Page 147 of Heartsick & Lipsticks

When his phone vibrated, he looked down and then back up at me, and then down again and then back up at me. I could see that he was in shock. I was 99.9% sure that he would be happy, and this was a good thing, but there was 0.01% fear in me that he would be upset.

“Really?” he asked before pointing at his phone. “These are real?”

“Yes. They are real. I took them this morning when Ri sent me to the store.”

“How?” He breathed in disbelief. “How did this…?”

“Remember when I was on antibiotics for my sinus infection?”

After several more seconds of him staring at the photos I’d sent him, he dropped his phone, grabbed me, and pulled me into his arms. The negligible amount of trepidation I’d had melted away as he hugged me tighter than he’d ever hugged me before as he nuzzled his face into my neck.

I closed my eyes and absorbed all the love and comfort that being in his arms gave me. I hadn’t realized just how traumatizing the first time I’d had to tell someone I was pregnant was until this moment. Nick’s reaction healed a part of me I hadn’t even known was broken.

“Are you happy?” I asked, already knowing the answer but just needing to hear him say it.

He leaned back and cupped my face in his hands. His eyes were glistening in unshed tears as he whispered, “Just when I think you can’t make me any happier, you do.”

Emotion swelled in me as I said, “I was thinking, if it’s a girl, we can name her Naomi.”

His nostrils flared as he inhaled and nodded before he rested his forehead against mine. “See, you just did it again.” His voice cracked. “Even happier.”