“I’m pretty sure she’ll still be pregnant when she wakes up,” I said. “Although I did tell her to take the second pregnancy test. Just to be sure.”

John grunted.

I sat on the closed lid of the toilet, watching him brush his teeth, my quiet, solid, reliable husband. “Sorry about the scare earlier. When you saw the box? I wanted to tell you it wasn’t for me. But I couldn’t. Not with Trey standing there.”

“It would be okay if it was. Yours, I mean.” John met my eyes briefly in the mirror. “If you were pregnant again.”

My heart wobbled. “John . . . Do you want more children?”

It made sense. He was so good with the twins, such a conscientious provider, such a caring coach.

“I want what you want. You always said you wanted a big family. Four kids. Like your parents.”

“I do. Well. I did.” I cleared my throat. “I actually kind of like our family now. I like our life.”

“Good.” He leaned over and spat in the sink. I waited for him to say something more. He didn’t.

“What about you?” I asked.

“I like our life, too.”

“I thought maybe you wanted to make a change. Start coaching again.”

He filled a glass at the tap. “I am coaching.”

I sighed. “You know what I mean. Go back to teaching.”

He rinsed the sink carefully. “I make more money doing what I do now. Maybe when the time is right . . .”

“Maybe the time is now,” I suggested.

He didn’t say anything.

“When I went back to work, you said it wasn’t about the money,” I reminded him.

“It’s not. As long as you’re happy, that’s what matters to me.”

“Exactly.” I watched his reflection. “John, are you happy at the dealership?”

A muscle bunched in his jaw. We could say so much without words. Neither one of us found it easy to talk about our feelings. I’d been proud of our unspoken understanding, pleased that we didn’t fight. But sometimes words were necessary. I tried again. “If it weren’t for the money, would you go back to teaching?”

His shrug belied the tension in his shoulders. “I guess I’d consider it.”

My own muscles relaxed. I felt like he’d given me another present—his trust, his dreams. “I could run the numbers,” I offered. “Look at the budget with both our incomes.”

He smiled slightly. “Taking this partners thing seriously, aren’t you?”

A little glow started in my chest. “Yes.”

He nodded. “I’ll think about it.”

Of course he needed time to mull it over. He did everything carefully, deliberately, my John. Except for falling in love with me.

“I love you,” I announced suddenly.

He held my gaze in the mirror. “I love you, too.”

I closed the distance between us, sliding my arms around his waist, resting my cheek against his broad, smooth back. “I mean, I really love you.”

“Good to know. Because you’re everything to me.” His voice was husky. His hands covered mine, clasped together over his stomach. “I get that we’re not trying for another baby right now. But you want to fool around?”