The front door opening startled me, and I jumped. I heard something heavy hit the floor in the entrance hallway and then the door slammed shut. “Where are my girls?”
Lucy was already up and skipping out of the living room. I was slower to get up and by the time I reached the hallway, Lucy was already in Jesse’s arms. He swung her around a few times, making her giggle. When he sat her on her feet, he pulled her close and gave her a tight hug. “Missed you, Lu,” he murmured against her curly head.
“I missed you too, Dad.”
I stopped a few feet away, taking in the man I loved more than life itself. He looked tired. Dark shadows under his eyes told me that he hadn’t been getting much sleep since he had been gone. Neither one of us could sleep well without the other. He needed a shave; dark stubble shadowed his jaw and head. His shirt was wrinkled, and his jeans had a stain on one thigh that attested to too much fast food. All in all, he was the sexiest, most heartwarming sight that I had laid eyes on. “Well I definitely missed you!” I informed him with a welcoming smile.
Jesse’s bald head snapped up, and I watched in fascination as his eyes rapidly changed colors. I would never get over his eyes. Even after two years of marriage they still made me melt. Right now, they were eating me up and I had to fight the urge to drag him upstairs. “Welcome home, Jess.”
With the speed of lightning, he had me in his arms. His fingers tangled in my hair and his lips devoured mine. I kissed him back, desperate for a taste of him. You would think we hadn’t seen each other in years instead of mere weeks. When he finally raised his head, we were both breathless.
Jesse pressed his forehead against my own. “Yeah, this isn’t going to happen again!” he muttered. “You either go with me or I’m not going.”
“Agreed.” I brushed a quick kiss over his lips and then took his hand and tugged him into the living room. “Are you hungry? I haven’t cooked yet, but I can make you a sandwich or something.”
“No, babe. I’m not hungry.” He flopped down on the sofa and pulled me down beside of him. Lucy took her usual place on his other side and the television was forgotten as we made him tell us all about the tour. For more than an hour, he indulged us.
“What’s been going on around here?” he asked after a while. “We’ve talked every day, but that doesn’t mean you girls tell me everything.”
I glanced over at Lucy who was eyeing me questioningly. She and I had been keeping something from him this last week. It wasn’t exactly something that you told your husband over the phone and I had been so anxious about it that I broke down and confided in Lucy… “What?” Jesse laughed.
I bit my lip. “There is something…” I began.
“But we wanted to tell you face to face,” Lucy cut in.
“Did you two adopt another pet?” He raised a brow at Lucy. “Please tell me it’s a dog and not another lizard, Lu. Or a freaking snake!”
Lucy had a thing for exotic animals it seemed. She had conned Drake into buying her an iguana last year for her birthday without talking to us about it. Then for Christmas Lucy had actually asked for a python. The girl was crazy about the yellow and white snake that she had named Zippy. Big, bad rock star Jesse Thornton? Not so much. He steered clear of Zippy and Lucy’s room.
“No, Dad. It isn’t about a pet.” Lucy was quick to assure him.
“Jesse, remember before you left you said you thought it was time to start on a few additions..?” I stopped when he turned those ever changing eyes on me. “I hope you really are ready.”
“Layla are you trying to tell me you’re pregnant?” he demanded.
I grinned. “Maybe.” We had been talking on and off about having a baby from the day we got married. But it seemed like every time one of us was ready something would come up and we would put it off for a little longer. This time it had been completely taken out of our hands because I was still on the pill until I had found out that I was pregnant.
He growled and pulled me onto his lap. “Really? You are really pregnant?”
I nodded. “Yes. I saw the doctor last week when I realized I was late. I’m eight weeks pregnant.” I pulled the little picture out of my back pocket where I had put it that morning. The night before Lucy and I had stared at it for hours until we had fallen asleep on mine and Jesse’s bed.
“The doctor wanted to make sure how far along I was and did an ultrasound,” I told him as I gave him the little glossy picture.
Jesse stared down at the almost unintelligible blob of dark swirls in wonder. After a moment, he frowned. “Where is the baby?” he finally asked.