, my time would be even more stretched.

“We can wait on the second studio,” I mused.

“No…” Her head shook as she leaned back and took my face in her palms. “Absolutely not. You’ve already started the ball rolling. We’re not putting it on hold.”

“But…” My mind ran through all the things we’d need to do to prepare for a baby. The guest bedroom, buying things, car seats…

“No. Don’t argue with the pregnant lady.” She gave me a stern look before leaning her head back against my chest.

“You’re bossy already.” I laughed.

She winked before she rose up to place a lingering kiss on my lips. My hands framed her hips, and I pulled her closer to me as my tongue slid against hers.

“I was thinking of trying to cut my hours and work from home,” she quietly confessed.

“Hannah, you don’t need to do that.” I shook my head. Plenty of people made it work with two jobs and a baby. My family would step up. Cynthia was going to be ecstatic at the thought of a baby.

“I know. But I want to. And I can help you with the promotions for the new studio. Your Instagram pages are a little lackluster,” she said with a pointed look.

“Yeah, that’s not on me. Blame Ty for that one. He’s the social media-obsessed one.” I shook my head.

“Either way. If I’m going to be your partner in this, then I want to be more involved,” she insisted.

“Partner, huh?” I teased, and her cheeks turned a little pink. “Is that all you want to be?”

“It works for now…” She shrugged.

“We could negotiate a title change,” I hinted. A permanent one... with a name change as well.

“And what would be my new title?” she teased.

I couldn’t help the wide grin that formed on my face.

“Missus.”

Hannah gasped softly as I grasped her left hand and ran my finger across her empty ones.

“You don’t need to do that just because of the ba—” she rushed out as she looked frantically between my eyes.

“I’m not. Trust me. I’m not,” I assured her with a little shake of my head.

“But…” she sputtered.

I gently eased her off of me and climbed off the bed, pulling my carry-on duffel from beneath the bed.

The ring box was safely tucked into a pair of socks, and I eased it out as she watched over the edge of the bed.

“Sneaky.” She smiled at me widely.

“I just know how nosy my girlfriend is,” I teased with a wink.

“Hey!”

“I’m just kidding.” I smiled. “Kind of.”

I pushed the bag back and knelt on the floor, pulling the box open and turning it toward Hannah.

Her hands covered her mouth as she looked at me with wide eyes. She had to know this was the next step. I had always intended to ask her to be my wife.

“I’ve been carrying this around with me for quite some time. Things never seemed to work out with timing, but I think now is just right.” I smiled up at her.

“Will you marry me, Hannah?”

“Jordan…” Her voice was tight as a tear slipped down her cheek.

“So, are you going to leave me hanging?” I teased as she stared at the diamond ring sitting on the edge of the bed between us.

Her head nodded once as more tears slipped out, and I couldn’t resist teasing her some more.

“Yes, you are going to leave me hanging?” I laughed. “Normally, you’re not short for words.”

She let out a small giggle as she shook her head and swatted at my shoulder.

“No? Well, fine then…” I snapped the ring box closed, and she grabbed it before I could pull it away.

“Yes, you jerk. Of course, I’ll marry you.”

I gently pulled the box from her hand and stood, pulling the ring out of the velvet. Sitting down beside her, I picked up her hand and slipped it on her finger.

“Are you ready to take that test?” I asked, looking toward her bag.

“You give me a diamond, and I give you pee on a stick? Hardly seems like a fair trade,” she smiled as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

“I give you a diamond, and you give me a future… seems about right to me,” I told her honestly and pulled her into a passionate kiss.