Perfect Contradiction (15 page)

I look like a freaking blimp
, I thought as I stared at my reflection. I was wearing a red halter-topped, baby doll dress with a flirty hemline that hit just above my knees and a little, pink sweater. I didn’t know in that moment if I’d kiss Hunter or hit him if he brought me a box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day. I ran my hand over the top of my stomach and turned to the side.
Not much longer now, little one
, I whispered. Only four weeks left before my due date.

“Jen?” I heard the door shut behind Hunter as he entered the house downstairs. I grabbed my small purse off the bed and gave myself an once-over in the mirror. I huffed. Well, I was as good as I was going to get.

“Coming,” I yelled down. I came down the stairs, excited for our big night out and our first Valentine’s together. We’d gone out together twice a week since Christmas—to the movies, out to eat, shopping, sometimes just out for long walks and to talk. Things had been going well, and I was starting to feel like we were on the right path. When I made it to the bottom of the stairs, Hunter came up to me with a look of absolute love and longing on his face. I could feel myself blushing. It never ceased to amaze me that as huge and unattractive as I sometimes felt, Hunter could wipe all that away with a single glance.

“You look beautiful,” Hunter murmured. He held out a hand filled with pink roses and baby’s breath. I grinned, reaching out and bringing them to my face to breath in the intoxicating scent. Hunter brought his other arm from behind his back and held out a small, plush puppy with floppy ears and a large, heart-shaped box of chocolates.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, sweetheart,” Hunter said softly. I smiled up into his eyes and closed the space between us. Hunter took his time showing me exactly how much he’d missed me. And how much he loved me.

“You keep kissing me like that, and I’ll be wanting to stay here instead of going out,” I murmured against his lips. Hunter pulled back and grinned wickedly.

“Oh no you don’t, Jennifer Collins. I get to be seen out on the town tonight with the prettiest girl in all the world. You can’t take away braggin’ rights from a guy on Valentine’s,” he said with a wink.

I slapped a hand on his chest. “We’re just going to have dinner and see a quick movie then,” I said. “Because this baby insists on sitting right on my bladder lately and doesn’t give Mommy a rest.” Hunter bent down in front of me and put his hands around my stomach. I rolled my eyes as he spoke to the baby. He’d been doing it a lot lately, saying he was determined that the baby’s first word was going to be Daddy.

“You hear that?” he said with his lips near my stomach. “Mommy says you’re not letting her rest, but Daddy says when you come out that you can play, kick, and wiggle as much as you want and he’ll be right beside you, not bothered in the least.”

I glanced down at the top of his head. My heart swelled each time I saw him like this, bonding with his baby. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the highlight of his day, of his week, was when he was with the baby and me, and that knowledge kept me going day after day despite my comfort and despite being well over the pregnancy honeymoon phase. Hunter continued on his little banter with the baby for another minute or so before standing. He had a black dress shirt on with the sleeves rolled back and pair of black slacks. He came straight from his office in St. Louis to pick me up.

“Suck up,” I muttered.

Hunter threw his head back and laughed. “I have to get my time in when I can. You get her to yourself twenty-four hours a day,” he said.

I raised a brow. “Don’t I know it,” I answered. “And… her?” I asked, teasing.

Hunter shrugged. “Beth has finally gotten to you,” I said with a tsk.

Hunter reached over and gave me another breath-stealing kiss. “The only person that has ever gotten to me is you, Jennifer Collins,” he said huskily. He stepped back and took my goodies from me. “Now let’s go before I let you talk me into stayin’,” he said with a wink.

We had dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant just outside of town before we headed for the movie theater. We went in through the front without tickets and stocked up on all kinds of goodies before heading to our theater. There were a lot of perks to loving Hunter, but owning movie theaters was high on the awesomeness list.

“There’s no one in here,” I whispered as we found the best seats in the whole room. Front and center, midway back. Close enough to see everything, but far enough away we didn’t get a kink in our necks. I settled back into my super comfortable chair while Hunter settled beside me. He was fidgeting with the goodies we bought, turning off his phone and wiping his hands on his pants. What the heck? Twitchy much?

“You need to go to the bathroom?” I asked with a crooked grin. Hunter rolled his eyes at me. “And where is everyone?” I glanced around the theater. It was Valentine’s night, surely other people in Salem thought a movie date was a good idea that night.

“I reserved this specific theater just for us,” Hunter said. He laughed at the expression on my face.

“You reserved us an entire theater?” I asked, gobsmacked. Hunter reached over and pushed my jaw up. I took the hint and closed my pie-hole.

“It pays to be the owner,” he said by way of answer.

“I guess so. And by extension, to be the sweetheart of the owner,” I said.

“You’d be right about that, sweetheart,” he murmured.

The lights begin to dim, and the regular movie theater commercials began playing. I leaned over, resting my head on Hunter’s arm. I was a lucky lady.

Once the normal,
buy your goodies in the lobby and don’t be a jerk, turn off your phones commercials
were over, the good previews would begin. I relaxed into Hunter. Previews were one of my favorite parts of going to the movies. But instead of a normal preview popping up, something else caught my attention.

On the screen, a few simple words, set in a scenery of black and white, appeared, making my mouth pop open and my heart hammer in my chest. I sat up in my seat, letting go of Hunter’s arm.

“Once upon a time, a beautiful princess was born.”
A baby picture appeared then. One of me when I was a newborn, one that had been in my mother’s room for as long as I could remember. I blinked in confusion and glanced over at Hunter, who was smiling. He pointed back up at the big screen.
What the heck?

“Her mother named her Jennifer Collins.”
Another picture of me appeared, but this time, my mother was in the picture as well, smiling and holding me in her lap. I clasped a hand over my mouth, blinking back tears of surprise.

“Jennifer grew in beauty and grace and everyone loved her, for she was a kind and generous little girl.”
More pictures now. Pictures of my mother and me when I was growing up. Pictures of Beth and me after we’d become friends in grade school. Pictures of me in school and at church.

“One day, Jennifer grew up and became a lovely young woman. She was strong, smart, and a friend to everyone she met.”
Pictures of me helping out at church and of Beth and me at her wedding. Pictures of Hunter and me the past summer and even more recently.

“When Jennifer became a mother, her grace and beauty multiplied tenfold. And so did everyone’s admiration of her.”
Tears were running down my cheeks now. Pictures of me pregnant, ultrasound pictures, pictures of Beth patting my stomach, and of Hunter kissing it and kissing me.

“Then one day, Hunter Wright (the handsome prince) came back into Jennifer’s life after making the worst mistake of his life by running away.”
Pictures of Hunter pouting and one of him obviously begging for forgiveness. Pictures of us together I hadn’t even know someone had taken. I was laughing and crying at the same time. Hunter pressed a napkin into my hand as I watched the screen.

“The handsome prince, Hunter, became a father when Jennifer became a mother and he wanted nothing more in this world than to welcome their new baby into a family when she was born.”
Pictures of Pastor and Mrs. Wright holding up a sign that read: “
Welcome to the family, Grandma and Grandpa love you.”
A picture of Daniel and Keith holding up a sign that read:
“Welcome to the family. We’re your favorite uncles.”
And finally, a picture of Matt holding up a sign that read:
“Welcome to the family, little Elizabeth,”
and Beth holding up one that read:
“Now put the man out of his misery, Jen!”

I snorted. Leave it to Beth. The final picture faded away, and another screen popped up.

“You see, Hunter realized his life was incomplete without the lovely Princess Jennifer by his side. He wanted her to know that he loved her more than he had loved anyone his entire life and that his love for her and the baby she carried was stronger than his fears.”
A picture of Hunter on his knee, holding a dozen roses and a ring box
.

And then a final screen.

“Will you marry me, Jen?”
was all it read.

The lights started to come on slowly, and I glanced over to Hunter beside me. He was kneeling on the floor next to me, holding out a ring in a small, black box. Tears were pouring down my face and I was sure I looked like a hot mess, but it didn’t matter right then. All that mattered was Hunter.

“Jen, I’m not asking you to marry me tomorrow, or even six months from now. I know I hurt you, and that we have a lot of learnin’ about each other left to do,” he began. “But I want you to know that there’s nothing on this earth that’s going to pull me away from you and our baby again. I’m here for the long haul.” Hunter smiled crookedly and pulled a pretty white diamond ring out of its box, holding it out to me.

“Say you’ll marry me…
eventually
… Jen. Say you’ll let me love you until the end of time,” he said gently. “Say you’ll make me the happiest man in the world.”

I sniffled and wiped my eyes on another napkin. “I love you, Hunter Wright,” I answered softly. I smiled crookedly. “And I guess you’re really gonna be stuck with me now,” I answered softly.

Pausing, I watched Hunter’s eyes widen. He was terrified.

“Yes, Hunter, I’ll marry you… eventually,” I said with a wink.

Hunter
whooped
loudly, standing up and gathering me gently in his arms. My stomach took up a lot of space and he laughed, reaching down and enveloping my belly in his arms.

“You hear that? Mommy is going to marry your daddy,” he whispered hoarsely to my tummy. “How lucky is Daddy, huh?”

Tears streamed down my face. Joy and love shown from Hunter, and I felt so very blessed. Soon, I was aware of a lot of banging from close by. Hunter grinned crookedly and nodded to the movie booth. I glanced behind us.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we have an audience,” Hunter said offhandedly, with a small, roguish smile.

My eyes rounded. What in the world?

A few moments later, the theater was filled with everyone I loved. Beth and Matt, Pastor and Mrs. Wright, and Daniel and Keith. I gasped as I was surrounded by Hunter’s family… and now
my
family. Mrs. Wright was crying and so was Beth, but everyone was congratulating us and clapping Hunter on the back.

It was chaos.

It was loud.

It was
perfect
.

“Are you sure you should be doing this as big as you are?” Hunter asked.

I turned to him and stared him down with a withering glare. “I’m sure I did not hear what I think I just heard,” I gritted out.

Hunter winced. “What I meant was, can’t this wait until after the baby is born, sweetheart?” he amended sweetly.

I blew out an exaggerated puff of air, moving the hair hanging in my eyes. “When am I gonna find time to get all this done after the baby arrives?” I asked. I looked around the kitchen. Pots and pans were everywhere, drawers and cabinets had been emptied out, the curtains had been taken down, and I had one hand full of newspapers and the other gripping a bottle of window cleaner.

“Jen, the baby is going to be here any day now. Your due date is tomorrow, and the doctor said your body is getting ready to deliver.” Hunter looked around at the mess I’d made and shook his head. “I’m just not sure you should be doing all this work.”

“Well, the spring cleaning ain’t gonna do itself,” I said, spraying the windows over my sink. “I mean, did you see the dirt come off that ceiling fan?” I asked, waving toward the once-dirty ceiling fan in the center of the room.

“Your kitchen was immaculate before, sweetheart,” Hunter reasoned. “I could do all this for you. Why don’t you go and put your feet up or somethin’?” Hunter suggested.

“I can’t, Hunter,” I answered. “I realize I’m acting kinda crazy… but I’m
feelin’
kinda crazy right now.” I sat the bottle down on the counter and wiped the window with my newspapers.

“You ever feel like you’re about to crawl out of your skin?” I asked. “Like something’s about to happen and you have no control over it whatsoever, so you grasp onto all the things you
do
have control over?”

Hunter nodded and ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

“Well, this is the only thing I have control over right now, and I’m graspin’ the hell out of it,” I explained. “I just want everything perfect for the baby’s arrival. I’ve got reservations for the inn every single week for the next three months and all the baking that will be waiting on me once I’m back from maternity leave… I just don’t want to have to worry about cleanin’ and such on top of everything else.”

Hunter came over and stood in front of me. He pushed the hairs that had escaped my messy bun out of my eyes and grinned at me. “Okay. I get it. We’ll get this done today then. I’ll make sure of it,” Hunter agreed. He leaned forward and kissed me on the tip of my nose. “But if you try climbing a ladder again today, I’m going to tie you to a bed until the baby decides to come,” he threatened.

I swallowed and nodded my head. “It’s a deal,” I said with a tiny salute. Hunter gave me a small kiss and then turned on his heel to finish scrubbing out the drawers and cabinets. I returned to the windows.

“The baby’s been awful calm in there today,” I said, rubbing my tummy. “She’s hardly kicked me at all.”

“Well, the doctor said that would happen once we got closer to your due date since the baby’s startin’ to run out of space and all that,” Hunter answered.

I sat my cleaning supplies down and started washing my hands off in the sink. “I’m going to go grab the curtains off the line,” I said, heading for the back door.

“Okay.”

I took a deep breath as I walked outside. My backyard was the epitome of spring. Flowers startin’ to bloom, a nice, warm breeze blowing through. I closed my eyes when I reached the clothesline. I loved this time of year. I loved spending time out here in my garden and even hanging my linens to dry on the line. There was something serene and cleansing about the whole process. Maybe it was because my momma had loved it, and I had so many fond memories of us together hanging clothes and talking. Maybe it was the time alone and the fresh, country air I enjoyed most. Whatever it was, it made me smile. I reached up and took the clothes pins off the kitchen curtains. I held them to my face and inhaled. Clothes even smelled better when they were fresh off the line.

A dull ache in my lower back knocked the smile right off my face. I’d been feelin’ that all day. I hadn’t told Hunter. I didn’t want to worry him. I was sure it wasn’t anything anyway. Just random pregnancy pain, and man, had I had a lot of that the past few weeks. I began walking up to the house when another dull ache in my back, combined with a sharp pain shooting around my lower abdomen, took me by surprise. I gasped and laid a hand on my stomach.
Ouch
. I came back into the house a whole lot less cheerful than when I had went out.

“Can we hang these real quick?” I asked, pasting a smile on my face.

“Sure,” Hunter said, coming over to help me put them on the curtain rod and then hanging them up for me.

“I’m almost done with these cabinets. I’ll start putting everything back in the drawers as soon as I’m done,” Hunter said with a smile.

I smiled back and then turned to get myself a glass of ice water. Maybe I did need to take it easy. After the kitchen was finished, I’d talk Hunter into a movie up in my room. I could relax on the bed for a few hours.

“How about a movie after this?” I said, voicing my idea as I walked across the room to sit down for a second.

“Sounds great,” Hunter said, not looking up from his work. Another pain came, hurting enough to stop me in my tracks and pulling a small gasp from my lips. Hunter stilled, his head whipping around to find me standing in the middle of the kitchen, clutching a glass of water with one hand and my stomach with the other.

“Jen?” Hunter asked quickly. “What is it, sweetheart?” He dropped what he was doing immediately and rushed over to help me to the table. The pain was gone by the time I sat down. Hunter was kneeling next to me, his brow creased in worry. I laid a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s over now. I guess I did overdo it,” I said with a small, apologetic smile.

Hunter searched my face, clearly not even close to being satisfied with that answer. “How long have you been in pain?” he asked seriously.

I shrugged. “I just had some dull aching in my lower back today,” I answered honestly. “The sharp pains didn’t start until I went to get the curtains off the line.”

“Okay. So, what do you need me to do?” he asked. “You need something to eat? A pillow for your back? We should get you upstairs to rest.”

Smiling, I reached over to kiss him lightly on the lips. I felt like it’d been an eternity since I met Hunter Wright. I was sure I’d love him for at least that long. “I’ll go upstairs if it will make you feel better,” I said softly. I stood from my chair with his help and walked out of the kitchen.

“Maybe I’ll watch some HGTV for a while or something,” I said as we entered the living room.

“Sound like a plan,” Hunter said distractedly.

I raised my foot to climb the first stair to go upstairs when another pain hit me with enough juice to take my breath away.
Son of a….

“Jen?” Hunter grasped me around the waist and led me over to an armchair. “Jennifer Collins, speak to me, sweetheart,” Hunter begged.

I realized I’d sucked in a breath and was concentrating so hard to get through the pain that I’d tuned Hunter’s voice right out. “I’m fine,” I gasped out. “I’m fine.” I glanced up at Hunter, gave him a little smile, and shrugged.

“It looks like you better grab my overnight bag from upstairs,” I said. Hunter’s eyes widened into two saucers. “My phone and purse too.” Hunter stood there staring at me, a deer in headlights. I clucked my tongue.

“Not to freak you out any more than necessary, but you’d better get a move on, babe,” I nudged. Hunter snapped out of his frozen state and took the stairs two at a time. I heard doors slamming open and winced. I sure hoped he didn’t break anything. He was back downstairs just about the time the next contraction hit me.

“Get the car, Hunter,” I gasped. “And call Beth and your momma. We’re about to have a baby!” Hunter had his phone in his hand and hit call before the words had completely left my mouth. He was on his way out the door when I heard his words to his brother Matt.

“It’s time. Operation
I’m Gonna Be a Daddy
is a go!”

Even through the pain, I couldn’t help but smile.