Six months later
KIRA HUNG UP the phone.
“Everything okay?” Derrick asked, walking over to hand her a glass of wine.
Kira set it down on the counter. “Krissy was crying so hard all I could make out is the baby is fine and she’ll be home tomorrow as planned.” And something about Zac being a jerk and life sucking and a huge mistake. “Thank you for offering to drive me down to Newark Liberty International Airport to pick her up. I would have driven myself but...” Driving around town and to work was one thing. Down to a bustling airport? Not ready for that yet.
Derrick held up his beer mug in a toast. “Happy to do it.” Then he returned to his seat on the couch and picked up the medical journal he’d been reading when the phone rang.
Kira looked around the home they’d purchased, decorated, and had been living in together for the past three weeks, happier than she’d ever been. After much research, they’d found the perfect mother-daughter setup with three bedrooms and two bathrooms in the main living area, and a private apartment with one large bedroom, that they divided into two, and a separate entrance for Mom and Tippy. With the money Kira got from selling her condo in the city, they were able to put down a big deposit and still have enough left over for all new furniture.
She walked over to the sliding door that led to the deck and stared out into their large yard. “They did a beautiful job on the fence.” A high wooden privacy fence that split the yard in two so Derrick could have his fire pit and cornhole and Mom could go outside to garden any time she wanted.
Her fiancé of three weeks—he’d proposed with a beautiful ring on their first night in their new home—walked up behind her, pressed in close, and kissed her neck—something he did often. “Can’t wait to get you out there for some drunk stargazing.”
Sober stargazing would likely have to do for the next nine months. “As soon as the April showers head out and the ground dries.” Kira leaned back against his firm, broad chest. “Are you sure you’re okay with Krissy living here until she finds her own place?” Especially on account of she’d be working at the family practice, too.
“Your family is my family.”
Poor man, he’d really taken on a lot when he’d taken on Kira. She turned in his arms and looked up at him. “There’s something I’ve been putting off telling you.”
He looked down at her with concern. “What?”
“It may be just stress from the move and work being so busy and all the problems I’ve been having getting Mom settled in. But...I’m late.”
It took him a few seconds to figure out what that meant. “You mean?”
She nodded. “Our crazy family may be getting bigger.”
He picked her up and spun her around.
Kira laughed. “So I take that to mean you’re happy about the news?”
He walked them over to the couch and sat down, settling Kira in his lap. “I am ecstatic about the news.” He smiled. Then he kissed her.
Kira was ecstatic, too. They’d only been together for a few months, but Derrick had already given her a future filled with more happiness than she’d thought possible. “Thank you for coming down to the city to yell at me.” She shifted around until she was straddling his lap, one of her favorite places to be.
“I didn’t—”
She put her finger to his lips. “Yes, you did.”
He smiled. “You’re right. I did.”
“And thank you for following me to that bar, and dragging me up to your parents’ house, and coming to my condo when Mom was sick.” She rocked along the growing length of him. “Thank you for loving me enough to put up with a life that includes my mother and my sister.”
He started to move beneath her.
“Thank you for giving me a job I love that makes it possible for me to spend so much time with the man I love.” She leaned in and kissed him.
“I love you, too.” He held her tightly. “Now let’s go to the bedroom so I can show you how much.”
He showed her every day, in and out of the bedroom. Kira climbed off of his lap. “Bet I can make you come first.”
Derrick scooped her up into his arms and ran down the hall. “Bet I can make you come first.”
Twenty minutes later, Derrick won. And Kira was perfectly okay with that.
* * * * *
Look out for the next great story in the NURSES TO BRIDES duet
THE NURSE'S NEWBORN GIFT.
And if you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Wendy S. Marcus:
NYC ANGELS: TEMPTING NURSE SCARLET
CRAVING HER SOLDIER’S TOUCH
SECRETS OF A SHY SOCIALITE
THE NURSE’S NOT-SO-SECRET SCANDAL
All available now!
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