Nameless (67 page)

“I mean, with
everything
,”
Seth clarified, his voice sounding a little diffident. “Your...job situation...and
everything.”

And then Erin
understood what he was asking. Was pleased she could relieve his anxiety. “Yes,”
she assured him, meeting his eyes. “I am. I still miss it sometimes, and this
isn’t what I’d expected from my life. But law school is going well so far, and
one day I might actually graduate. This is exactly what I want.”

Seth smiled
faintly. Nodded. Didn’t say anything.

But Erin knew
that she’d answered one of his lingering worries. Was so glad she was able to
do so.

She turned her
head and pressed a kiss onto his chest, which was the only part of him she
could really reach. “And you? Are you happy?”

Seth gave her
an impatient look, as if he couldn’t believe she’d asked such a ridiculous
question, but then he said, “I’d be happier if you would marry me.”

Erin jerked in
surprise. “You act like you’ve asked me before. This is the first I’m hearing
about this.”

“I know that,
from the very beginning, you claimed you never wanted to marry me, and you’ve
never brought up the possibility since, so I just assumed—”

Erin snorted. “Idiot.
A lot has changed since I said that, and if you weren’t such a close-mouthed,
secretive assho—
poopoo-head
, then you would have managed to give me a
few hints that you were even thinking about marriage.”

She glared up
at him, wondering if he’d ever get to the point when he’d be able to easily
tell her what he was thinking.

Seth looked
slightly sheepish, although he’d chuckled at her choice of derogative. After a
minute of her glaring at him, he raised his eyebrows. “Well? Do you have an
answer for me?”

Erin felt a
flood of deep joy rising up in her chest, but she huffed, “Well, you haven’t
really bothered to ask me yet.”

Rolling his
eyes in annoyance, Seth gritted out, “Will you marry me?”

Erin scowled
and stuck out her chin, to prove that she wasn’t happy about his assumptions. “Yes.”

They glared at
each other for a moment until they both broke into soft, affectionate laughter.

She couldn’t
help but laugh at the absurdity, at the delicious irony of it.

The irony of
her whole life.

She'd been so
sure that her surprise pregnancy would never turn into a happy family.

It was stupid,
she decided—stupid and futile—to ever claim that any one thing could never
happen.

Inevitably, it
always would.

Seth adjusted Mackenzie
in his lap, so that the sleeping child wasn’t pressing into Erin’s belly.

Then Erin
grabbed Seth’s left hand. Played with his slim, strong fingers. Imagined a
wedding band on his ring finger and felt a powerful surge of ownership at the
visual.

Seth Thomas
would be her husband. She actually shivered from the possessive thrill of it.

Snuggling
against him, she knew that he was just as excited and pleased about the
marriage as she was, although he hadn’t said anything and his face was passive,
only his eyes reflecting his joy.

“So when should
we get married?” Seth asked, attempting to hide his own excitement by acting
business-like and practical.

“Next weekend?
Do you think we could get the license and everything so quickly?” Erin felt the
overpowering need for an outlet for her love and exhilaration, and wondered if Mackenzie
would keep sleeping long enough for Erin and Seth to spend a little time alone
in their bedroom.

Seth smiled. A
rare, warm, full smile that always made her belly clench.

That smile was Erin's
answer.

She knew that
she and Seth were going to get married next weekend. The next step in a future
that wasn’t perfect, a future that was completely unexpected, but was actually
the one they both wanted.

The final,
fitting irony of Erin's life.

And she
knew—she
knew
—that the shape of their love, their family, their futures,
their lives had somehow grown beyond the limits of expression.

But that it
wasn’t nameless anymore.

Acknowledgments

I’ve never had a child or been
pregnant, so I would never have been able to write this book without the help
of women who have. A number of women offered me invaluable help by sharing
their pregnancy and labor experiences—particular thanks to Laura and Amy and to
the hundreds of women whose birth stories I read online. If anything here feels
authentic, it’s thanks to these women, and if anything seems off, it’s entirely
my own fault.

Also, many thanks to Rahab for
her generosity and careful eye.

About the Author

Claire has been writing romance
novels since she was twelve years old. She has a PhD in British literature and,
when she's not writing, she teaches English at the university level.

She also writes romance novels
under the penname Noelle Adams (noelle-adams.com). If you would like to contact
Claire, please email her at [email protected].