“Ladies first, of course.” He gestures at the gift. “But, before you open it, I just want to tell you that you look absolutely amazing, Alex. I have never seen you look so beautiful. Now that you actually have color in your cheeks again,” he finishes with a trademark chuckle and a lingering kiss to my temple.
“Thank you, Blake. You also look amazing, as usual. I kind of want to jump your bones, actually.” I press into him, wrapping my arms around his waist. Hearing a soft growl from him in response, a smile breaks across my face and my heart picks up its pace. “We’ll have plenty of time for that later, Alex.” He snickers lightly under his breath. “Go ahead, open your present.”
Unthreading my arms, I grin up at him before ripping the paper to shreds. I’ve always been a little too excited when it comes to presents. Quickly turning around, I set the box on the hood of the car before opening it. As I lift the top, and see its contents, I let out a little laugh. Yeah, Nycole definitely helped with this.
Inside the box is a white t-shirt with iron-on pink glittery letters that reads:
“Blake! I love it!” His light green eyes shift from mine to the shirt.
“Well obviously it required a feminine touch, so I recruited a little help. GI Joe didn’t turn out so well, but hopefully Nycole’s master craftsmanship will ensure that you’ll have it forever. Go ahead, take it out. Let’s see it.”
After giving him a quick hug, I turn back to my gift and begin to pull the shirt out of the box. As I lift it up, a smaller box falls from its folds. Surprised, I give Blake a sideways glance. “What’s this?”
“It’s your real present.”
Intrigued, the right side of my mouth curves into a smile and I gaze back down at the velvet covered black rectangle lying in front of me. I reach for the box and excitedly flip it open, only to let out a gasp when I see what it holds. “Blake, you shouldn’t have!” I exclaim, peering down at the teardrop shaped diamond earrings and matching solitaire necklace. “They’re beautiful.”
Moving in behind me, Blake places a soft, warm kiss on my neck and nuzzles behind my ear. My whole body immediately begins to throb.
“As are you,” he says, taking the box from my hands. He removes the necklace and I stay in place so he can hook it around my neck. Facing back around, I remove my old pearl stud earrings, placing them in the box while Blake hands me the diamonds. I slide them into my ears with a smile. Something New. Well, I have something new for him too.
“Your turn, mister. Open yours.” Childlike expression full of excitement fills Blake’s face. My hands instinctively rub my stomach as my nerves cause it to flutter. He delicately unwraps the gift, completely opposite of my earlier paper carnage, to expose a small, square box. As the top creaks open, Blake’s eyes broaden and his brow shoots up, the smile on his face slowly falling as the realization of what my gift is telling him becomes clear in his mind.
Wide eyed, he stares.
And he stares.
And he stares.
Finally, his eyes let go of the box to find mine. A huge knot in my throat forms when they finally meet because staring back at me are those gorgeous light green eyes filled to the brim with tears.
“Are you sure, Alex?” I give him a slight nod. Smiling a bewildered, crooked smile, he looks back down at the box. I move in closer to him, wrapping my arm around his waist and snuggling my body into his, placing my head against his chest. Holding each other, we both stare at the solid silver diamond shaped charm that simply reads “Baby on Board”. I laugh silently, remembering my joke in the car with Harlow. Soon after, my silent snicker turns into full on laughter as a thought crosses my mind.
I lift my head off of Blake’s chest and peer up at him from underneath my eyelashes. Memories of all the charms he’s given me since we were kids enter my mind, my crucial mistake becoming clear. “Blake, I totally just gave myself a present. I’m such an idiot! I get two and you get nothing? That’s not fair. I’m so sorry. I swear to God, this baby is sucking the brain cells out of my head already.”
Blake simply shakes his head and swallows back his tears. He places his finger under my chin, tilting my head back just slightly before he speaks. “Alex, you’ve given me more than you could ever imagine. There’s nothing more perfect than this moment, right now.”
Leaning down, he brushes his soft lips against mine. The tenderness of his kiss sends a wave of pleasure rippling through my entire body. I wrap my arms around his neck and part my lips ready to accept his warm, soft tongue into my mouth…
“Ewww!” Three sets of high pitched giggles immediately follow. “Blake and Mommy, sittin’ in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g…”
My lips miss the warmth of Blake’s when he pulls away slightly, pressing his forehead against mine. With heavy breaths, we stare at each other until the serenade is over.
“First comes love, then comes marriage,” more giggling, “then comes baby in a baby carriage.”
Laughter erupts and we can’t help but join in. “Welcome to fatherhood,” I say, removing my arms from around his neck. “You can kiss your privacy goodbye.” After lacing my fingers through his, I turn around to face my little devils.
I lock eyes with my brown haired beauty, Nycole. The huge, dimpled grin on her face brings a content smile to my own. Reaching my arm out for her, she walks over to me and leans her body into mine, wrapping her arms around my waist. I place my cheek on the top of her head and squeeze her tight. Taking in a peaceful sigh, I think about how nice it is to see her being a kid again. With Blake around, she eased back out of her grown up role rather quickly, and I couldn’t be happier to see my little girl being a little girl. All is as it should be.
Releasing Blake’s hand, I turn to face her. “You look beautiful, Nyc,”
“Thanks, Mom. So do you.”
As the breeze blows lightly, I raise my hand to move some of her long, curly hair away from her face and tuck it behind her ear. She smiles, happiness filling her eyes. Signaling for her to turn around, I watch in amazement as she spins slowly. Her dress is a white sleeveless solid satin top, with a matching dusty rose satin sash similar to mine and a double layered white tulle skirt. When she does an about-face, I catch the shine of her light layer of lip gloss and my mind strums up the image of my little girl in her own wedding dress one day.
With tears surfacing in my eyes, I break my stare from Nycole to find Kyndall standing just behind her. She sheepishly smiles, and with her arms behind her back as she swishes her dress back and forth, I know she is anxiously awaiting her compliment. As Nycole steps aside, I take a small step forward and reach both my arms out to gather her in a tight embrace. Releasing me, she steps back and curtsies. “Kyndall, you look absolutely gorgeous.” And she does. The sun hits her eyes just right, bringing out the flecks of light green mixed in with her greyish-blue irises; her light brown hair loosely tied back with a rose ribbon matching the sashes. Although their dresses are identical, where I see Nycole as a future bride, Kyndall exudes only youthful innocence.
“You look gorgeous, Mama. You turn around too!” she giggles. I twirl in a full circle for her, smiling at Blake when our eyes meet during my revolution. Completing my turn, my eyes lock on Rylie in the distance, crouching down in a small patch of grass and picking a yellow dandelion. At least, I hope that’s what she’s doing. I bend down and kiss Kyndall on the forehead before making my way over to the youngest of my girls.
She looks picturesque as the sun is setting right behind her head, bringing out the highlights in her curly hair. She’s sitting on her haunches, the bottom of her dress surrounding her body. She looks like she’s sitting in a marshmallow. I giggle to myself. If anyone would be sitting in a marshmallow, it would definitely be Rylie.