Love After Marriage (Forever After #2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

as she stared at the little man——it was a look that I'd never seen before. I placed the rest of the plates down and rushed to the kitchen to open a bottle of wine.
    She couldn't...could she? I mean we hadn’t even been married two years. It wasn't even remotely possible that she would want to start a family. She had brought it up in passing, but I’d thought she was joking and hadn't given it a second thought. Until now...
    I strolled into the dining room, holding three wine glasses in one hand and a bottle in the other. "I've got something here to start up the party. I'm opening up the Domaine Jacques Grand Cru to celebrate the new baby. It's the bottle we bought when we went to France last year."
    I placed a wine glass in front of each of us.
    Jeff pushed his glass toward me. "Fill me up. I hope it knocks me out tonight so I can get some sleep."
    Caroline kicked him under his chair, and he sat up straighter. "I think you sleep just fine."
    "If you want, I can get you another glass, buddy." I winked and poured us all a round, before disappearing back into the kitchen to get the rest of our side dishes.
    When I entered the room, there was my wife again, holding Chase with that same look in her eyes. My fingers trembled against the plate, and I swallowed.
    "He's precious, Caroline," she said, her fingertips lightly caressing the softness of his baby skin and then I knew——this wasn't a fleeting thing.
    Shit, I'd be needing more than a few bottles of wine myself.
    I filled our glasses, mine to the top, and placed Beth's at the edge of the table.
    Picking up one of her favorite appetizers by the toothpick that held it together, I swayed the scallop and bacon in her direction. "Try this, baby... your favorite." But her attention was on the little tyke.
    "Kent, look." She angled the baby closer to my direction, and my whole body stiffened. "He just loves to be cuddled." She bent down and nuzzled her nose against his button one and jealously spiked within me.
    "Yeah," I muttered, stuffing the appetizer in my own mouth.
    Jeff sighed. "I miss being cuddled. What week are we in right now?"
    Caroline furrowed her brow. "Calm down, I have my six-week appointment in a few weeks. They'll clear me then."
    "For what?" I asked, lifting the glass to my lips.
    "For sex, man.” He cringed as though he was in pain. “It's been a three-month spell."
    I coughed and spit my wine back into my glass. "Fuck! For the love of God, why?"
    Caroline glowered at Jeff, which seemed to quiet him down. "Language, Kent,” she warned me. “And if you have to know, I was put on bed rest for the last two months of my pregnancy, and I have to heal fully down there before... you know."
    "Why would someone put themselves in that type of predicament? I'd die." I tilted my head and fixed my eyes on Beth. "Tell our friends how much sex I need...I mean, we need, on a daily basis."
    "Kent, please!" Caroline glanced at Chase in Beth’s arms.
    "Caroline, I doubt he understands what I'm talking about, but if you must, I can talk baby. Beth, tell our lovely friends how many times we've boom-boomed today."
    Beth's face flushed pink. "Kent." There was an undertone in her voice that told me to shut the hell up. When she didn't answer my question, I felt the need to enlighten the room.
    "Three times. This is not counting how many——" I glanced down at the baby. "——origamis I gave her."
    "Whoa, man." Jeff and Caroline laughed together.
    Beth slapped my shoulder, and I intertwined our fingers and brought them to my lips. "My wife would never put me in that type of situation. And that’s why we have a healthy and happy marriage."
    She tore from my grasp and surprised me. "Unless the doctor ordered it," she said, raising one expectant eyebrow at me.
    My jaw tensed, and I felt the strain rise to my face.
    "I mean, if I was pregnant and the doctor somehow felt like it'd hurt the baby..." She spoke softly, the vulnerability evident.
    I blinked at her. Where was this