“Alright.” I wrapped my arms around her chest and pulled her against me instead.

“I can’t wait to meet him,” she admitted, biting her lip to hide a smile that barely budged these days. She was incredibly uncomfortable and had decided that pregnancy was a unique kind of hell, but she was happy.

So fucking happy.

It made me feel like the luckiest bastard in both our worlds.

Aria was everything to me. The life we built together was so much more than I could have ever imagined—and I couldn’t fucking wait to continue building it with her.

Forever.

afterthoughts

I thought this book was going to be longer and more dramatic. I genuinely did! I originally wanted to call it Bride of Salt and Silk, which I still love—but the high-fantasy title just didn’t work with my romance and breeding centered book.

Honestly, I shouldn’t be even a little surprised that it went this way. You’d think I’ve learned my lesson by now, but apparently not.

I was writing the darkest, most dramatic books of my life (which weren’t really that dark or that dramatic—just dark and dramatic compared to the marshmallow fest I usually stick with ;P) a few months ago. I think they were helping me cope and giving me something to channel my emotions into. I was in a pretty dark place, finally accepting that I was dealing with secondary infertility and all of the shitty emotions that came with that.

And then I got pregnant. I was so much in shock, it didn’t feel real. I wasn’t excited, and I felt terrible for that. I was so convinced something was going to go wrong. Even now, when the odds are overwhelmingly in my favor at seventeen weeks, it doesn’t really feel like it’s going to work out. Someone said “anxiety is not intuition” though, and I’m living hard by that quote right now.

I’m typically a pretty hopeful person, but I guess sometimes the shit we go through just stays with us and refuses to leave.

Anyway, the reason I’m telling you this is so you understand why this book isn’t longer or more dramatic.

Because right now, I just can’t handle any more anxiety. Right now, I need the hope and fun of a short, sweet romance.

That’s where I’m at. Maybe the next one will be twistier. Maybe I’ll get back to that dark place eventually. And maybe not. I loved the books I wrote in that place, so I kinda hope I do, but for my sanity’s sake I’m not sure lol.

So, this book isn’t what I expected, but I love it for what it is. I hope you do too!