When that had been settled, she had informed me that she would be accompanying me on the review. When I said informed me, I meant that she’d given me no choice in the matter.
I’d argued, but she’d made some valid points. In the end, I figured it was safer for her to be with me than it was for her to be alone anyway. She hadn’t experienced any more pain like she had back in Oregon, but I lived in secret terror that it would happen again.
Our doctor had assured us that traveling was safe. For now.
The letter he’d given her declaring her fit to travel had exactly one week left before it lapsed, but we’d made it. We were finally done.
I’d been worried about the stress of traveling, but the doctor said everything looked good. Apparently, as long as Kyle’s heart kept functioning the way it was supposed to, the stress of traveling wouldn’t do any harm.
Since we flew by private jet, there was also none of the long waiting periods for a next flight, walkways, or prolonged periods of handling heavy luggage. It was that last comment that had precipitated my insistence on handling her luggage for her.
The last few months had been busy, but I had a feeling it would be worth it. While we’d been conducting the review, I’d been easing Aldo into my day-to-day role at the office.
Addy had also conducted her own interviews and had hired a young man to fill in for her temporarily. My brother had been banking on her hiring a woman, and he wasn’t thrilled that it was a guy, but Addy had declared it payback for him breaking our secret to my mother.
Sufficiently chagrined, he’d resigned himself to not being able to hook up with his very own client liaison. I fucking loved my girl. She was as much of a damn firecracker as ever.
My mother had planned this celebratory dinner weeks ago. Since the review had wrapped up today, Addy and I were officially on parental leave. We were still planning on working remotely on some things, and we’d go into the office from time to time, but our primary focus for the next few months was our family.
We had a nursery to plan, and whatever the fuck else one was supposed to do before the big day arrived. Thankfully, I had months to figure it out.
“You ready?” Addy asked as we approached Mom’s front door.
I nodded. “You?”
“As I’ll ever be.” Slowly but surely, Addy and Mom were building up a relationship. They had been getting along since we’d gotten home from the States, but Addy always got nervous before we went inside.
I pushed open the door for her, motioning for her to precede me. My mother’s shout came the second Addy stepped over the threshold. “Look who’s finally here. I’m so happy to see you.”
Mom pulled Addy in for a tight hug.
“We’re happy to be here, Grace. It’s good to see you.”
“It’s been months,” Mom cried as she released her, then set her sights on me. “Next time you take my son, daughter-in-law, and grandbaby away from me for two whole months, I’ll ground you.”
“Sure, Mama.” I chuckled into her hair. “I’d like to see you try.”
“Don’t you try me, young man. You’re never too old for your mother to discipline you.” She grinned at Addy. “If he gives you any trouble, you let me know.”
“I’ll do that.” She turned to smirk at me over her shoulder. “Hear that? Your mom will discipline you if you don’t listen to me.”
My retort wasn’t fit for company, but I held it back. Discreetly slapping her ass when I passed her, I gave her a meaningful look. “Sure, I’m the one who needs to be disciplined.”
Addy’s cheeks turned bright red. She knew exactly what I was talking about. Pregnancy sex was crazy awesome.
I’d never given much thought to how many children I wanted, but now I wanted a whole house full of them. Lucky for me, we were already well on our way.
Mom ushered Addy into the dining room, taking the seat on one side of her to coo to her belly. “Hello, my little bambino. This is your grandmother here. I’ve missed you. Dance for granny.”
She held her palms up, waiting until Addy nodded before placing them on her stomach. Mom had actually been surprisingly respectful throughout all of this. She hadn’t even mentioned moving in with us or being present for the birth once. Plus, she always made sure she got permission before she touched the bump.
Cackling gleefully as she received a kick, she ended with a squeal. “Who’s a good little baby? Listening to granny already. You and I are going to have such fun together.”
Addy caught my eye, quirking her brow in a silent question. I answered it with a smile, carrying her purse over to the table.
“We have some more pictures,” she said coyly. “Before we left on the review, we went for another ultrasound.”
“Oh, let me see.” She kept her hands on Addy’s stomach but nodded at the envelope sticking out of her purse. “You’re going to have to show them to me. I’m bonding with the baby. These hands aren’t moving.”
While Addy removed the images, Mom looked over to me. “Grab my specs, would you? Those things are so small. I don’t understand why they can’t give you pictures visible to the human eye.”
I wasn’t going to touch that comment, so I went off in search of her glasses instead. Finding them on her armchair, I placed them between my fingers.
Addy knew I wanted to be there for the big reveal, but I hurried back to them anyway. She was stalling, making a show of unrolling
