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and shakes his head. “Always so unexpected. I love you. What do you say we go buy this house before someone else does?”

We are in the car following Maggie back to her office to fill out the contract on the house. Gabby has broken out of her quiet, shy mood. She’s now become a little chatter box. I smile occasionally and nod when I think it seems appropriate. I’ve gotten good at tuning people out, but being able to detect those breaks when it is necessary for me to act like I’m paying attention. I’m not ignoring her to be rude. I hate that I am not more excited at this moment. It’s been hard for me to get the whole baby situation out of my head. Especially after looking at a house and envisioning my future children.
    I’m not sure how she’s going to take what I have to tell her. I’ve been on the fence all day as to whether I should bring this up or not today of all days. Just like I had promised, I called our family attorney Monday about getting a paternity test. I knew he would know exactly what to do. He handles all kinds of scandals on a regular basis. He’s excellent at what he does, which is why he’s on retainer for our family. My father is very good at covering up all of his many indiscretions.
    I had been waiting for him to get back to me. He had to do some research. Apparently, it’s not a popular decision to test paternity in the middle of a pregnancy. It’s usually done at the very beginning or at the very end. They don’t like doing them in the middle because it requires an amniocentesis, where they take fluid from the uterus, which can cause pre-term labor. So that means, unfortunately for us, we have to wait until the baby is born to determine paternity.
    I know that despite my door being closed to my office earlier, my reaction was beyond out of control. I won’t blame Gabby if she flips out knowing we’ll have to wait on finding out. I realize that when I tell her this, I risk all the bliss we’ve had today gushing down the drain. We’ve both tried to act like it doesn’t exist to some degree, but I don’t know how much longer I can stand this. I just want to know, myself, so that I can plan my life and move forward, forward with her.
    The thought of telling her while we’re out and I have the only mode of transportation brings a slight smile to my face. She’s a runner. She runs everytime something bad happens. I would like to think she’s not going to continue those sprints now that she has a ring on her finger. Maybe her not having the ability to go anywhere will help her realize she doesn’t have to do that anymore.
    I glance over to her, and the excitement I see on her face takes my breath away. The thought of hurting her or spoiling that breaks my heart. As selfish as it may be, I want to watch her this animated a little while longer. I’ll tell her at dinner. But rather than trapping her into not running, I’ll have some faith in my girl. I’ll let her take her car, and if she runs, then I’ll deal with that. She’s got to learn to deal with things like an adult. You can’t run away when things get tough. I silently pray that she learned her lesson last weekend about doing that.

    It didn’t take long at Maggie’s office to do the contract. Gabby quickly changed moods when we got to her office, and then again when we got back into the car. I can tell she’s utterly exhausted. That’s usually what triggers her mood swings. Today has been a long day for her. She’s quiet on the short ride back to Château Élan to pick up her car. I really hate that we have two cars today. I hate being away from her.
    As I pull into the parking lot, I glance over to her. She’s gazing out of the window. “Penny for your thoughts, Gabby Girl?”
    She looks back to me and gives me a weak smile. “Just tired.”
    “Hungry?”
    “Famished is more like it,” she giggles.
    “Me, too. There’s an Olive Garden off the Buford exit. Do you want to grab some dinner before we head