He holds his hands up and walks off laughing.
“You need to calm down. I haven’t heard you this uptight since last fall,” Emmy says, sneaking up to my side again. I swear that chick floats. She is always popping up out of nowhere.
“I am calm.” I’m not calm. I’m losing my fucking mind.
My girl is sad, trying hard to keep it hidden, and I can’t fix it. My son refuses to come out, and if one more thing goes wrong today, I’m going to say fuck it and kidnap my woman and drag her up to the bedroom. At least I know I can keep her happy there.
“You aren’t calm, but you will be,” she says before she vanishes again.
I look around for her before I stomp back in the house and grab a beer.
By the time Dee calls to tell us that they are leaving the salon, things have finally calmed down. Coop gets back with so much food that it looks like he has, in fact, ordered everything Heavy’s has to offer. Locke has finally arrived and gotten the rest of the sound system running. Emmy is running around, making sure all the tables have flower arrangements and that all the bubble machines are still hidden from sight but functioning. Coop is somewhere with his date and Beck is bringing out all the coolers with drinks and dragging them down to the yard.
You can’t see the lights yet but the torches are lit and the rose pedals against the green grass make it look like there is a blanket of pink and red. The balloons are rocking back and forth in the slight breeze. It is perfect.
Nothing else could go wrong today.
“They’re pulling up the driveway!” I hear Greg yell through the house.
We pulled all the cars behind the garage and down a little ways on the property. She won’t see them from where she would park. If she comes through the garage, she won’t notice the balloons invading the living room either.
“Be right back,” I say, handing my beer to Locke before walking into the house.
I wipe my sweaty palms on my shorts and walk into the kitchen to get my girl. She comes walking out of the garage looking like the angel I’ve always thought she was. She’s wearing a long white dress that hugs her tits and large belly. It flows around the rest of her body, making it look like she is walking on air. Her skin is still glowing from all the time we spent down at the lake this summer. Sway did whatever it is that Sway does on her hair and it is hanging long, thick with curls.
“You look beautiful.”
“You don’t look that bad yourself, baby,” she says, walking into my arms and giving me a kiss. I can feel my son rolling against my stomach.
“Feeling okay, Princess?”
“I’m feeling great. Sway pampered me good. He even made one of the shampoo boys massage my feet!”
I bite back the displeasure I feel about another man with his hands on my woman. She needs today to be perfect and my being a possessive ass won’t help.
“Can Dee stay for dinner? I told her we were going to grill out and she said she would love to spend some more time with me.”
“Sure, baby.” I give Dee a hug and start walking Izzy out to the deck.
I hear her gasp from behind me when her eyes take in everything in front of her. Our friends all yell, “Surprise!” and I feel her jump through our joined hands. Her hand squeezes mine tightly and I go to turn around. She looks shocked but not about her surroundings.
“Um . . . Axel?” I hear Dee call back from inside the house. She is standing behind Izzy and looking down at the ground with an odd expression across her face.
“Yeah?”
“Oh boy,” she says, looking up to meet my eyes, and I note the apprehension.
Izzy squeezes my hand, harder this time, and whispers my name. “Axel?” It comes out so light I almost miss it.
Shit, she must hate it.
“Baby?” she tries again.
I turn to look into her eyes and frown when I see sweat beginning to gather around her temples and worry lines across her forehead. “Izzy, what’s wrong?”
“HOLY SHIT HER WATER BROKE!” I hear Greg yell from behind me.
I look down, and sure enough, there is a small puddle of water between her feet. Her handle on my hand hasn’t lightened up, and I know that my girl is in pain.
She gives a small, strained nod and waits a few seconds for the contraction to ease up before opening her eyes and looking into my own.
“He’s coming,” she whispers with a brilliant smile.