We head into the kitchen and I start to fuss about how there’s nothing to eat. I swear I never had any cravings with Aarabelle, but this one, all I want is chicken and cashews. I could eat it every meal and be happy. Of course, I don’t, but I try to convince Liam to order out. Aara sits in her highchair eating her tiny pieces of chicken nuggets while I groan and moan about Liam not getting his pregnant fiancée what she wants.

“I have something for you.”

“You do? Is it an eggroll?”

“Oh, I got your eggroll, sweetheart. I think you’ll like this better.”

“Doubtful,” I huff playfully.

Aarabelle and I make faces at each other while Liam taps his foot. “Are you done being a brat?”

“You did not just call me a brat!” My eyes widen, and I drop the fork.

“I did . . . now, I’m trying to be romantic, and you’re killing the mood.”

“Romance in the kitchen? I’m excited now.” I sit up, pretending to be fully engaged. I’m tired, hungry, and feel nauseated all at the same time.

“Brat,” he repeats as he gets down on one knee again. “Now do I have your attention?” Liam’s smile is soft and his eyes are full of love.

I nod as he extracts a black box and then places it on my knee unopened.

“Aarabelle, I’m going to ask you if this is okay . . .” She looks at him while he grins. “Eat, cry, whine, poop, stare off or at me, or smile if you want me to marry your mommy.”

I laugh and she looks at me.

“Sold!” Liam exclaims. “Natalie and Aarabelle . . . I want to be a part of your lives forever. I want to care for you, love you, and be here for you.” He grabs her hand and I cover my mouth with my hand. “I’ll be your Dad even though I’m not your father. You already own me and I’ll do anything for you.”

A tear falls as he addresses the one thing in this world that would’ve stopped me from being with him.

Liam’s eyes shift and he touches my knee. “This was my mother’s ring.”

With shaky hands, I touch the box and open it slowly. Nestled in the velvet is the most beautiful antique ring. It’s white gold with pave diamonds on the band and around the center stone. The large diamond is round and protected by the other diamonds. It’s absolutely beautiful.

“Liam,” I look up as another tear falls, “It’s . . .”

“My father said he thinks she would want you to wear it. She would’ve loved you and he hopes we have as much love as they shared.” He takes it out and slides it on my left ring finger.

“I think we’ll have more,” I press my lips against his. He holds my cheeks and kisses me with so much fierceness it nearly knocks me off the chair. Aarabelle starts to yell for him and bangs on the table.

“I love you too, princess.” He kisses the top of her head and I melt.

He’s going to make me very happy and I’m going to cherish every second I have with him.

“Are you ready to see the baby?” Dr. Contreras asks as she puts the cold gel on my stomach. Liam stands next to me holding my hand.

“Yes,” I nod and look up at him. His eyes are focused on the machine. It’s finally time for my ultrasound and we’re going to see our baby. We had to push back a few weeks with all the craziness, but I’m beyond ready.

“And we’re doing the gender reveal later, so you don’t want to know, correct?”

Liam groans then shifts his attention to me. “They don’t have to know we know. We can pretend we don’t know at this stupid party. Look, I even have a great shocked face.” I glance over and he gives his best impression.

Such a dork.

I ignore him, “No, we don’t want to know.”

“You suck.”

“You’re being a baby. The party is in two weeks.”

“Stupid. I’m the father. I should know before some damn baker.”

“Zip it.”

She laughs and puts the wand on my stomach. I swear I don’t remember being so big with Aarabelle this early. I’m either retaining a lot of water or my body figures it’s already done this so might as well return to form.

The room fills with the wooshing sound of the baby’s heartbeat. Liam’s eyes widen, and his jaw drops as it echoes around us.

“What the hell is that?”

Dr. Contreras smiles. “That’s your baby’s heart. Nice and strong.”

“Our baby has a heart,” he says sounding clearly surprised.

I giggle, “I know.”

“I didn’t mean that literally.”

I twist my fingers with his and listen with a full heart. It’s a miracle we’re standing here hearing our baby or that any of this is happening.

“See that there,” the doctor says pointing. “That’s the baby’s heart. You can see everything looks good there.”

She continues to show us small glimpses of our peanut. Each time she points a new piece out, Liam claims he sees a penis, which she obviously won’t confirm. She goes through all the organs then hands us a few photos.

“I’ll let you get dressed and then I’ll be back to go over everything,” she explains.

“Is there anything to be concerned about?”

“I just want to look at the timeline and set a plan.” Her voice is reassuring, but something has me on edge.

Liam kisses the top of my head, and hands me a towel to clean off.

“I have a bad feeling,” I relay my fears to him.

“Everything looks fine, Lee. I know you’re worried, but from what I saw, the kid’s got all the parts.”

“Says the man who thought he would dent him or her with his giant penis.”

“Can’t help the equipment that was bestowed upon me.”

I stare, waiting until he looks over so he can see my face. He’s smiles then sits next to me.

“All joking aside, if there’s something wrong, we’ll handle it. But you’ve had a rough go at getting pregnant and staying pregnant . . . so, this is good. We’re at twenty-three weeks now. I’m handling everything I can so you can stay off your feet. Let’s just wait before we freak out.”

My head falls on his shoulder, and he wraps his arm around me. There are times in my life I feel so weak. As if all anyone does is reassure me that things will be fine. It’s just this baby . . . this life inside of me . . . is my chance. It’s my chance to prove I wasn’t broken or marred, but that I was meant to be a mother.

We sit here quietly and Dr. Contreras knocks and enters. “Okay, everything looked good. The baby’s heart and all of the organs are great. I’ve sent the gender off to the cake people, so yes, we were able to get a clear picture of that.” She smiles and then looks at the chart. “Only issue I have is your weight. You need to eat a little more. So far, you’re not gaining much and you said you weren’t having morning sickness. Are you eating healthy?”

“I have a kid who has no idea how to sit for two seconds so that could be why.”

She nods. “I want you to make sure you’re taking in enough calories for you and the baby.”

“She’ll eat.” Liam offers his promise.