“I need you to talk to me, my love.”

“I know.” I swallow hard and look out the window as I rest my head on his shoulder. “It’s not that I don’t want children, or even this baby. I love babies. When I hold little Thomas, my ovaries ache. Which is silly, but it’s a thing. It’s just…this wasn’t on my radar at all for a while. It’s such a surprise, and I wasn’t ready. And this part is going to sound so selfish, I’m ashamed of myself.”

“You’re not selfish at all, Isabella. And you can say anything at all to me. What is it?”

“I thought we’d have a few years alone first. To build our house, and our life, and get to know each other better. And now we won’t have that, and it makes me sad.”

“That doesn’t sound selfish at all. Not to me.”

I kiss his cheek and wipe a tear from my face.

“It’s taken us both by surprise, and that’s the truth of it, love. But children are blessings, no matter when they decide to make their grand entrance. We still have time to do all of the things you mentioned. And once the baby is here, we’ll continue to do those things with him in tow.”

“What if it’s a her?”

He grins and kisses my head. “With her in tow, then.”

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I know you’re right. I know that everything is going to work out, and we’ll find our footing. It’s just a little scary.”

“Of course, it is.”

“Is it scary for you, too?”

“I’m scared out of my mind, truth be told.”

“You’re so calm.”

“There’s no need to freak out. Because, like you said, we’ll find our footing. We have a lot of people around to help. There’s a lot of love to go around, you know?”

“I know, and it makes me so happy. Your family has made me feel welcome from the first day I got here. I love them all so much.”

“And they love you. My parents are going to jump for joy when we tell them.”

“Can you do me a favor?” I ask.

“Anything.”

“Can we wait to tell everyone else? Just for a little while. Most couples wait until they’re about twelve weeks along, just to be sure that everything’s okay.”

“That’s another month, Izzy.”

“I know. And I probably won’t need that long. I just have to wrap my head around everything. Give me just a couple of weeks?”

“I can do that.” He kisses my head again and then tips my chin up to cover my lips with his. “I love you so much, Isabella.”