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WEEKS: 20-25

I love you...

Fucking hell, I was screwed. My heart thumped on my chest for the rest of the night after Jordan's declaration of love. Fair enough, he had been asleep, so I couldn't really take it seriously. I decided to ignore it for both our sakes and just carry on as nothing happened – I didn't mention the episode to Eva or Amelia, because I knew I would never hear the end of it.

Even after a few weeks, that episode got me thinking: was I settling for crème brulee? Was I accepting anything other than the full-fat chocolate cake?

My phone buzzed on my desk at work – a text from Jordan. My mouth opened up into a big – too big – smile, my tummy had butterflies, my heart quickened and I felt like I was levitating.

Somehow, I was sure that I hadn't picked a slice of chocolate cake... I just went ahead and eaten the whole cake in one sitting! I couldn't shake his drowsy declaration, even after so many weeks. It lingered over my head, like an icicle waiting to follow and pierce my skull.

My eyes blinked and I bit my lower lip. We were going away? Just the two of us? No meddling grandparents – who over the last few weeks had joined in the most unlikely tag team known to history –, no nosy best friends, no work?!

I chuckled at that. Fair enough... You really couldn't argue with the ironclad Jordan Marshall logic – my own personal Jack Daniels.

***

I ended up falling asleep in the car. Jordan was right, some time away would be great for both of us. I was still working very hard at Conrad's, and I knew the only way to stop would be to physically go away. Jordan picked me up at 6 on the dot and drove us south towards The Keys. It had been years since I had been there the last time, time on a cabin by the beach sounded fantastic. He woke me up gently when we arrived, after a two-hour drive.

"We're here" He smiled, killing the car engine.

The sun was setting slowly but steady, and I gasped at the lovely view. Jordan arranged for a beach cabin in The Keys, a small one-bed white wooden cabin with a private stretch of beach, loads of trees and sunshine. One of his many colourful friends owned it and we were able to borrow it for the weekend.

I took my shoes off immediately and wiggled my toes on the sand. I heard him chuckle as he took our suitcases from the boot of his car.

"Thought you would like this. I know you live by the beach, but this is so quiet" He said, taking the suitcases inside.

"Oh, this was a wonderful idea!" I shrieked, following him inside and sighing at the silence of the seaside "I can't wait to sleep on that hammock on the porch!"

"And you haven't seen the backyard" He winked at me.

Taking my hand he guided me across the small living room to the backdoors. I gapped at the view and quickly ran to our own private beach.

"Oh, I'm so going to sit in this little corner and watch the sea!" I promised, looking at the little bistro table and two chairs facing the ocean.

"How about you do that now, and I'll take care of dinner?" He suggested, kissing my head and massaging my shoulders "I'll whip something nice and quick so we can relax on the sand."

"Oh, yes please!" I grinned, looking up.

He chuckled, kissed the tip of my nose and hoped inside. I took my summer dress off and practically rolled down the sand into the ocean. The water was lovely, warm and calm – a perfect end of summer weather.

My belly was getting huge – well, huge by my standards anyway – and in just a couple of days we would find out if we were having an Axl Colt or a baby girl. We were nervous, anxious, but mostly we couldn't wait to find out and start decorating the baby room.

Jordan had been the most vocal about it – along with the entire parade of Pop-pop and Gam-gam (yes, that was what my child was naming their grandparents apparently), and all our crazy friends. The girls couldn't wait to start buying me baby clothes – their words – and the boys wanted to start painting the room and assembling the crib and all that.

We hadn't addressed the big elephant in the room yet – where would this baby live? At mine's, of course... but were we gonna split the time between us...? I was scared to mention that because Jordan spent 99% of his time at mine's anyway, so I wasn't sure what the living situation was at this point.

I lay on the wet sand, under the evening sky – there were a few stars coming up, and I focused my attention on those, as the ocean would come and go, around my big belly, my head and arms and legs. It was so relaxing, so quiet and intimate.

I smiled as I felt Jordan's big hand caress my belly, as he lay next to me in the sand. He kissed my shoulder and patted my big belly.

"Hey, you." I smiled, looking down at his smile – he kissed my belly "This was the best idea ever. What made you think of coming down here?"

"Well, I know we're stressed and worried about our mid-pregnancy scan." Jordan started, sitting next to me "So, I thought this could be a good time to relax. Dinner is almost ready." He declared, his beautiful steel grey eyes looking at my round belly "God... I still can't believe we're halfway there already..."

"I know... I can't believe in less than six months' time we'll have a screaming baby in our arms."

"We'll nail it!" He was sure "We're the best team, honeybun."

I sat on the sand, both enjoying the ocean around our bodies, and crossed my legs. Caressing my belly, I asked my baby to give me some of their strength, it was time for 'The Talk' with daddy.

"Jordan... There's something I need to talk to you about. Actually, there are two somethings I really need to talk to you about."

"Uh, oh." He smiled, caressing my wet hair "What did I do?"

"It's more about what I should do – or have done – for you." I admitted, frowning and staring down at my belly "You've been... the most amazing daddy ever... and our baby is not even here yet."

"Well, it helps that mommy is just so gorgeous!" He grinned, and I giggled as he kissed my neck.

"Remember... a couple of weeks ago, when we were talking about... baby names?"

He nodded carefully, waiting to see where I was going with this.

"Right... so I've been thinking... I know you were more than happy for the baby to be Marshall-Conrad" I reminded him "and I appreciate that I really do. However..."

"You can forget the double barrel if you don't like it." He shrugged "He or she can be Marshall Conrad, it really doesn't bother me at all."

"I know" I smiled, caressing his beard "And... thank you for being so... flexible... but it's not right."

He frowned, surely confused. I swallowed hard, turned to kneel in front of him on the sand, under the starts, and I grabbed his hand. I made him caress my belly, to which he smiled.

"I want our baby to be Conrad Marshall... I want you to be their daddy, in every way there is."

Jordan blinked, his grey eyes turned a bit red. His jaw clenched and he cleared his throat. I chuckled and tightened my arms around his neck.

"You're just a big bag of muscles and emotions, aren't you?!"

"Damn, woman, you always catch me off guard." I hear him chuckle; he kissed my palm "Are you sure?"

"Pretty positive." I winked "It's right; it feels just right. And I love the name Marshall, to be honest, there's a lot of character in it."

"You're welcome to add it to your name if you love it so much" He wiggled his brows, and I rolled my eyes.

"Which brings me to 'thing' number two." I reminded him, this time my palms turned sweaty and I was shaking "Hum... so I've been thinking about the baby, you know, the boy or girl thing?"

He nodded carefully.

"So..." I cleared my throat "I know you and Rocco and Mike" Mike was the owner of the cabin, and we'd met at a barbecue at the Marshall's "are dying to start planning the baby room..."

"Yeah, we are." He smiled, caressing my hands "I saw this gorgeous crib that I think you-"

"Hush." I stopped him, a hand to his lips "Let me finish, or I'll lose my courage."

"What's going on, Violet?" He frowned, seemingly worried about my shaking.

"So, the baby room." I shrugged quickly "Hum... a couple weeks ago I met this beautiful family, and they are moving to Orlando. Now... they are putting their family home up for sale, and... I went to see it because we were thinking of taking it under our company."

Jordan's eyes were blinking, like a confused puppy. He was definitely wondering what the hell was going on with me. Baby room, work? Where was this going?

"Yeah, so..." I cleared my throat, and jerked a thumb back to the cabin "I have the file in my suitcase-"

"No, no way. You're not working this weekend" He grunted straight away, jaw tense.

"I'm not" I smiled, quickly smiling down at him "What I mean is... I went to see it and... it's perfect. I mean, it's the perfect house. There's a massive garden, a barbecue, five bed, three toilets – one en-suite and a closet! – a double garage. It's beautiful, I fell in love with it."

"Ok..." Jordan said carefully, waiting.

"I..." I cleared my throat and felt tears coming to my eyes "Shit, this is harder than I thought it would be. Fucking hormones... Anyway, I went to see it a few times, now. The price is very reasonable... by selling my flat alone it would be enough money to buy it. I thought... a bit extra we could... turn the garage into a little renovation area for your bikes and cars, which I know you love. There's even space for a jacuzzi! A home office, a room for the baby, one for us... maybe... an extra room for... another baby... maybe... in the future...?"

Jordan was very quiet, I could actually swear he wasn't even breathing that's how still he was. All of the sudden we heard a noise coming from the kitchen. He cursed and jumped. I heard him grunt and curse in the kitchen – dinner was ready!

"Shit, that was stupid!" I grunted, telling myself off "Nice going, crazy pregnant woman!"

I heard him come back, and I couldn't muster the courage to look into his eyes; he was definitely thinking I was trying to trap him into a married life, with a home in the suburbs, another kid and a garage! He kneeled in front of me, caressed my shaking hands and-

I jerked, tears filled my eyes immediately. I looked up into his, and this time there were definitely tears there, as his shaking hand held a little black box with a beautiful and simple ring inside.

"Oh, Jordan...!" I moaned, hiding my face in my hands.

"You can double barrel it" He teased me, and I laughed.

We both got up, and he held me tight, kissing me deeply. He slid the silver band with tiny little diamonds all the way around, into my finger – a perfect fit. I could feel the baby moving a bit like he/she could understand what was going on.

"I told you you were going to marry me, eventually" He grinned, caressing my cheeks.

"I was thinking baby first, then moving and maybe down the line we could get married." I shrugged, nonchalant "But your way works."

"I love you, Trouble." He whispered, wiping the tears from my cheeks "A lot, and for a long while, now."

"I know." I smiled, caressing his pecks "I love you too. Too much and forever."

"Just so you know, I asked your father for permission – he seemed the type" He seemed uncomfortable with that, and I giggled.

"What did he say?!" I wanted to know, as he pulled me to the bistro table so we could have dinner.

"That I better treat you and our baby right, or he would pay some thugs to break my legs" He grinned, like he was happy about it!

"You two have a weird relationship" I chuckled.

"Will you show me the house?" He asked, helping me sit.

"Of course." I smiled, caressing his sweet face "Bring dinner, and my purse, and we can talk about it over dinner, deal?"

"Anything the missus wants!" He grinned, slapping a big kiss on my smiling lips "One bowl of spag-bol coming up!"

He was humming, all happy with himself and life. I sat outside, taking in the breeze of the ocean and checking my ring. I couldn't believe the little shit had planned to propose to me right here! I thought he was going to politely decline my proposal to get a house together, to finally move-in together, when all along he had been planning to marry me!

"Just so you know, I'm not getting married with this belly" I assured him, as he came back, still humming to himself.

"Oh, of course not!" He smiled, sitting across from me "We'll wait. Let's get this baby here first, move into our home, and when we're both ready, we'll plan the day to make you Mrs. Marshall!"

"You're loving this" I chuckled.

"I definitely am!" He grinned, caressing my leg under the table "You're so getting laid tonight, love...!"

I giggled at that.

"God... I can't believe it's been almost six months since we met" I moaned.

"Hum..." He nodded, swallowing some spaghetti "Seems like a lifetime ago, doesn't it? Now, show me that house."

"Look, don't look at the price" I begged and he cursed "as I said, by selling my flat we can pay for it easily."

"Fuckin' hell!" He almost yelled, as he saw the price "Mother fuckin-"

"Ok... that, right there" I chuckled "is exactly what I was afraid of."

"Jesus, Violet... I can't afford this." He mumbled, feeling embarrassed "It's... it's too much...!"

"Just listen to me: I'm selling my flat so we can buy this house – or any house, if you don't like it" I shrugged.

He sighed, dropping the file on the house back to the table. His forehead wrinkled as he considered the whole thing. I swallowed hard.

"Jordan..." I called softly, and he looked up at me "I know this is... a lot. Also... I know it's a lot of money, but I have it."

"What about me?" He shrugged, hurt "I could never afford this house, maintain it, and all that..."

"Baby..." I muttered, and blushed as he grinned at me "Ok, 'baby' doesn't work on you. Jordan, I know what you mean. But, please think about it from a different angle: soon, my dad is gonna retire and I'm taking over the company. I'm making triple figures at the moment, can you imagine once the company is officially mine? I can afford this... everything that we want."

"Three figures?!" He gasped "Why the hell have I been paying for all our dates?!"

I laughed at that.

"Because you're a gentleman." I winked "Please, think about it. For us?"

He sighed and rubbed his face.

"One condition. Actually, two." He said, showing me two fingers "First, no expensive decorator. This will be our home, so we should do it ourselves, or ask friends to do it."

"But...!"

"It's the Marshall way, baby" He interrupted.

"Ok... deal." I sighed, finishing my meal "What's the second condition?"

He leaned back into his chair. The stars were shining bright in the sky, by this point. We had a small little fire going under the bistro table, to warm our feet. He took his time thinking about the second condition, and just when I was going to push him to answer me, he spoke.

"Well..." He sighed "Tell me you love me again."

"I love you" I grinned.

"Again," He asked, a wicked grin in his face.

"I love you... baby."

"Now, don't take this the wrong way, but I get all fired up when I hear you say that."

"Well... it's a pretty big beach... and we are all alone here, right?" I wiggled my brows.

"You just read my mind" His chuckle was low and promised both Heaven and Hell.

***

Jordan was holding onto my hand pretty hard; this was the day, the day we would finally know if we were having a naughty little boy, or a hard-headed little girl.

"How have you been feeling lately?" Dr. Madrugo asked, as she prepared the ultrasound.

"Good. Not as tired. I actually have a lot more energy" I admitted, as she squirted some gel on my tummy; I jerked as it was bloody freezing.

"She's been very emotional, though" Jordan put in, pinching my thigh.

"Well, that's how your next twenty-odd weeks are going to be like. You know us, women..." Dr. Madrugo chuckled, as she found the baby "And... from what I can see here..." She pointed to our tiny baby, moving ever so slightly on the screen "That's how it's going to be like until this little one goes through puberty. Congratulations... you are having a baby girl!"

I couldn't believe how fast Jordan and I left the Doctor's office, how fast he drove back to his tattoo place, dragged me inside and loudly and proudly announced to his friends.

"Fuck me, we're having a girl!"

Everyone jumped and shrieked with joy, hugging Jordan and I, already planning the baby shower, the baby room, and obviously teasing Jordan about 'boys'.

"So, does Baby Marshall finally have a name or what?!" Rocco tossed, as he served all of Jordan's friends a round of champagne.

"Yeah! We want to start decorating and buying you guys stuff you'll never use!" Stella joined in.

Jordan looked at me, his eyebrows quizzically. I smiled and caressed my belly.

"Yes, she does." I smiled at my fiancée "Julie. Julie Conrad Marshall!"