Page 46 of Wish For Me

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re fucking wrong, Levi. I never,evershot down anything Alex wanted. We make decisions for the two of us together.”

“I know what I heard.”

“No. You fucking don’t.” I’m so pissed off that my hands are shaking. Ever since Alex and I got together, I’ve put up with his displeasure. I’ve tried to ignore it, tried to pretend like it didn’t bother me. But this—this I’m not going to put up with.

“You have no damn idea what we were talking about that day,” I grit out. “You have no damn idea what we were going through. You wanna be pissed that I took her away for three months? Fine. Be pissed at me, Levi. I don’t give a shit anymore. I did what was best for my wife. Just like I will always do.”

He blinks at me, his jaw ticking, like he isn’t sure whether he wants to punch me or not. “What do you mean what you were going through?” he asks. “What the hell was going on, Wyatt?

Before I can tell him that it’s none of his business, the nurse sticks her head out of Alex’s room. “Can I get the husband back here?” she asks.

I push past Levi, trying to stifle some of this rage before I see Alex again. But the second I’m through the door, all thoughts of her father go out of my head.

She’s crying. Not even trying to keep the tears from falling, which is so not like her. I’m at the side of her bed in an instant, taking her hand. “What’s wrong? Did the doctor come back? Is it your ankle?”

“The doctor wants to talk to me about whether an X-ray is the right choice.” Her voice breaks and my stomach drops. There’s something wrong.

“Why? Does he think it’s more serious than a break?”

She shakes her head and—smiles. She smiles. A perfect, beautiful smile. “No. But there are some risks associated with X-rays when you’re pregnant.”

I probably look like an idiot, the way I’m gaping at her. I hear her words, but they aren’t sinking in. Did she really just say…

“I’mpregnant, Wyatt.”

There’s this really weird buzzing in my head. Nothing seems quite real—like I’m not entirely sure if I’m dreaming or awake. But my eyes lock with Alex’s and all of a sudden I’m laughing and she’s laughing and we’re kissing each other and holy shit this isreal.

“It might not work out again,” she whispers when we catch our breath.

I press my forehead into hers. “But it might work out just fine.”

She nods, taking in a deep, shaky breath. “I think it’s worth it,” she says. “I think it’s worth it to try. Even if we don’t know how it will go.”

“Me too.” Even if I’m kind of terrified right now. Even knowing that if this ends the way it did before it will probably break me. Even with everything that could go wrong—this, right here, this moment, is worth it. This hope and this joy and seeing Alex smile like that.

“Definitely worth it.”

* * *

Alex refuses the X-ray.The doctor assures her that the risk to the baby is minimal, but after everything, she’s not willing to chance it. He says she’ll need to wear a walking boot and instructs her to stay off the ankle as much as possible—and insists she come back in after a few days to make sure the swelling is going down.

I expect a big fight about the staying off her feet instruction, what with the wedding in a little over twelve hours. But she merely smiles and says she can support Everly while getting ready from a chair and besides, there will be plenty of sisters and cousins there. She doesn’t even complain about having to wear a walking boot at the wedding.

“Are we going to tell people?” I ask while we’re waiting for the nurse to bring in the boot and the pregnancy-safe pain killers. I’ve pulled Alex into my lap in the tiny room’s only chair, unwilling to stop touching her for even a minute.

She’s quiet for a long moment. “I think it was a mistake not to,” she finally says. “Last time. I thought it would be easier if people didn’t know, if we didn’t have to answer questions and stuff. But now I wonder if it would have been easier to get through it if I could have talked to Everly and Paige and my mom, you know?”

“You do have a pretty ridiculously supportive family,” I agree. “So we tell them this time?”

She nods against my chest. “Yeah. We tell them. After the wedding though. I don’t want to take attention away from their day.”

I allow myself to picture it—telling my parents. Will. The rest of the family. God, they’ll be so excited. Aunt Paige is going to lose her mind. Alex is practically a fifth daughter as far as she’s concerned, and she’s going to spoil the hell out of this baby.

A pang of yearning and fear shoots through me.Please, please let it work out this time.

“I think it’s okay to be excited about it,” she whispers, like she’s reading my mind. “I want us to be excited about it.”

“It might be hard not to be afraid,” I admit.