Baby Number Two(19)

"Good," Silas said, tearing his gaze from the certificate to look at  her. His eyes were overflowing with pride. "I don't think I've ever felt  this fulfilled in my life."



It was the same exact sentiment Joy had shared with Gloria just a few  weeks prior. "You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say  that," she whispered, feeling her heart skip a beat. "I'm just … I'm  really glad we're doing this together."



Silas swept his palm across her face when he heard her voice crack,  pushing a loose curl back behind her ear before leaning in to kiss her.  "I'm not going anywhere," he whispered, pulling her into his lap to  resume what they'd started earlier. "Not ever."





Epilogue



"Are you sure about this?" Vivian questioned as she helped Joy zip up her dress. "It's not too late for us to find a church..."                       
       
           



       



Joy sighed deeply. "Mom, I told you. Silas and I don't want a big  wedding. Just a simple ceremony amongst our friends and family."



"Yes, and I understand that...but at a court house?" Vivian smacked her  lips and shook her head in disapproval. "It's just a bit tacky as all,  especially when you consider how much money the man has."



"This isn't about the money," Joy retorted, failing to mask her  irritation. "But if it really bothers you so much, you don't have to  come. We have plenty of other witnesses."



Vivian scoffed at that. "Girl are you out of your damn mind? Of course  I'm coming. I'm not about to miss my only daughter's wedding."



"Then could you at least try to fake like you're happy for me?" Joy  pleaded. "I'm marrying the only man I've ever loved. The ceremony aside,  that's more than most can say."



"Yes, which is exactly why I figured you'd want to go all out for ceremony. You've waited such a long time for this."



Joy shook her head. "You know I'm not the materialistic type, mom," she  reminded her, brushing off the statement with a wave of her hand.



It was in that moment that it became clear to Vivian that this wasn't a  fight she would be winning. "Well alright," she said, leaning in to  press a kiss against her daughter's cheek. "Whatever makes you  happiest."



She left the dressing room after that, giving Silas a small smile of approval when she bumped into him on her way out.



"You look amazing," he told Joy as he approached, wrapping his arms  around her waist from behind. Neither one of them seemed to care about  the tradition of the groom not seeing the bride before the wedding. They  were far too wrapped up in each other. "Please don't tell me you're  getting cold feet … " he added, stroking a palm up the satin fabric of her  dress.



Joy turned towards him and shook her head. "Never," she whispered,  reaching out to straighten his tie. As good as she might have looked, he  was quite the sight to be seen himself.



Silas let out a breath of relief. "You really do look beautiful," he  told her for a second time, brushing a kiss against her cheek. His  breath grazed her flesh as he did, giving her goose bumps. "I hope you  know that."



The ceremony went off without a hitch. Upon being pronounced man and  wife, Joy and Silas shared a passionate kiss not at all unlike their  first as all their closest friends and family stared on from the front  pews of the courtroom.



"Congratulations," the judge told them as he stepped down from his box.  "I marry a lot of couples, but the two of you are definitely a sight for  sore eyes."



Joy and Silas thanked the man at the same exact time, leaning in to  share another kiss before turning to address their guests. Everyone  clapped, a few of Silas's former football teammates cheered, and Joy  smiled when she caught sight of Essie reaching out to her from her  grandmother's arms.



Stepping off of the altar after Silas, Joy went to get the child, and  together the trio walked out of the courthouse as a family for the very  first time.



"I have something to tell you," Joy told Silas once they were inside the  limo that would take them to the airport. They were spending their  honeymoon in Fiji with Essie, a locale Joy had always wanted to visit.  "I had a doctor's appointment the other day … and … well … it turns out that  I'm-"



"Pregnant," Silas finished for her, tearing his gaze from Essie to smile at his bride. "I know."



Joy's eyes widened. "You know? How?"



"You've been eating nothing but that gross Nutella shit lately," Silas  explained, smirking. "You did the same thing the first time."



Joy couldn't believe her ears. It was such a minute detail. She couldn't  believe he even remembered it. "I don't get it. If you knew … why didn't  you say anything?"



"Easy," Silas said, scouting in closer to whisper in her ear. "It wasn't my news to tell."





AUTHOR'S NOTE                       
       
           



       



I hoped you enjoyed my latest BWWM novel. As an added gift from me to  you, please enjoy this free copy of another one of my books.

It's called The Senator's Baby, and you can check out the details on Amazon here.





BONUS BOOK





The Senator's Baby



A BWWM

Pregnancy Romance Novel

For Adults



By Nina Ford



Copyright 2016 Nina Ford



All Rights Reserved



This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real people, places,  or events are strictly coincidental. This book may not be reproduced or  distributed in any format without the expressed permission of the  author. Exception is made in the case of brief quotations used in  published reviews. This book was briefly published under the name This  Life. It has since been unpublished and reworked to appeal to its  intended audience.





Dedication



This novella is dedicated to my husband, Jason, without whom I would not  be the woman I am today. Thank you for being such an amazing husband  and father.





Table of Contents



PROLOGUE

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

EPILOGUE





~ PROLOGUE ~



Everyone let out a collective ‘aww' when Kiana held up a tiny onesie  with adorable little reindeer all over it. "She's going to look so  precious in this," she said, referencing my yet to be born niece. I was  hosting a baby shower for her at her favorite Italian restaurant, and  right now my job was to keep track of who bought what so that she could  send out the appropriate thank you cards later. With that in mind, I  scribbled Andrea's name across my notepad, jotting a quick description  of the onesie down beside it.



"This might be yours pretty soon," Kiana said when she saw me staring at it, nudging me in the side.



Mom gasped. "Do you have something you need to tell me?" she asked from the couch, focusing in on my stomach.



I laughed and shook my head, turning my attention back to the task at  hand. I had a feeling that hosting this shower would leave me  emotionally drained, but as Kiana's only sister I knew that it was  expected of me. Plus, she and Noel had been trying for a baby for years.  They deserved this. My yearning for a second child could take the  backburner for at least one afternoon.



Jack and I agreed that we wanted more children, it was just the issue of  when we kept butting heads over. He wanted to wait until he'd been in  office for a few more years, while I would have been content to start  trying right after Theo's birth. It felt strange to admit, but I was the  horniest I'd ever been in my life those few weeks after the fact. All I  could think about was how amazing it was that I'd come together with  the man I loved to create this beautiful little person.



I didn't hound Jack too much about it though. I understood that his  career was very important to him. He always stressed that he wanted to  be in the White House by the time he was forty, which meant he needed  all the energy he could get.



Jack was in the kitchen when I arrived home later that afternoon. The  summer heat was really starting to take its toll on me. I felt hot and  tired as I got out of the car, but luckily he rushed out to help me  carry in the leftover party supplies as soon as he heard me pull up.



"How'd it go?" he asked.



"Great," I said, plastering on a smile as I handed him a box. "She got a lot of really cute stuff."



If Jack noticed the insincerity in my tone, he didn't comment on it. I  followed him inside the house, and Theo pounced on me as soon as he saw  me. "Did you remember to bring me candy?" he asked.