his penthouse. It takes us almost a week, but we finally get all of his things moved into my place—our place.
We start working on the room that will soon belong to our baby. Even though we don’t know the sex yet, I wanted to get a jump on things. I picked out a beautiful cream-colored carpet and painted the walls a soft yellow with white trim. We’ve both been buried in work and I had a doctor’s appointment where we got our first sonogram picture. I was only eight weeks along at the time, so I’m not able to make out much in the picture, but I love it anyway because I know it’s a product of the love Calvin and I have for each other. I get a frame for the picture and place it on a shelf in the baby’s room, next to a picture of Calvin and me that I had framed. Above the shelf, it reads All Because Two People Fell in Love.
The pregnancy is still a secret where our families are concerned, even though morning sickness is hitting hard. We spent last weekend at home while we reserved the church and the great room for the reception, and the entire time I had to come up with excuses to run to the restroom and empty my stomach. But Calvin was great at covering for me and choosing things in my absence.
I’ve never been the type of girl who fantasized about her wedding day, so every choice I make is like shooting in the dark. But my mom and Calvin’s mom are always there to help. They even volunteered to plan the whole thing since I’m far away and buried in work. I almost took them up on their offer, but decided that this wedding is about Calvin and me. We should be the ones to plan it and represent our love. I did give them a few tasks to handle on their own, though, like sending out invites to family, keeping the church up-to-date on any changes, and managing the families.
Calvin and I have decided not to register for any gifts considering we have everything we need. We actually have twice as much as we need since we combined two homes into one. Most of his things are in storage or in boxes in my garage. Despite all the stress I’m under with work, the wedding, and the baby, I’m unbelievably happy and never pictured my life going this way. I love that when I get home from work, he’s already preparing dinner. I love falling asleep in his arms every night and waking up to him bringing me a hot cup of coffee every morning. I even love the little things like seeing his shaving kit on the bathroom counter, his car in my garage, and his favorite coffee cup sitting next to mine. I love that I’ve finally found my other half and feel like kicking myself most days for not truly seeing him sooner. Calvin is absolutely perfect for me in every way, shape, and form. In fact, I think I need to punch Preston for standing in our way for so long. Plus, it would help to let out some of this stress.
Now that Calvin and I are living together, Preston seems to be around that much more. He’s at our house every day, and we have dinner with him most nights. Honestly, I’m surprised he hasn’t tried climbing into bed with us yet. It’s like we’re all one big, happy family and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
This evening we have a dinner planned to tell Riley about the pregnancy. I’m also going to ask her to be the godmother. We weren’t planning on inviting Preston, since we knew he’d suggest that they sleep together as part of their duties as godparents, but he overheard us talking about it and invited himself.
The doorbell rings at 5 p.m., and I know it’s Riley because Preston would’ve just walked in. I answer the door and she pulls me in for a hug.
“Where’s the wine?”
I laugh as I hug her back. “It’s already being chilled,” I promise.
I walk her into the house and out to the patio where Calvin is standing at the grill.
“Riley, this is Calvin, my fiancé. And honey, this is my friend Riley.”
They shake each other’s hands and have a moment of chitchat before Preston makes his presence known—striding onto the patio with an open beer in his hand.