I thought we were heading back to my house, but it looked like we were heading to Mason. “Josh, you really want to go visit our friends? I thought maybe we could…you know, go back to the house,” I said as I peeked over at him.

Josh looked over and smiled at me. Oh god, that smile of his just melts my heart. My heart started pounding, and I just wanted to be with him.

“I have a surprise for you.”

I finally figured out that we were heading to Jeff and Ari’s place. Josh had stopped at a gas station, and I could see him talking on the phone, wearing the goofiest grin on his face.

When he got back into his truck, I asked, “Who were you talking to?”

“Jeff. He’s helping me out with a little something.”

When he grabbed my hand, the butterflies took off, and I giggled.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. It’s just…well, when you reach for my hand like that, I still get butterflies in my stomach.”

Josh glanced over and then quickly looked straight ahead again. The dimple on the side of his face was such a turn-on. I’d never seen him so happy. He asked a few questions about the baby, and I told him I’d just gone to the doctor for my first appointment last Friday. Then, we talked about changing the office into a baby room. He was so excited, and I was completely shocked at how he was not freaking out in the least bit. I was still freaked out, but he seemed…he seemed so happy.

I looked out the window, and then I closed my eyes as I pictured Josh as a dad, holding our child in his arms. My heart swelled as I felt tears building in my eyes.

“We’re here!”

I watched as Josh punched in Jeff and Ari’s gate code. The farther we drove, the weirder Josh acted. He seemed nervous as shit. Is he nervous about telling Jeff and Ari about the baby? He has to know I already told them.

Josh took a left turn, and we started heading toward the barn.

“Are they down at the barn?”

“Um…Jeff is.”

Josh parked the truck, and I saw Jeff coming out of the barn with Rose and Tulip, their newest horse, saddled up. When I looked back at Josh, he was rubbing his hands on his pants.

Josh jumped out of the truck and looked back in at me. “Hold on a second, princess.”

He ran over to Jeff. Jeff glanced over at me sitting in the truck and smiled as I waved at him. Then, I saw Ari walking out of the barn with Luke.

What the hell is going on? Who’s going for a ride?

Josh went over to Ari, and she nodded and started laughing. He leaned down, hugged her, and kissed her on the cheek. Then, he ran back to the truck and opened my door. He held out his hand for me and helped me out. I noticed when he reached back into his truck and grabbed something out of the glove box before closing the door.

Then, Josh jogged up and took Tulip’s reins from Jeff.

Jeff walked over and handed me Rose’s reins. When I gave Ari a confused look, she just winked at me.

“Um…you want me to take Rose for a ride? We just got here!”

I watched as Josh hopped up onto Tulip, and then he looked at me with that panty-melting smile.

He’s up to something. I shook my head and climbed up onto Rose.

“Y’all have fun!” Ari called out.

Josh rode up next to me and reached out for my hand. I turned to Jeff and Ari. They were just standing there with shit-eating grins on their faces.

Yep, something’s up, and I’m the only one left in the dark. I smiled at Ari, shaking my head. I glanced back to Josh before we started to head off in the direction of the river.

“Are we going somewhere special?”

“Yes, ma’am, we are.”

“You gonna tell me what’s going on?”

Josh started laughing as he dropped my hand. He kicked Tulip and took off into a gallop. I shook my head and gave Rose a small kick to get her going.

After a short ride, I knew fairly quickly where we were heading—to our spot along the river where we had first made love. I smiled at the memory. Then, I thought about the night I was pretty sure we’d conceived the baby. I put my hand on my stomach.

When we started to round the corner, I looked ahead. I sucked in a breath of air when I saw a blanket lying on the ground with buckets of roses surrounding it. Oh. My. God. I’ve never seen so many roses in different colors. As we got closer, I glanced around at everything. There was a small table with two glasses next to a bucket with a bottle inside. Near the table was a picnic basket.

Tears began building in my eyes as we came to a stop. I jumped when I felt Josh put his hands on me. I looked at him and smiled as he was waiting to help me down. I swung my leg around, and as he grabbed me by the hips, he gave me a smile that drove me insane with lust.

He took my hand and walked me over to the blanket. Josh pulled the bottle out of the bucket of ice, and I laughed when I noticed it was grape juice.

Josh smiled. “Only the best for my two favorite girls.”

My heart dropped in my stomach. “Girls?”

“Yep!”

I laughed and shook my head. “What makes you think it’s a girl?”

“I just know it’s a girl. It’s really weird, but last night…which, by the way, was incredible…” He winked. “When I placed my hand on your stomach, I didn’t know at the time you were pregnant, but for some reason, I just knew when the time came, it would be a girl.”

I grinned and placed my hand on my stomach. “I think it’s a boy.”

“Nope. I’ve noticed that you’ve been sick. It all clicked on the drive up here. Considering how you keep throwing up…it’s a girl.”

I laughed and gave him a little shove. “I’m telling you…it’s a boy.”

He reached for me and pulled me up against him. “Maybe it’s both!” he said with a wink.

My heart started pounding. “Oh dear god…don’t say that, Josh!”

He shook his head and laughed. “Shit! Better not say that…I’ll jinx us.”

From the flowers to the picnic, everything was just perfect. How did he do all of this? When did he do all of this?

When he placed his hand on my stomach, it just dropped. He looked into my eyes and gave me that panty-melting smile of his.

I giggled. “When did you do all of this?”

He laughed as he glanced around. “When I kicked Victoria out of my apartment, I called Ari. Once she told me where you might be, I asked her if she would do me a favor and call Jenny. I’d already talked to Jenny about this, so she knew what I wanted. I’m not as romantic as that bastard Gunner, but…” He started laughing.

I reached up and kissed him. When he let out a small moan, an ache grew between my legs. Then, I pulled back and gave him a confused look.

Wait. What does he mean he talked to Jenny about this? About what?

He smiled as he stood up. He walked over to where his iPod was connected to a speaker. He reached down and pushed play. Brad Paisley’s “She’s Everything” started to play, and I instantly felt tears building in my eyes.

“Dance with me, princess?”

I nodded as he helped me up and took me into his arms. We slowly started to dance, and he began singing the lyrics to me. I laughed when he changed the words from brown hair to blonde hair.

I couldn’t believe that just a few hours ago, he couldn’t even remember this spot, and now, we were dancing here, surrounded by beautiful flowers. I closed my eyes, and I just listened to him singing to me. I felt so happy that I could hardly breathe.

Breathe, princess.

I tried so hard to stop myself from sobbing. I could feel Josh’s breath on the side of my face as he sang to me.

Oh, Daddy…I think you would have loved him. I’d be lost without him in my life. Thank you for bringing him back to me.

The song came to an end, but we were still dancing. All I could hear was the sound of the river, and I thought back to the first time we’d made love. It was in this very spot. I smiled when I remembered how scared I had felt. I wasn’t sure how long we were in each other’s arms, dancing to the sound of the river, before Josh slowly pulled away.