One Year Later
From the waist down, everything hurt. Every joint, every muscle ached. I hadn't realized it while sleeping, but now that I was waking up, the pain flared violently. Shuddering, I blindly reached for the nightstand, knowing I kept Tylenol in the drawer for emergencies. This wasn't quite an emergency, as I probably could've predicted needing some painkillers, but I was too hurt to think that far.
It was still mostly dark out. The curtains revealed a hint of pale gray, meaning sunrise was close, but other than that, it was still night. Groggy, I downed the Tylenol with a sip of water and checked the time. Not even six. Much too early. Exhausted, I collapsed back into my pillow.
Except the movement was too much. Partially beneath me, Grayson stirred, inhaling deeply. I froze, trying to lie down slowly without causing more movement. He was still asleep, one arm wrapped tightly around my waist and his head flopped to the side. I couldn't help but smile; he was adorable with his hair rumpled and his mouth slightly open.
Even though I stayed still, he woke up a moment later. He blinked away the last bits of sleep and smiled when he saw me. I giggled as he tightened his embrace around me, dragging me down into a hug.
"Morning, Jacks," he said, his voice rough.
I kissed his cheek. "Morning. It's still early if you want to go back to bed."
"That's okay," he murmured, "I like being up with you."
"Okay," I said, dropping my head onto his chest.
Beneath the sheets, he slowly rubbed my back, which did feel nice. "You okay?" he asked softly. "Not sore?"
I blushed. "A little," I mumbled.
"I'm sorry, Jacks, did you take something?" he asked, concerned in his gaze.
"Yeah, I took some Tylenol. And don't apologize," I said, looking up at him.
"I mean, I know last night was our anniversary, but that doesn't mean it should be to the point of you feeling this miserable," he said guiltily.
I pressed my index finger to his lips. "Who said I'm miserable? So what if I'm a bit sore, I get to spend the morning with you."
"That is a pretty great gift from me, to get my morning," he admitted.
"On second thought," I said, grabbing my pillow. He yelped and grabbed it midair, both of us laughing.
"Joking, love," Grayson said, grinning as he put down the pillow for me.
I laid down again, closing my eyes as he stroked my hair. "We still have leftover cake, right?"
"I think so. There were at least a few pieces last I checked," he replied.
I yawned. "Maybe that'll be our breakfast."
"Yeah. We should have anniversaries more often," he said. "Cake for breakfast all the time."
I snorted. "We could technically have three, if you'd like. July, December, and April."
Grayson laughed and kissed the top of my head. "I think we'll stick to our real one."
"I love our real one," I sighed, smiling.
He lifted my chin, pressing his forehead to mine. A couple butterflies took flight in my stomach, making me blush.
"You're so cute, Jacks," he said, tracing his fingertips over my cheek.
"And you're adorable," I replied, mussing his brown hair with one hand.
Grayson smiled and leaned in to kiss me, making all the butterflies fly away. I was positively glowing as I returned his soft, deep kisses. Gently, he parted my lips with his tongue, increasing the temperature in the room. One of his hands slid down to my bare waist, imaginary sparks flying wherever he touched me. A faint moan escaped my lips, only making him kiss me more passionately.
The sharp noise of the phone ringing broke the moment. I groaned and said, "No, don't answer it, it's supposed to be our morning."
"It's Clay. The twerp better have a good reason for calling," Grayson sighed, bringing it to his ear. "Hello?"
I laid down again, uninterested in whatever shenanigans Clay had planned for this wicked early hour. Not really paying attention, I closed my eyes again, half drifting off.
"Jackie!" Grayson was shaking me awake.
I yelled in surprise. "What?"
"The baby was born!" he said excitedly, sitting up and hugging me.
Now I was awake. "Really?" I squealed.
"A little girl named Astrid," he said, grinning as he let go. "Kylie's up for visitors, so they wanted to know if we could come now."
"Yes, yes, let's go!" I said, awkwardly tumbling out of bed.
An hour later, we were at the hospital, wandering the hall looking for the room number Clay had given us. A very helpful nurse guided us to the right door and Grayson knocked.
"Come in!" Kylie whisper-yelled. Eagerly, I slipped inside, with Grayson right behind me.
Kylie looked amazing, like she'd simply done a quick workout instead of given birth. She was glowing, her hair pulled back from her face and she was wearing a hospital gown. I ran over for the hug she offered, which surprisingly was a death embrace.
"How are you feeling?" I asked anxiously.
"Really good," she said in a hushed tone. "They just let me eat. I think I ate a whole pizza by myself, and some pear slices."
I laughed. "That's good. It went well?"
"Yeah. Clay was awesome," she said, reaching over to the side of the bed where I realized he was sitting. He was just wearing a pair of sweats, no shirt, like he'd been woken up. In his arms he held Astrid, who immediately captured my heart. She was fast asleep, wearing a little pink blanket. What was shocking was how much she already looked like Kylie, even having a layer of blonde fuzz on her head.
"Oh, she's just the sweetest," I said, getting up and kneeling down in front of Clay.
"Isn't she the most beautiful thing in the world?" he agreed, his smile enormous.
"So beautiful," I cooed.
"She looks like her mom," Clay said softly, shooting Kylie a happy glance.
She blushed. "Jackie, you want to hold her?"
I was surprised. It had not occurred to me that I would get to hold the small, adorable child. "Can I?" I asked Clay timidly.
He nodded, although I noticed a small glimmer of longing in his eyes as he stood and carefully handed me Astrid. My heart melted as she yawned, her little fists by her face. I'd never seen such a cute baby, all sweet and sleepy, wrapped in a blanket.
Clay moved to sit on the edge of the bed, grasping Kylie's hand. He smiled down at her, saying, "Kylie was incredible. Even the nurses were impressed. The whole time she was so calm and relaxed. You'd think she was taking a nap."
"It was not like a nap," she groaned with a laugh.
"Definitely not. And you were awesome," he said, bending over and kissing her forehead.
I smiled down at Astrid, whispering, "I'm pretty sure you have the coolest parents in the world."
I looked up to see Grayson watching me, a small smile on his face. My heart ached for a moment, but it was okay. I asked, "You want to hold her?"
He nodded, gently taking the little girl and sitting down in Clay's chair. His eyes twinkled as he first looked down at Astrid, then over at Clay. There was pride in Grayson's eyes; he had to be so excited for his little brother. After years of taking care of Clay, he now got to see Clay raise a child of his own.
"How long do you have to stay?" I asked Kylie, who honestly looked like she could go home right now.
She exchanged a smile with Clay. "We're heading home at noon. We'll have a quick lunch, then I need to sleep."
"She refuses to take a nap," her husband complained. "I get it, Astrid is so cute you can't look away for even a second, but she's exhausted."
"She is that cute," Grayson agreed, adjusting the baby's blanket. I smiled, loving how adorably sweet he already was with his niece. He had a special gentleness with her that tugged on my heartstrings.
Unfortunately, we were kicked out a minute later by the nurse, who needed to do a blood draw on Kylie. Clay took his daughter back and assured us that we could come back in a few minutes. So Grayson and I slipped into the hall, closing the door behind us.
"She is the sweetest little angel," I sighed, already thinking of the many little onesies I could buy for Astrid.
"Yeah. Those cheeks are just so chubby," Grayson said wistfully. Then he looked at me and asked, "You're okay?"
I nodded. "Better than okay."
"Good," he said with a smile. He was surprised when I gave him a tight, crushing hug, squeezing my eyes shut.
"I'm just really happy for Clay and Kylie," I murmured. "They're going to be such great parents."
"Me too. Astrid is the perfect addition to their family," he said, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I nestled into his warmth, drawing in the cozy feeling he radiated.
I looked up at him, an enormous smile on my face. "Thank you."
Grayson raised an eyebrow. "For what?"
"For being my family," I said softly.
He grinned and cupped my face in his hands, leaning down to kiss me. It took all my willpower to hold back my own smile as I returned the kiss, slowly melting away with happiness. My heart throbbed as I leaned into him, totally and completely in love.
There are days I wonder, what would've happened had Vegas turned out differently? Had we never met? Had we not been married? Had I walked away that afternoon? There were a hundred different scenarios, but only one ended up with Grayson and I still married almost two years later. The odds had not been in our favor, but we'd somehow stayed together.
After all, it's not every day you get a chance to marry the person who turns out to be the love of your life.
But I'm really glad I married you, Grayson Answell.
The End