Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Nate held onto my hand as we walked Karen out of the park and to her car.
“Take care of him,” I said as I gave him yet one more kiss. I hated letting him go after just getting him.
“Don’t worry. We’re going to work on some commands and hopefully get him started on potty training.”
“Do I see a little trainer in our future?” I asked.
Karen nodded. “Yes! That is my plan.”
“Maybe those plans might include working here as a trainer,” I stated.
Karen’s eyes lit up. “That would be amazing, Ms. Larson.”
“Call me Haven.”
She smiled. “Haven, it is!”
Karen put Bear in the front seat and clipped a dog seat belt to his little harness. She waved as she got into her car.
“I’m sorry to give him to you, then take him away,” Nate said as we both watched Karen drive off.
“He’s beautiful, Nate.”
“I was hoping you wouldn’t be upset that you didn’t get to pick him out.”
Facing him, I shook my head. “I loved that you picked him out. He’s perfect.”
With a quick look at my engagement ring, I added, “And this ring is just…it’s stunning, Nate.”
“Did I surprise you, then?”
“I’ll say!” I laughed. “But you’re not the only one with a surprise.”
He waggled his brows, put his hands on my hips, and drew me to him. “Oh, yeah? What’s your surprise?”
I chewed on my lower lip as I placed my hands on his chest. “It’s a big one.”
“Really? How big?”
“Big.”
He laughed. “Please tell me you didn’t adopt a great dane or something. I’m not sure we can handle two dogs.”
I ran my finger along his shirt. “No, it’s not a great dane.”
The sound of a car pulling into the parking lot had us both looking in that direction.
“People are starting to show up,” Nate said, excitement filling his voice. He focused back on me and said, “So, are you going to tell me what my surprise is? Maybe a new piece of lingerie?”
“That’s not it.”
“Okay, well, are you going to make me wait or tell me?”
Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled out a small envelope and handed it to him.
He took it and grinned. “You wrote me a note too?”
I shook my head. “It’s not a note.”
He opened the envelope, took out the paper, and stared at it. My heart pounded in my chest as I studied his face. He blinked a few times and finally pulled his eyes from the paper to look at me.
“Holy shit.”
I nodded. “Holy shit is right.”
Nate’s eyes went wide. “We’re going to have a puppy and a baby…at the same time?”
Laughing, I nodded. “Looks like we’ll be growing that family sooner than you thought.”
Nate looked at the sonogram again, then at me. “Did you know?”
I shook my head. “I had my yearly appointment and mentioned I was a few weeks late. She decided to take some blood work and test my urine. When it came back positive for pregnancy, she did the sonogram.”
“How far along are you?”
“Seven weeks.”
Nate picked me up and spun me around before setting me down and kissing me like he had never kissed me before. When we broke the kiss, he looked at me and laughed.
“A baby.”
“You’re happy, then?”
“Happy? Haven, I’m fucking over the moon!”
Looking past him, I saw Sophia speaking to the group of people who had walked up to the window. She was explaining about the park and the membership system to them.
“I was thinking we could keep this to ourselves for a bit. I’m so early on in the pregnancy, and with the park opening, there is going to be so much going on.”
Nate laced his fingers in mine. “I agree. I’d like to keep this between us for now.”
“Me too.”
“I cannot wait to get you home and make love to you.”
I giggled. “I was already wishing there was a place we could sneak off to, but I guess it wouldn’t look good for us to not be here when the place opens!”
Nate tossed his head back and laughed.
More people started to pull in and park.
“Come on, my future wife and mother of our child. Let’s get our party hats on and open up this dog park.”
As we walked back through the gates and I saw our families laughing and having such a wonderful time with the dogs that were slowly filling the park, I reached over and pinched myself.
“Nope, not dreaming.”
Epilogue
NATHAN
Eleven Years Later
“I cannot believe Rhett and Ryder have graduated,” Haven said as we walked up to Uncle Brock and Aunt Lincoln’s house, our ten-year-old daughter, Emma, and six-year-old son, Walker, walking between us.
“Is it true that Uncle Blayze and Aunt Georgiana mixed them up after they were born?” Emma asked.
I laughed. “I think they have been mixing them up since their birth.”
“How do we know Rhett is Rhett and Ryder is Ryder, then?” Walker asked.