Page 35 of Wildest Dreams

“E—Em—Emma?”

I release a shaky breath that’s part laugh and lift a shoulder. “I was planning on telling you tonight.”

“Emma,” he repeats, his tone softening and he narrows the distance between us. Hand shaking, he cups my cheek, stroking my chin with his work-calloused thumb. “We’re going to have a baby?”

I nod, a tear slips down my cheek. “We’re going to have a baby.”

“Oh, Emma.” He rests his forehead against mine, and pulls me closer.

The tears are falling freely now from my eyes, and I snuggle in closer to him and he holding me more tightly. I’m not normally this emotional. Or this clingy. No doubt the pregnancy hormones are to blame.

“Wait.” He pulls back suddenly, loosening his hold. “I’m sorry. I was probably squeezing too tight. Are you okay? Do you feel sick at all?”

“I feel fine.” Actually, I’ve been sick as a dog the past couple of weeks, and I’ll probably need a nap here shortly.

Honestly, it was the near-constant desire to puke that tipped me off. I’d been so busy after returning from our trip to Iceland and the thousands of photos I had to edit, I completely spaced missing my period.

Kendrick’s eyes narrow. “How are you really?”

There’s no use trying to pretend. “I kind of want to throw up all the time. And I could really use a nap.”

His eyes narrow even more. “Then why did you let these two drag you out into the middle of nowhere?”

“It’s not the middle of nowhere,” I object, even as Aaron promises they had no idea I was pregnant too, or they would have picked a different location.

Meanwhile Selena tells both of them they’re worrying about nothing. That I’m a strong, independent woman who is more than capable of saying when she needs help.

Kendrick is going on about how he knows I’m a strong, independent woman. But I’m a strong, independent woman who is carrying our child. And it’s okay if I need a little extra support—from him and everyone—for now.

Gran is still standing to the side, smiling over the chaos she’s created and—no doubt—the source of that chaos.

For my part, I can only smile up at the man I love more than anything else in the world. Well, him and the little life we’ve started together. It won’t be easy balancing a growing family, caring for our people and community here in Alaska, and supporting our careers. But as I’ve told him countless times in the past year, neither of us has ever been interested in taking a path because it’s easy.

“Kendrick,” I say softly, drawing his attention back. “It’s going to be okay. Actually, no, it’s going to be wonderful.”