Free The Truth About Ever After by Rachel Schurig Page B

relaxed and enjoyed
the company. But all the cleaning and cooking had caught up to me now, and I
felt like I could sleep for ages.
    Eric
climbed in next to me and turned off the bedside light before pulling me close.
I snuggled into him, feeling ready to drop off, when a rumble below my cheek
told me he was laughing softly.
    “What?”
I asked.
    “I
was just thinking of your face when you realized the kids weren’t here,” he
said, chuckling. “It was priceless.”
    “What?”
I spluttered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Eric only laughed
harder.
    “Tell
me the truth,” he said, pulling me from his chest to his side so he could look
me full in the face. “Did you want to have this dinner so I would be forced to
spend time with children?”
    I
squirmed, uncomfortable. When he said it like that it made me sound kind of
manipulative. “I just thought it would be nice to spend some time with little
ones,” I said. “Since, you know, we agreed to start thinking about it.”
    “Which
is also why you keep sending me articles about the joys of fatherhood, right?”
    I
stared at him. “You didn’t say anything about those! I was starting to think
you weren’t getting them.”
    “Oh,
I got them,” he said, laughing again.
    “Eric,
you said it yourself. Having kids is a really big deal. I just wanted to give
you some tools to help you think about it.”
    Suddenly
he lay back on his pillow, pulling me close so my head was again resting on his
chest. “I have been thinking about it.” His chest vibrated slightly beneath my
ear as he spoke. “I’ve been thinking about it ever since you brought it up
after the wedding.”
    “Really?”
I asked, my heart starting to beat faster. “And… what have you thought?”
    “Honestly?”
I nodded against his chest. “Honestly, it scares the crap out of me.” I felt my
stomach plummet. Damn it. “The thought of being responsible for another
person’s life… it’s a huge, huge deal, Kiki.”
    “I
know,” I whispered, feeling like I might cry. I had so hoped we were moving in
the right direction.
    “But
I also think… I also think it would be really awesome. You know? You and me,
our own little family.”
    I
gasped, sitting up so I could see his face. “Really?”
    “Sure.”
He smiled up at me in the dark. “I keep picturing a little you running around,
some tiny little thing with blonde pigtails. And I picture all the stuff we
could do together, family stuff. I know that’s corny—”
    “No,
it’s not,” I said firmly. “Please don’t get all macho on me.”
    “You’re
right,” he said, pulling me back down so he was holding me again. We were both
quiet for a moment. My heart was pounding so hard. I felt like we were on the
precipice of something, that there was somehow no going back from this moment.
Eric sighed.
    “ Kiks , I really don’t know if we’re ready. But I was talking
to Josh in the Bahamas—”
    “You
talked to Josh?”
    “ Shh , let me finish,” he said, kissing the top of my head. I
nestled down into his chest, my favorite place in the world. “So I was talking
to Josh and he said he didn’t think anyone ever felt totally ready. He said he
didn’t have a choice with Danny, what with the surprise of it all. But he said
even with Maggie, even after he knew they could handle a kid, it was still
scary.”
    “I
guess that’s just natural,” I said.
    “Exactly.
He said it was normal to be afraid. He said he figured he knew he was ready for
Maggie when his excitement was bigger than the fear.”
    I
held my breath. “How’s your excitement?” I finally asked.
    “It’s
getting there, Kiki.”
    I
wanted to ask what that meant. Was he ready? Could we start trying? If he
wasn’t ready, how long was it going to take? Could I get some kind of a
timeline here?
    “Why
don’t we just see what happens?” he asked, as if he had read my mind. “I don’t
want to make a huge deal out of it, but you could stop taking