Page 10 of Buns in the Oven

I get down on one knee in front of her. She gasps, her hand rising to her mouth.

“Wes,” she says, her voice full of surprise and joy.

I dig the engagement ring out of my pocket and hold it up to her. “Stella, I love you. And believe me, I would be doing this even if we weren’t having a baby together. I want to be by your side forever. Will you marry me?”

“Yes!” exclaims Stella. “Yes, Wes.”

As she falls into my arms and we kiss, her parents and her brother clap and cheer for us.

Stella and I pull apart and grin like crazy at each other. Fuck, I love her so much. I can’t wait to make her my wife. To start our life together. Tocontinuethis life we’ve started together.

“Are there going to be anymoresurprises tonight?” Stella’s mom asks.

“None from us,” says Stella, grinning at her parents.

“None from me, either,” says Joey.

“No surprises from me, either, honey,” their dad says jokingly to their mom.

She laughs. “All right. Well, let’s get started on these desserts, shall we?”

Chapter Seven

Stella

Six Weeks Later

“Twins?”

My jaw falls open as the ultrasound technician smiles and nods. I look over at Wes, and I think I’m more shocked than when I first found out I was pregnant. We’re havingtwins. I can’t believe it.Twobabies!

But Wes doesn’t look all that surprised. He just laughs with joy. And suddenly I’m laughing, too. Considering how crazy all of this has been, I guess it’s to be expected that we would end up having twins.

That evening, Wes and I celebrate by going out to dinner and talking for hours about everything we’re going to have to do differently now that we know there’s going to be two little babies to care for instead of one.

It’s overwhelming, to say the least, but I’m also so excited to go on this adventure. And I couldn’t ask for anyone better to go on it with. I already know that Wes is going to be an incredible father to our little ones.

In addition to all the baby planning we’ve been doing, we’ve also been planning our upcoming wedding. We’ve already decided to do something small and simple, since we’d rather save up money for our growing family—and that’s going to be especially important now that we have twins coming.

No matter how small or simple our wedding is, though, I know it’s going to be a perfect day.

I’ve also had a long talk with my brother about The Sweet Bean Café. We’ve decided the best thing to do is hire extra help so I can take some time off and focus on being a mom, but I’ll come back to work as I feel ready for it. I know striking a balance between work and motherhood won’t be easy, but I know I’ll find a way.

Chapter Eight

Wes

Five Years Later

“Can we get this one, Daddy?”

“Yeah, this one issocute!”

My twin girls look at me pleadingly. We’ve only been in the animal shelter for a few minutes, but I’m not surprised they’ve found a dog they want already. My girls always know exactly what they want.

I take a peek at the dog they have their hearts set on. I’ve gotta admit, it’s pretty damn cute. I glance over at Stella, who’s looking at the dog, too, and then we both look at each other like,Well, I guess we’re doing this.

“Let’s ask if we can take the dog out for a walk,” I tell our girls. “Let’s get to know it a little before we make any decisions, okay?”