After the weekend pregnancy bomb dropped on our heads, we’d raced back to London and back into work. We hadn’t even told our parents yet, and had my sister and Fred on secret squirrel, under threat of death if they spilled the news before we did.

We were trying to acclimate to everything on top of the immense buildup of obligations for my business, the Games being only twenty-one days off. There was hardly time for this meeting right now. I wished for a smoke. Or three.

Once we were out of the doctor’s office, I put my arm around her and kissed her on the top of the head. “That was fun, baby. Dr. Burnsley is a charming fellow, don’t you agree?”

“Yeah, he’s awesome,” she said sarcastically with arms folded beneath her br**sts.

“Aww, come on, he wasn’t that bad,” I cajoled, “he used the banana probe on you.”

“Oh my God, you are a jackass!” She shoved at my shoulder and laughed silently. “Only you could make a joke about that hideous situation and make it funny!”

“But it worked, and that is the point of it,” I told her as we walked.

“I’m kind of worried about my job. I never thought of the possibility I’d have to stop.” She sounded down about it.

“Maybe a leave of absence would be a good thing, though. It would give you time to plan for what we’ve got coming.” I looked down at her stomach but tried to be optimistic and light about it. Best to not delve too deeply and remind her she was going to have to give up something she loved for the next months. “I know I would adore having you home more and you’ll need to have plenty of rest. Maybe this way you can start a project or something that you’ve wanted to work on but didn’t have time for before.”

“Yeah,” she answered noncommittally. I thought I could see the cogs in her pretty head turning with ideas. Hard to say what, because if Brynne wasn’t in a sharing mood, then I certainly wouldn’t know. “I’ll figure it out.”

“Of course you will.” I squeezed, bringing her a little closer, hating that I had to leave her and go back to my office. I wanted hours in bed just wrapped up in each other. It was really all I wanted.

I stopped us on the sidewalk and turned her to me. “But please don’t worry about it too much. I’m taking care of both of you.” I put my hands on her belly. “You and the little bugg—er . . . um, I mean . . . blueberry, are my top priority now.”

She smiled and then her bottom lip started trembling, and her lovely eyes that were very greenish-brown under the summer sky got very wet. She put her hand over both of mine. I watched as one lone tear dripped down my girl’s beautiful face.

I widened my mouth into a smile I could feel. I loved having her like this. Needing me to take care of her and knowing she was going to let me. I really didn’t need a lot. Just her love and the acceptance of mine along with my care.

She rolled her eyes in embarrassment. “Look at me. I am such an emotional freak mess right now!”

“I am looking, and you forgot something, baby. You’re a gorgeous emotional freak mess.” I brushed away the tear with my thumb and licked it off. “I mean, if you’re going to go all out and be a freak mess, you might as well look gorgeous doing it.”

I got her to laugh a little. “Now, do you fancy a sandwich for lunch?” I looked at my watch. “I wish I had longer for something a litter nicer than takeaway.”

“No, that’s fine. I have to get back too.” She sighed and then smiled at me. “I have an announcement to make at work, it seems.” She took my hand and curled hers around it as we walked.

We happened to be right across the street from the saltwater aquarium shop when we came out of the delicatessen with our sandwiches and settled on a bench to eat. I pointed it out to her and asked if we could stop in quickly as soon as we finished because I wanted to arrange service for the six-month checkup for my tank.

Brynne took a second look at the shop and grinned. “Fountaine’s Aquarium.” Her grin got wider as she took a bite of her turkey sandwich.

“What? What’s making you grin like the Cheshire Cat?”

She didn’t answer my question, but instead asked one of her own. “Ethan, when did you get Simba?”

“Six months ago, I just said.”

“No, what day did you get him?”

I thought about that for a moment. “Well, now that you ask, I believe it was Christmas Eve, actually.” I looked at her and tilted my head questioningly.

“That was you! It was!” Her whole face lit up. “I was shopping for a present for my aunt Marie and it was so freezing cold. I had a bit of a walk ahead of me, so I dipped in there just to get out of the cold for a few minutes and it was nice inside. Dark and warm. I looked at all the fish. I saw Simba.” She laughed to herself and shook her head in disbelief. “I even talked to him. The clerk told me that he’d been sold and that the owner was coming to pick him up.”

Realization dawned on me in a sudden blast. “It was snowing.” I said in amazement.

She nodded at me slowly. “I went to the door to leave and brave the cold again, and you walked in. You smelled so nice, but I never got a look at you because I couldn’t take my eyes off the sight of the snow. It had started while I was inside the shop getting warm—”

“And you were shocked as you looked out the door and saw it. I remember . . .” I interrupted her story. “You were bundled in purple. You had on a purple hat.”

She just nodded, looking beautiful and maybe a tad bit smug.

I swear Brynne could have pushed me over onto the cobblestones with her pinky finger if she’d wanted—I was that floored by what she’d just told me. Talk about the divine hand of fate. “I saw you step out into the snow and check yourself in the window of my Rover before you walked off.”

“I did.” She brought a hand to her mouth. “I can’t believe that was you . . . and Simba, and we actually spoke to one another, two strangers on Christmas Eve.”

“I can hardly believe we’re having this conversation,” I repeated, the amazement still evident in my voice.

“And it was so, so beautiful when I came out.” She glowed at me as she remembered. “I’ll never forget what it looked like.”

“So I smelled good, huh?”