The Husband Checklist

by Miller, Jasmin

  It feels like hours later when she gives me a small smile. “I know what you’re doing, and I really appreciate it, but I really don’t need any help. But you’re welcome to stay with me until your place is done. I told you before, you’re wasting a ton of money on that hotel room.”

  I give a shaky laugh, grateful she agreed. That’s all I wanted. “And as so often, you were absolutely right. Do you want to stop at the Chinese place to pick up some food?”

  “Sure. Why not.” Her response is immediate, and the small smile remains on her face, which I savor.

  It also reminds me of the doctor’s advice, to take things one day at a time, which I’m more than willing to do. All I want is for her to be safe and happy, and staying with her is going to be the best chance I have at making sure of that.

  We stop to get the takeout and end up getting enough food to feed a whole football team, but at least that means we’ll have plenty of leftovers. When we reach Julia’s apartment, she insists on taking one of the food bags while I go to the trunk to remove both of our bags.

  She looks from my hands to my face before she smirks. “Seems like someone was a little presumptuous, huh?”

  My own smirk at her playful question turns into a huge grin in no time. “I like to call it optimistic and prepared.”

  “Fair enough.”

  I almost miss her soft chuckle as she walks away, leaving me to stare after her like an idiot.

  After a moment, she looks back at me over her shoulder. “Come on, doofus. You know I have no problem eating most of this stuff by myself.”

  And there she is. My girl. Throwing out commands in that sassy and adorable way of hers. Grabbing the rest of the food, I quickly catch up with her.

  We’re going to be fine. More than fine. Awesome.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Julia

  This pain sucks.

  It’s funny how you think you’ve experienced pain until you go through something a lot worse. Then you’d much rather experience the previous kind of pain again since comparably, that suddenly seems like a walk in the park.

  But hey, there’s always childbirth waiting for me now too.

  Needless to say, my mood hasn’t been the best since the accident last week.

  Even though everyone’s been trying their best to help and cheer me up, most days I feel utterly unmotivated and just want to hide in bed all day. The aches and pains, the constant fatigue, and surprise, surprise, this newfound nausea that doesn’t seem to go away.

  The only good thing is that my head finally feels a little better, and despite feeling like I want to puke my guts out, I actually don’t.

  The sun shines through my bedroom window, which is usually a good motivator to get me out of bed, but it doesn’t seem to help today.

  “Suck it up, Jules.” I push my hair out of my face, and take a few calming breaths.

  I lie there for a moment longer, staring at the ceiling and wondering what Carter’s doing out there. I told him to go back to work, but of course, he hasn’t. Ollie is one hundred percent behind him on this, so I gave up after a few days of trying. I’m not sure why he wants to stay here with me since it must be incredibly boring for him. All I do is nap, eat, and watch TV in bed. That’s pretty much it. Carter’s making sure of that.

  He’s still sleeping on the couch, which was a little awkward at the beginning. On one side, I wanted to ask him to come to bed with me, but on the other side, I wanted to be alone and appreciate him understanding that.

  I’m also pretty certain Carter’s right about the reasons why sharing a bed right now isn’t the best idea. Even in our sleep we gravitate toward each other, and I feel crappy enough as it is. No need to push my luck.

  I’m also not completely sure where things stand with us as a couple. He’s still affectionate toward me but hasn’t brought up my kind of love confession I screwed up majorly, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.

  For now, I’m happy with this avoidance game we’re playing, at least until I feel a little more like myself.

  Hopefully, the pain will start to ease up soon so I can get a good night’s sleep and stop feeling like crap.

  After a long, warm shower—that takes about ten times longer with me moving like a turtle, not to mention Carter checking in on me to see if I’m okay, pretty much every single time—I feel more human. I’m actually ready to leave my room, ready to face the day, and quite possibly, my new roommate-slash-maybe boyfriend-slash-definite baby daddy.

  What a mess.

  “There you are.” Carter’s cheery voice greets me before I’ve even fully stepped over my threshold. He’s walking toward me, a big smile on his face until he looks me up and down, inspecting every inch of me as if he can see what’s going on under my clothes. “How are you feeling? Is the pain any better?”

  “Not really. Getting hit by a car from one side and then falling onto the ground with the other one wasn’t a good combination.”

  He flinches, a worried expression marring his face. “I can only imagine. I wish I could take away the pain.”

  I know he would in a heartbeat, because he’s that good a person. He always has been. Even when we were kids and my brother once had a scare about possibly needing a new kidney, Carter was right there, offering one of his. Luckily, it turned out to be a false alarm, and all organs could stay with their owners.

  I look him straight in the eye to make sure he’s really getting my message. “It’s not your fault this happened, and I’ll get better soon. It’s just bruising, and I’m lucky nothing worse happened.” I let out a deep breath, happy to have gotten that off my chest. Because I truly am grateful, even though I’m not performing any happy dances.

  After studying me for another moment, he nods. “Fine. One more thing, and then I’ll zip it. Please promise me you’ll let me know if it gets too much so I can help, okay?”

  His gaze is alert and his jaw set, and I know there’s no point in arguing with him, not that I want to.

  I’m actually happy to give him this. “Promise.”

  “Thank you.” The smile he gives me makes my heart skip maybe a tiny bit faster.

  Squeezing my hand, he gently pulls on it. “Come on. There’s something I wanted to show you. It’s nothing major though. I’m probably too excited about it.”

  We come to a stop at the dining room table where he points excitedly at the contents covering every possible surface. Dozens of my business shipping boxes are lined up, filled with bags of my jewelry.

  “Did you . . . did you get my jewelry ready for me to send out?” My mouth hangs open at the mere thought of anyone doing such a thing for me, but especially Carter, since it’s clearly not his thing.

  I press my fingers to my smiling lips, warmth tingling in my limbs.

  Carter pulls me closer, pointing at every little bag and box as if I didn’t already see them. “You mentioned you were really behind with your orders, so I found your finished orders, packed them ready to be shipped, and I printed out your new orders too, so you can get started on them as soon as you’re up for it.”

  Tears spring into my eyes at the thoughtfulness, but I wipe at the corners of my eyes before they spill over. “You really didn’t have to do this, but I appreciate it more than I can tell you. Thank you.”

  He waves me off in the nonchalant way that’s typical for Carter. “Don’t mention it. I’m just happy I could help. I left everything unsealed, so you can double-check them before we tape it up. And then I can drop them off at the post office.”

  I open my mouth to say something, but he’s on a roll, still babbling away. “And I’m also meeting up with the brother of a good client of ours in the next few days. He’s in his last year of business school and looking for a job to make some extra money. He sounds like a good fit, so I thought I could check him out and see if he’d be a good fit for you. You’re going to need even more help with the business now, and I want to make sure you get someone good. That way you could completely f
ocus on making the jewelry without having to worry about the business side of things.”

  I go up on my toes—one of the only parts of my body that doesn’t hurt—and press a soft kiss to his cheek. “Thank you. It would be nice to find someone like that.”

  My simple gesture must have thrown him for a loop because he’s still blinking at me, so I do a one-eighty and change the subject. “So, I was thinking about something. You really don’t have to if it’s too much, but . . . do you want to come to the baby doctor with me tomorrow?”

  That does the trick, his whole face immediately changing at my question. There’s a shimmer in his eyes I’ve never seen before, but it’s gone when he blinks.

  Then he gives me one of his smiles that makes my heart beat a little faster. “Tell me when and where, and I’ll be there.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Carter

  The car trip to the doctor is filled with silence, as we’re both stuck in our own heads with the impending visit.

  On the one hand, I truly enjoy being in Julia’s company, even without talking. Just being around her gives me this overall feeling of weightlessness nothing else has ever given me before.

  On the other hand, there are still about a million things we should talk about, and I’m definitely getting antsier the more time passes. There’s no doubt how I feel about her or what I want. If anything, the accident made it all clear as day.

  The thought of losing her has been enough to give me nightmares.

  Talk about understanding what a blessing in disguise means.

  I’m not sure a hit straight to my head would have been able to help me see things clearer.

  Now, I just need to make sure Julia understands that too.

  When she’s ready.

  Or when I lose the last of my restraint and confess my love for her.

  “We’re almost there.” The navigation system informs me we only have one turn left. “Are you nervous?”

  Since we’re still on the highway, she’s enjoying the ocean view until I have to take the next turn. I keep my eyes on the road but feel her gaze turning to me. “A little, but the doctor came highly recommended by the hospital. That makes it better.”

  Her voice is soft but steady, just like mine. That makes me hopeful she feels as certain and positive about things as I do, or at least starting to get there. “I agree. I’m glad you got that recommendation. We only want the best for the baby.”

  Our baby.

  I don’t say “our baby” since we still haven’t talked about the fact we’re actually going to be parents. Together. To our child.

  Shit. We need to talk about this soon before I explode.

  Julia only nods in response, and I park the car in front of the white, nondescript building when we arrive a minute later. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem very busy, and we’re checked in and sitting in the waiting room in no time. It probably helps that we’re here so early in the morning. Julia’s always flexible with her job anyway, and nothing and no one can get me back to work until I’m absolutely sure she’s okay, even if she refuses my help most of the time anyway.

  I couldn’t handle the thought of leaving her by herself.

  Ollie wants to take care of her too, but Julia said his overbearing nature would be too much at the moment. She knows he means well, and I know exactly what she means. Even though I’m having a super hard time giving her the room and quiet she so obviously longs for, I know my best friend wouldn’t be able to do the same. He’d hover and be in her face like it’s nobody’s business.

  So, Ollie and I made the necessary arrangements that has allowed me to work remotely as much as possible.

  “I think we’re up next.” Julia’s next to me on the small loveseat, nervously twisting her fingers.

  “Are you sure you want me to come in with you?” I don’t think she knows how badly I want to go with her.

  “Of course I do. You have just as much right to be there as I do. It’s your baby too.” The last words come out in a whisper, and all I want to do is pull her into the biggest hug.

  Before I can reply, a young nurse opens a door on the other side of the room. “Julia Bradford?”

  We both get up, and I put my left hand on her lower back, hoping to give her some comfort since her nerves are clearly shot. She’s probably redone her ponytail about ten times since we got here, and she might add some holes to her jeans if she rubs them any more with her hands.

  After taking Julia’s vitals and asking some standard questions about the pregnancy and our family histories, the nurse leaves us alone in the examination room.

  Thankfully, we don’t have to wait long until the doctor comes in. I was a little unsure if I’d be happy with a male doctor when Julia told me about him, but Dr. Yamatochi is a small guy with a big personality, and I like him immediately. Julia seems to feel the same if the smile on her face is anything to go by. He definitely has a way with patients, even when he talks about risks, complications, and everything else than can happen or that we have to watch out for.

  “Well, let’s take a look at the baby, shall we?” Dr. Yamatochi claps his hands together.

  Since I was sitting in the visitor chair on the other side of the room, I get up to stand next to the examination table, putting my hand on Julia’s to give it a light squeeze. My chest fills with warmth when she not only returns the gesture but also holds on to my hand like it’s her new lifeline.

  The doctor squeezes some gel onto Julia’s exposed stomach and starts moving the ultrasound wand around for a few seconds before stopping. “There it is.”

  I stare at the screen, unable to see much more than a little blip. The doctor does his thing, taking measurements before pushing a few buttons on the machine, until the room fills with the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.

  The baby’s rhythmic heartbeat.

  “A strong heartbeat at one hundred and sixty-five beats per minute. With the dates you’ve given us and the measurements of the embryo, you should be right around eight weeks, seven weeks and six days to be exact. And everything looks great. Let’s get some more blood tests done, and then we’ll see you back in four weeks.” He gives us another reassuring smile as he hands Julia the ultrasound picture he printed out.

  The picture has captured my full interest, and I barely notice when the doctor leaves the room.

  I momentarily forget about everything except the little body in the picture. It’s still too early to make out much, but it’s easy to see the head and the rest of the body.

  It’s absolutely incredible.

  “Wow.” Julia lets go of my hand, bringing it up to cover her mouth instead as she stares at the little printout.

  “Wow indeed.” I gulp, my mouth suddenly dry, as I somehow manage to help Julia off the table, watching her as she fixes her clothes and gathers her things.

  It’s like I’m surrounded in a bubble, stuck in my head where my thoughts are busy bouncing around like little rubber balls.

  How is this my life?

  Two months ago, I was living the life of a bachelor, and now, I have the love of my life beside me and a little person soon to enter the picture. Surreal.

  I lift my head when Jules walks to the door, looking back over her shoulder. Her grin softens into a genuine smile as she utters the words I know will forever change my life. “Are you coming, Daddy?”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Julia

  “That’s it.” The words rush out of my mouth as I put my fork down on my plate with a loud clink. Carter looks up at me from across the table, a forkful of pasta halfway to his mouth.

  It’s been two busy days since the doctor’s visit, and we still haven’t talked about anything baby related, or us.

  I’ve been trying to catch up with work—getting all those boxes shipped out with Carter’s help and starting on new orders, slowly of course—while Carter has been out a few times for renovation-related appointments.

  When he’s here, he mostly spends h
is time on the computer, closing it every time I come close enough to catch a glimpse of the screen.

  He told me it’s house stuff, and he doesn’t want to spoil the surprise, but enough is enough. The curiosity has been killing me, only adding to the things we’ve been pushing under the rug.

  The baby. Us.

  “I know you’ve been giving me room and space since the accident because you mean well. I understand you want to make my life easier and avoid adding any stress. And I really appreciate all of that, but not talking about what happened is starting to stress me out more than everything else.” My voice is laced with frustration, but I also feel relief.

  So much better.

  To my surprise, Carter chuckles. “I was wondering how long you’d make it.”

  My eyes turn into slits as I glare at him. “You knew this was going to happen?”

  “Not for sure, but I thought it might. Now we know you’re really ready to talk about everything. I know how important it is for your recovery to get as much rest as possible, not just because of the baby but also because of your injuries. I know you’re pretending to feel better than you do.” His gaze moves to the floor, his voice gentle.

  My throat feels suddenly dry and swollen, and I close my eyes for a moment. “I’m just a baby about the bruises.”

  Getting up, he grabs his chair and moves it around the table to sit right next to me, personal space be gone. I turn to face him when he grabs my hand. “You’re not a baby, Jules. It hurts, end of story. Everyone would be in pain when half of their body is covered in bruises and they can’t take strong medication. I’m here for you because I want to be. I want to help as much as I can. And you can always talk to me about this stuff, anything, you know that.”

  My hands tremble as I nod, mad at myself that I didn’t say anything before. “I know you are, and there’s so much I want to talk to you about, but I just never know where to start.”