“You okay, girl?” he asks when Coop finally shuts his mouth.
Axel gives my shoulder a squeeze in support, and I climb to my feet and walk over to Maddox. He opens his arms when I get closer and I wrap mine around his back. “I’m okay,” I say into his chest.
“Good. That’s good,” he says and gives me a small squeeze before releasing me.
“Get over here, Izzy,” I hear Axel say behind me. I roll my eyes at Maddox before turning around and walking back to Axel. “Mine,” he says to Maddox and pulls me into his body.
We get a rare laugh out of Maddox, and just like that, the tension in the room is lifted and we are able to breathe easy again.
Greg and Dee are fine. The baby and I are fine. And Axel’s arms are around me.
Life is good.
CHAPTER 21
4 months later
“You almost ready, baby?” Axel asks, sliding his arms around my waist and rubbing his hands over my swollen belly. I started to really show a few weeks ago. My small pouch went gone from making me look slightly overweight to a definite baby bump. I love it, but I love it more when Axel comes up behind me and places his hands over my small bump.
When I have moments like this, just Axel and me, I am reminded how lucky we are. It’s been a hard road for us both since that day with Brandon. I have been plagued with nightmares, and Axel has been dealing with his worry about my mental state. About two months after Brandon’s attack, I made an appointment with Dr. Maxwell. We both knew I wasn’t dealing with taking his life well. Finally, four months later, I have come to terms with everything that happened. My nightmares are few and far between, but I am alive and so are the people I love. I have become stronger and stronger every day, and it is all because of this man.
I continue to fix my make up while he rolls his fingers around my skin. “We need to get going soon if we’re going to make your appointment.”
“Okay, I’m hurrying. I would have been ready by now but there is nothing that fits anymore.” I put down my mascara and turn in his arms.
I step up on my toes and wrap my arms around his neck, burying my hands into his thick hair. I look at myself in the mirror and can’t help the small smile that forms. My hair is hanging in long waves down my back. My makeup is done in neutral tones to match the soft yellow color of my sundress. The material stretches across my ample chest but flares out against my belly.
“Worth it, baby. I love seeing you carrying my baby.” He brings his hands down and pulls me up by my hips, placing me on the counter.
“Be careful, Axel. Right now you’re asking to be really late,” I warn, opening my legs up for him to walk closer to my body. My dress pushes higher up my thighs.
My belly pushes into his hard stomach. He barks out a laugh before pressing his lips to mine and making my toes curl with the heat of his kiss. “Princess, I could take you right now and you wouldn’t even fucking care if we missed that appointment, and don’t think I don’t know you’ve been crossing the days off until this one.”
He is not wrong. We have our twenty-week baby appointment today and we are finally going to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. Axel is firm that it is a boy. I keep going back and forth, but deep down, I hope it is. I can just picture a little version of Axel running around the house.
I curl my hands into the fabric of his shirt, humming my agreement, and lean in for another kiss. Right before his lips hit mine, there is a sharp kick against my belly. Axel snaps back and looks down in complete shock. We have been trying to get him to feel the baby kick for weeks now, but either the baby wasn’t having it or Axel just wasn’t there when the baby was active. Either way, this is the first time he has felt any movement.
He looks down at my rounded stomach and then quickly back up to my eyes. The look of pure wonder in his eyes brings a smile to my lips. He is completely transfixed with this little person in my belly.
I reach down and grab his hands before placing them on the center of my bump. The baby kicks a few more times. I keep my eyes glued to Axel’s face, watching the emotions play across his handsome features. Shock, awe, and enchantment. He is fascinated with this feeling—feeling of our baby.
“What are you thinking?” I ask him after a few minutes.
He looks up at me with his smile wide and his eyes bright. “How fucking lucky I am.” He leans down and gives me a kiss, not once removing his hands from my active belly.
“Hey!” we hear Dee yelling up the stairs. “Where are y’all?”
Axel groans and helps me down from the counter. He might have offered for Dee to stay with us, but I can tell she is starting to get under his skin. She has a knack of knowing right when things are heating up. I love her, but right now, she is my little happy cock blocker.