Tessa Teevan - Inflame

Later on, when everyone shows up, the women spend their time gushing over the ring as Charlie relays the story of the proposal to Lexi. I hand each of the guys a beer then toss one to Charlie. Lexi turns me down as she looks nervously at Jace, who clears his throat. She gets up from her spot on the couch and goes to where he’s standing.

“Well, since everyone’s sharing all sorts of good news today, we have something we want to announce,” Jace says as Lexi beams up at him. “It looks like the Montgomery baby is going to have a new playmate a little sooner than we expected.”

Lucy gasps then squeals as she runs up to hug Lexi, and Charlie joins them, equally as ecstatic.

“You’re pregnant?!” Lucy asks, practically jumping up and down.

Lexi laughs as she nods. “We’re almost eleven weeks along. A total honeymoon baby. To call it a shock is an understatement, but we’re thrilled.”

“You know, someone once told me these things happen in threes,” I say, looking at Knox and Charlie.

She waves at me with her middle finger before holding up her hand for me to see her ring. “Don’t even try to jinx me like that, Kale Montgomery. With my luck, whenever Knox and I have kids, we’ll end up with triplets. I am so not ready for that. Plus, I’ll have your kids to spoil. We don’t need our own yet. Speaking of, will you please finally spill the beans? I am dying from anticipation to know what you’re having.”

Lucy gives me a sly smile and nods. Turning to Jace and Knox, she smiles sweetly at them. “You two have any money riding on this one, too?” she asks, and Jace chokes on his beer. “Yeah, we know all about your little bet. I’m expecting one hell of a baby shower gift, Jace.”

Jace grins sheepishly. “Consider it done. We knew he was a goner long before he did. I just had a little more faith in your abilities to get Kale to fall into your web than Knox did.”

“Whatever, dude. She was just as hooked on me as I was on her,” I tell him.

“Yeah, but you were too much of a pussy to tell her,” Knox chimes in, causing Charlie to elbow him.

“Right. What should I have done? Gone to the nearest bar and professed my love with a song?” I tease, and it’s Lucy turn to give her man the elbow, causing me to wince as she connects with my side.

Knox scowls, but Charlie just laughs. “It doesn’t matter. We’re all here now, happy, in love, and about to find out if they’re having a girl or a boy. Now tell me already.”

Lucy leaves the living room and reenters with a tray of cupcakes. Setting them down on the coffee table, she gestures to Charlie. “I know it’s not the most original way to reveal it, but it’s all I had time for. Go ahead, Charlie. You wanted to know so badly. You do the honors.”

Charlie leaps up from her chair and grabs one of the cupcakes. As she slowly unwraps it, her eyes widen and she looks back and forth between the two of us and then at the rest of the group waiting impatiently for her to reveal the gender.

“Well, what is it?” Lexi asks.

“They’re having a boy!”

Congratulations come from all around, and I watch Lucy’s beaming smile light up the room. I honestly didn’t care what we were having, but when Dr. Foster pointed out the tiny—sorry, little guy—forming male parts on Sprout, my heart swelled at the thought of having a little mini-me running around. It was surreal and I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. I was almost in a daze for the rest of the day, and Lucy picked out everything she could find in blue and brown, adding in some green because, after all, he’s our little Sprout.

Jace and Knox both give me slaps on the shoulder while Lucy drags the girls down to the nursery to show off the goods from today.

“With all the estrogen in your life, I was sure you were going to end up with a girl. Lily’s going to be so disappointed,” I hear from behind me and turn to see Xavier, who’s late to the party. “Congratulations, man. You deserve this. That little boy’s going to be a lucky one.”

“I’m glad you could make it, man,” I tell him, and I mean it. If there’s anyone besides Lucy I want to share this with, it’s him. “I think Lily will get over it when she meets her new honorary cousin.”

He knows what I’m trying to say, and he nods. “About fuckin’ time, Montgomery.” And I nod back.

After all the shit in my life, I can hardly believe I’m here. I’m having a son.

Lucy

“AS MUCH as I adore our friends, I thought they would never leave,” I tell Kale as we settle into bed for the night. Once Xavier showed up, the guys just had to start up a game of poker, so the girls and I spent the night creating Pinterest boards for both baby things for Lexi and me and wedding planning for Charlie.

It was a blast being able to look at strictly items for baby boys, but it’s still daunting how much stuff out there that they suggest you get. Kalli texted me earlier to remind me to start a registry for the baby shower, and I decided that Pinterest could totally market that because they have some of the coolest baby gear. Not to mention, Charlie has about fifteen different wedding favor ideas on her board, and we had to stop her from adding any more. As fun as it was, when everyone left at nearly two in the morning, I was more than ready for bed. But now that I’m settled with the baby name book in my hands, I feel a renewed energy and want to get a head start on this list making. Like Kale said, as much as I love Sprout, I’m ready to give my sweet baby boy a name.

“Sorry, baby. I could’ve ended the game early, but I needed one last hand to wipe out Knox’s stash,” Kale says apologetically as he climbs in bed beside me.

I hand him a pad of paper and a pencil so he can jot down any names we like. “It’s fine. At least tomorrow’s Saturday. If your six a.m. alarm goes off for you to go to the gym, I’m probably going to kick your ass.”

He immediately grabs his phone and shuts it off. “If you want to sleep in, we’re sleeping in. We had a long day today, so I’m at your mercy tomorrow.”

“Perfect. Okay. Now, are you ready to do this?” I ask, knowing that this isn’t going to be an easy task.

Flipping to the boy name section, I start with the A’s. Kale sits up against the headboard and holds his arm out so I can cuddle up against his chest. As we flip through the pages, we make it to the D’s without seeing anything we like. All of a sudden, Kale points to a name.

“This is perfect! I don’t know why I didn’t think of that,” he says, almost to himself.

Peering at the name, I shake my head when I see it. “I am not naming my kid Dawson. For one, I’ll be hearing that annoying theme song from the show in my head. And secondly, that’s my last name. I can just see me introducing myself to his kindergarten teacher. ‘Hi, I’m Lucy Dawson and this is my son Dawson Montgomery.’ Sure, it’s a cute idea, but that’d just be weird!”

Kale moves his arm so my back’s now on the headboard. He slides down the bed and places his head on my belly. After tapping it with his finger, he pulls my shirt up to give my bare skin a kiss.

“Don’t listen to her, son. She doesn’t know what she’s saying,” he whispers gently, smiling against my skin. He turns to look at me, a bright smile covering his face. “Lucy, you’re not going to be a Dawson forever, you know.”

My heart leaps into my throat at his insinuation. We’ve talked about forever before, yet the subject of marriage has never actually come up. I’m not sure if it’s the high of the day or what. This is the first time he’s ever mentioned it, and I try to calm my racing heart.

“Is that so, Montgomery?” I ask, using his name for emphasis. My hand comes down to rest on his head and I mindlessly play with his hair.

Shifting, he places his chin on my stomach as he looks up at me with soft eyes. “That’s so, Dawson. I plan on making an honest woman out of you one of these days. Knox just stole my thunder. Asshole.”

I know he’s teasing, but at the same time, I hear the honesty behind his words.

My fingers tangle in his hair, and I pull a little less than gently. “It’s 2014, Kale. There’s no such thing as an honest woman anymore.”

“Ouch. Dammit, baby. You’ve been working on your grip.” He gives me a mouthwatering smile, and I melt. I watch as he sits up, and he lifts my chin as his lips hover just above my own. My breath quickens as his eyes gaze into mine. “Lucy Dawson, I love you. More than I’ve ever loved any woman, and more than I’ll ever love anyone else. In a few short months, you’re having my son. Sometime after that—and I don’t know when—I’ll ask you to marry me, and I’ll stand at the end of an aisle as you walk towards me to make me the happiest man alive. Which kind of seems impossible because I’m pretty sure I’m that man already. But one of these days, you’re going to take my name. And I can’t freakin’ wait.”

Before I can respond, his lips brush against mine in a soft, slow kiss. When he pulls away, he settles in beside me again and picks up the book from my hands.

“Now, where were we?” he asks as he flips through the pages. “What about Gage? That’s kind of a badass name.”

Wrinkling my nose, I try out the name. “Gage Montgomery? Hmm. Mark that one down as a possibility.”

“Awesome. He’d be the baddest kid on the playground.”

“Oh yeah, that’s exactly what I need. A little badass you. That’s not a frightening thought at all.” I continue to look through the pages for names that stick out. “Oh, how about Jackson? I love that name for little boys.”

Kale shakes his head vehemently. “No way. Jackson Montgomery was Erica Kane’s, like, fifth or sixth husband. I am so not naming my son after a soap opera character.” He pauses as I cock my eyebrow up at him, and I try to stifle my giggles. “Babe, we’ve been over this. I grew up with three women. I know every single storyline on All My Children until 2003. I hate to admit it, but even I was gutted when Leo died.”

“Okay, okay. Scratch Jackson off the list,” I tell him, and we continue to go back and forth with names until we get to the Z’s, where I quickly nix his suggestion of Zeb.

Closing the book, I look at the list in his hand and see that we have about twenty names to choose from. Not too bad for the first run-through. Setting the book on the night stand, I curl up under the covers. Kale turns off the light and pulls me into his arms. Resting my head against his chest, I feel his rise and fall with his breathing.

“Hey, Kale?”

“What’s up, baby?”

“Just so you know… Some day in the future, I’ll say yes.”

His chest stops moving for a beat and then I feel him let out a deep breath. “Good to know, Lucy. Good to know. Now get some sleep.”

“Love you, babe,” I say, cuddling in closer.

“And I love you.”

Kale

I’M IN the bedroom trying to put together a bassinet for Lucy when the sound of the doorbell breaks my concentration. Even though we have the whole nursery set up, Mom advised me that, even if she doesn’t know it now, Lucy will want the baby in our room for the first couple of weeks, so when Lucy left with Charlie to go do some wedding shopping, I went out and bought one so I could surprise her. Looking down at my handiwork, I’m satisfied with a job well done and can’t wait for Lucy to get home to see it. I set it in the corner by her side of the bed and head down the hallway to answer the door.

“Uncle Kale!” Lily exclaims as she barrels through the door, wrapping her arms around my legs.

“Hey, Lil,” I tell her, bending down for a hug as I give Xavier a nod and motion for him to come in.

“Hey, man. Thanks for being down to watch her at the last minute,” Xavier says.

“Not a problem. Lucy abandoned me for the day anyway, and I never mind spending time with my favorite girl.”

Lily giggles then suddenly starts digging through her book bag. She pulls out a stuffed animal and hands it to me. It’s an old Winnie the Pooh that’s clearly seen better days. “This is for the baby, Uncle Kale. I’m getting too old for stuffed animals, and since you gave it to me, I thought it would be neat for him to have.”

“Don’t worry. We washed it,” Xavier chimes in.

Looking at Lily, I give her an appreciative smile. I’m touched by the thoughtfulness of this nine-year-old, but she’s always had a sweet heart, so I shouldn’t be surprised. “Thanks, Lily. I’m sure he’ll love it, and so will Lucy.”

“Okay, Lil, I’ve gotta run. Be good for Kale. Love you,” he tells her, giving her a kiss on the top of her head.