As soon as I’m close enough to touch her, I bend, placing a kiss to her forehead. “Do you want some milk before you choke on it?”

“Yes, please.” She smiles, picking the crust off the bread, then hops up on one of the stools as I walk across the kitchen to grab the gallon of milk from the fridge. Filling a glass for her and one for myself, I take them over to the island and take a seat next to her. “Do you need to go back to pick up your brother?” she asks as I open the box of cupcakes, smiling when I see there are six left.

“No, I left my car with him.”

“How did you get home?” she asks after taking a bite of her sandwich and a sip of milk.

“Tim was in the area, so he was able to drive me,” I explain before sinking my teeth into the cupcake.

“You must really like those. I never see you eat sweets, and that has to be the third one you’ve had.”

“Fourth,” I correct, hearing her laughter ring through the kitchen, making me smile. It’s been far too long since I’ve heard her carefree laughter, and I miss it. “We need a vacation, baby,” I say softly, and she nods, ripping a few more pieces of the crust off her sandwich.

“I would love to get away with you, but I know things have only gotten busier since you’ve taken over the office, and I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon.”

“More patients equal more money, which means I can afford to hire another dentist. I’ll figure it out this coming week.”

“You don’t think it’s too soon to hire another dentist?”

“No, not at the rate we’re growing. And really, I want to have a third person on to help cover things if you and I need to be out of the office for an extended period of time.”

“Why would we need to be out of the office for an extended period of time?” She frowns, and I study her for a moment before speaking.

“When we have kids, I’ll want to be home with you as often as I can. Right now, it would be difficult to do that, and I would most likely have to close the practice and work somewhere else that would allow me to make my own hours.”

“Have you been talking to Parker about having kids?” she asks quietly, and I frown.

“No, why?”

“He mentioned us having kids this morning, and asked when we are going to start.”

“What did you say when he asked you?”

“I said a few years.” She shrugs, taking a large bite of her sandwich, and I stare at her in disbelief.

“We are not waiting a few years,” I deny, feeling my lip curl at the idea alone.

“Really, and what was your plan?” she asks sarcastically, raising a brow.

“Now. The sooner the better. We haven’t been using protection, so it could happen anytime.”

Staring at me with her eyes wide, she shakes her head and mutters, “I’m on birth control.”

“No you’re not.”

“Yes, I am. I’m on the shot. My next appointment is in…” She looks at the ceiling, wiggling her head back and forth, then drops her eyes back to me. “Just about eight weeks away.”

“Cancel it. You don’t need to get it again.”

“Pardon?” She sets her sandwich down on her plate and crosses her arms over her chest while narrowing her eyes on mine.

“You don’t need to be on the shot, and why didn’t you tell me you were?”

“Have you been trying all this time to get me pregnant?” she questions, sounding pissed off, and I know by her tone I should probably tread lightly.

“I didn’t know you were on anything.”

“So you have been,” she mutters, looking away from me. “Wow, just when I think you can’t get any crazier, you go and do something that makes me wonder just how much crazier you’re gonna get.”

“I want a family with you. There is nothing crazy about that. I want to see you holding our kids the way I’ve seen you holding Hope, and I want to see that smile you only give her directed at our babies.”

“We’re just getting to know each other as a married couple. I want kids, but I don’t think right now is the time to have them. I want us to have time, just the two of us, before we bring a baby into our family. And I just graduated! I just started my career.” She waves her hand around. “I want to enjoy all of this stuff for a while.”

“One year, I’ll give you that long,” I compromise, and she leans close, placing her hand against my jaw.

“At least two. You won’t change my mind. It’s me who will have to carry our babies, and it’s me that us starting a family will affect the most. It should be my decision when it happens,” she says then lowers her voice, hitting me right in the gut. “I love you, and I want you to have everything you want, but I also need you to love me enough to understand this is you and me. This is our future. We should be making these big decisions together.”

“You’re not giving me the opportunity to make these decisions with you.”

“If I wasn’t on birth control, we would probably be pregnant right now, and that would have been all your choice. So don’t try to make me feel bad about telling you what I need.”

“Fine,” I grumble. “I’ll wait until you tell me you’re ready, but just so you know, I’m not happy about it.”

“Trust me. You’re making that very obvious.” She laughs, closing the distance between us and touching her mouth to mine.