Matched in Minnesota (At the Altar Book 22) Read online

  Marissa wasn’t sure if he’d changed his mind about her job, but she decided it didn’t matter. He was at least making an effort to make things better between them. “I accept your apology.” The words sounded a little stiff to her ears, but he didn’t seem to mind.

  Then he thrust the bag at her, and she opened it to discover a virtual treasure trove of donuts. “I got a little of everything, because I didn’t know what kind of donut you like. I thought you might be a raspberry filled girl, but I was really just guessing.”

  “I do like raspberry filled. And lemon filled. Those are my two favorites.”

  “I got both of those and lots of others.” He leaned down and kissed her. “I missed you last night.”

  Her face softened into a smile. “I missed you too.” She hoped he wouldn’t say anything else about her job, but she would forgive him for now.

  After breakfast, she worked on editing her book while he studied more of the journals. He’d made ten or so notes in the margins, and her first task was to make sure she took care of everything he said was incorrect historically.

  By the end of the day, she’d covered half the book, and she felt like her brain was totally fried. “I don’t feel like cooking,” she told him.

  “Do you want to go out? I can’t boil water to save my life.”

  She grinned. “Out or pick something up. My brain is spent.”

  “Why don’t you order Chipotle from your app, and I’ll go get it. We’ll vegetate to a movie tonight.” Aaron was surprised how much his life had changed since she’d come along. He’d once thought that spending a night in front of the tv was beneath him, and now it felt relaxing. He wanted to spend time with her just as much as he wanted to study. Thankfully, she granted him the time to study when he needed it.

  “Sounds good. Do you want your usual?” she asked. At his nod, she tapped a couple of buttons. “It’ll be ready in twenty.”

  “Why is it so much faster to order now?” he asked.

  “They save our most recent order on the app. Now I just click to order the same thing again, and I’m ready to go.”

  “That sounds really easy to me.”

  “It is.”

  “Well, I’ll be back in thirty.” He headed for the door, looking at her for a moment. “How do you feel about the book now that you’ve read half of it over again?”

  A slow grin spread across her face. “I’ve written a book that I want to read. It’s hard to believe, but I have.” She could never find just the perfect book when she was looking for one, but she truly believed she’d written the perfect book for her and all people like her.

  “Good for you!”

  Three weeks later, Marissa published her book. She was excited as she sat and waited for a first sale, and it came quickly. She told all of her family and friends about it, and several of them purchased it. Hopefully other people would find it and read it as well.

  Within minutes of hitting the publish button, she felt queasy and ran for the bathroom, losing her breakfast. She was glad Aaron was at work, so he couldn’t make a big deal over it. The new semester had started, and he was enjoying his new set of classes. The students were doing a much better job about not stalking him in the hallways of the history building, which made him happy.

  After she sat for a moment, she thought about why she was sick, and she realized it must just be nerves from publishing the book. She knew family and friends were going to be reading it, and she wanted people to like it. Badly.

  She was sick throughout the day, but she was sure that as soon as reviews started coming in, she’d be fine.

  When she was still vomiting a week later, she was no longer so sure. She sat for a moment thinking about why she could be sick, and then it hit her. She hadn’t had a period since the first month they were married.

  As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she headed out to the Target around the corner. She bought two pregnancy tests, and took them back to their place and carefully read the instructions.

  She’d always heard a woman needed to take a pregnancy test first thing in the morning, but this test said she could take it at any time of day. Following the instructions, she waited her three minutes, pacing outside the bathroom, while trying frantically not to think about what it would mean for her life if it was positive.

  Aaron had said he wanted kids sometime in the future, but he wasn’t ready for them immediately. Did that mean he’d be disappointed if she was pregnant? And if so, what did that mean for her?

  She knew her in-laws would be thrilled, and a pregnancy would probably get her mother to fly up from Arkansas. But Aaron. She needed Aaron to be happy.

  Finally, after a little more than five minutes, she walked into the bathroom and checked the test. The one she’d chosen had been made for an idiot. If she was pregnant, in the window it would say “pregnant.” If she wasn’t, the word “not” would be in front of “pregnant.” Easy enough.

  “Pregnant.” She sat down on the edge of the tub and continued staring at the test, wondering how she was going to tell Aaron. She didn’t even know if she was ready for a baby, but her heart was screaming that it loved the little thing, boy or girl.

  She sat on the side of the tub for more than an hour, trying to figure out what to do next. She wasn’t even sure why she was so surprised that she was expecting. They hadn’t been using protection, and they hadn’t been practicing abstinence. So, what did she think was going to happen?

  Marissa finally got up, nuked the leftovers from the previous evening, and put them into a bag to take them to the college. The walk and her lunch with Aaron was usually the highlight of her day, but she worried the whole way there. Should she tell him right away? Or should she wait until she could think of a good way to tell him?

  She had no idea what to do, but deep down inside, she was thrilled she was having that baby. A part of her and a part of Aaron, made from their passion. What more could she want in life?

  When she got to his office, there was a female student there with him, asking him questions, and she ignored the student as she set their lunch on his desk.

  The girl made a face. “Why are you here? I’m asking questions.”

  Marissa smiled sweetly. “I’m the wife, and it’s lunchtime, so you can keep asking, but I am going to keep getting ready to have lunch with my husband.”

  The girl made a sound that could only have been made by a disgusted teenage girl, and then she rolled her eyes. “I’ll talk to you before class tomorrow, Professor.”

  Aaron nodded. “If you must.”

  The same sound came from the girl and she stormed out of his office. Marissa laughed slightly. “What was her question?”

  “She’s asking about women on the trail. I almost told her to read your book for a historically accurate fictionalized story, but I decided against it.” He looked down at the bowl in front of him. “Oh, you brought lasagna. I love your lasagna.”

  As they ate, he told her about the new crop of girls in his classes. “I made sure to mention my wife the first day of class in every single section I’m teaching, and they’re still being annoying.”

  “It must be hard to be the most handsome professor on campus. Maybe someday someone will move in and steal all your admirers away.”

  “That would be tragic, wouldn’t it?”

  Bob walked in then, grinning at the two of them. “You two look a little happier every time I see you.”

  Aaron smiled. “Well, I did marry an intelligent woman who loves the trail almost as much as I do.”

  “What would you have done if she hadn’t been interested in the Oregon Trail?” Bob asked, grinning.

  “Probably thrown her back and tried for a new one,” Aaron said with a grin.

  “Then I guess it’s a good thing I like the trail,” Marissa said, knowing Aaron didn’t mean anything by what he’d just said. He was joking, and it shouldn’t hurt her feelings, but it did. She was very aware that it was just her hormones throwing her off, but s
he didn’t care.

  She finished her lunch while Bob and Aaron talked work, and then she cleaned things up. With a kiss on Aaron’s cheek, she said, “I’ll see you later.”

  Aaron watched her go with a slight frown. She’d been very quiet. Usually she joined in the conversation when Bob came in to talk to him while they were having lunch. He didn’t know what was wrong, but he hoped she’d be okay by the time he got home. He wanted to read whatever she’d written that day.

  Marissa walked into the apartment and went straight to her laptop to google OB/Gyns in the area. She needed to find a good one to confirm the pregnancy. She’d decided she wasn’t going to tell Aaron until she knew for sure, though deep down she did know for sure. She was pregnant, and they were both going to have to live with it.

  Ten

  It took Marissa two weeks to get into the doctor she had chosen, and when she went in, she was nervous. The pregnancy was quickly confirmed, and they did a quick ultrasound to check how the baby was growing.

  “I’d say you’re about eight weeks,” the doctor—an older woman with dark hair—told her.

  “That was what I was thinking. So, thirty-two more weeks.”

  “Already counting down?”

  “I’m having really bad all-day sickness.” It had been all Marissa could do to keep her illness from Aaron.

  “All-day sickness isn’t good. I can prescribe some Zofran, if you’d like. It’ll help with the nausea, and it’s safe for your pregnancy.”

  Marissa slowly nodded. She didn’t want to have to quit working just yet, but she knew that soon she’d be writing and not planning the Disney vacations. She thought about writing too much to be able to stop, and with how she was feeling, she could no longer do both. “I think that would be good.”

  “Do you have a pharmacy you use?”

  “No, I don’t. I haven’t been here long. I’ll just use a Walgreens, I guess.”

  “That’s fine. I’ll call it in, and you can pick it up this afternoon.” The doctor felt around on her still-flat belly. “Other than the morning sickness, how are you doing?”

  She shrugged. “I’m more emotional than usual. The slightest thing is making me cry, and I’m making my husband crazy.”

  The doctor laughed. “That’s very normal. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure he understands that it’s the pregnancy.”

  Marissa didn’t tell the doctor she hadn’t told Aaron yet. “We have a trip to Disney planned the first week in October…”

  “You’re fine to go. Just stay away from the roller coasters and you’ll be fine. You’re early enough in the pregnancy that I don’t see it being a problem for you.”

  “Good. I was a little worried about that, because I’ve already got it booked and ready to go. We even have our flights.”

  “No worries. I need to see you in about a month. We’ll do another ultrasound then, so you may want to bring your husband.”

  Marissa nodded. “I’ll ask him if he wants to be here.”

  On the drive home, Marissa thought about how many different ways she could break the news to Aaron. He’d be home from work in an hour, and she needed to just sit him down and tell him. Hopefully, he’d be open to the idea of a child much sooner than he’d planned. But she needed to give him the news first, and not someone else. Though she desperately wished she could tell Janelle and get advice.

  She was sitting in the living room going over scenarios of how he would react when he walked in the door.

  Aaron saw Marissa sitting on the couch staring off at nothing when he walked in the door. He couldn’t smell any food cooking either. Marissa was always working on something, whether research, or reading, or cooking, or something. Never had he seen her just sit and stare into space.

  He sat down beside her. “Are you okay?” he asked, worried. He was ready to take her to the hospital if needed, but hopefully it wouldn’t be.

  She turned to him with a smile and nodded. “I just got home from the doctor’s office.”

  “Something is wrong?” Whatever it was, they’d handle it together. He couldn’t lose her now. He was head over heels in love with her.

  “Nothing is wrong. I’ve been throwing up for about three weeks, and I went to confirm my suspicions.” She hoped he’d understand from that, but as usual, the absent-minded professor missed what she was trying to say.

  “What suspicions?”

  “I’m pregnant,” she said softly, watching his face carefully for a response.

  His eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped. “Pregnant?” He stared at her in shock for a moment.

  She nodded. “I know you said you didn’t want kids until sometime in the future, but…that time seems to be now.”

  “I…I’m not even sure what to say.” He was too stunned to make much of the conversation.

  “Well, you better say something fast, because you’re freaking me out here.”

  He smiled, and then she could see his answer. “I’m going to be a father! When can we find out the sex?”

  “You’re happy?” Marissa asked, needing to hear him say the words.

  “Very.” He pulled her against him and kissed her soundly. “We’re having a baby!”

  “I need to call my mom, but I wanted to tell you first!” And she needed to call Dr. Lachele.

  “I’m glad you did! I need to call my mom too.”

  They both made their phone calls, and after, he looked at her. “Let’s go out for supper. I don’t think you should have to cook. Not unless you just want to.”

  She laughed. “I’ll be cooking just as much as I always do. I just wanted tonight off. We need to go to the pharmacy and pick up a couple of prescriptions.”

  “Prescriptions? Is something going wrong?” Now that he knew he would be a father, he couldn’t imagine her losing the baby. They would do whatever it took to keep that child healthy.

  “I’m having a lot of morning sickness, so I need to pick up a prescription for that, and then I need a prenatal vitamin.”

  “Sounds good to me. I hate that you’ve been sick. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She shrugged. “I didn’t know how. You said you wanted kids in the future, and I wasn’t sure if it was too soon for you. So, I waited until it was confirmed and then I told you. I talked to the doctor this afternoon.”

  “All right. What do you want to eat?”

  “How would you feel about just picking up a pizza and my prescription and eating here? I think I want a true vegetate night. No journals. No words. Just the two of us, celebrating that we’re going to be parents.”

  “I think that sounds perfect. Where is the prescription?”

  She gave him the address of the Walgreens, and then while he was gone, she changed into pajamas. She hadn’t really gained any weight, but she could feel her pants getting a tiny bit tighter, and she was definitely more comfortable with nothing pressing on her belly.

  The evening went well with the two of them watching a movie they both enjoyed while snacking on the pizza.

  After the movie, he looked over at her. “My mind is still spinning a little. Are you going to keep working?”

  She shook her head. “No, I think I need to give my notice, though I hate to leave the job. My mind is preoccupied with writing, and I need to make that happen. The day job will have to go.”

  “I think that’s for the best.” Inside he was jumping for joy that she was no longer going to be planning vacations for people. He just thought she could do so many better things with her time.

  “I did ask the doctor about our Disney trip, and she said it was fine. Just no roller coasters, but I don’t tend to do them anyway.”

  He nodded. “All right. We’ll still go. That’s coming up fast.” He still wasn’t sure he wanted to go, but he knew she had her heart set on it.

  “It is. I can’t wait to show you the world I’ve fallen in love with. I’ve planned two days at Epcot, one at Magic Kingdom, and one at Hollywood Studios. We’ll do food and wine, and I ma
naged to get into my favorite restaurant at Magic Kingdom, so we’ll have fun there too.”

  He smiled. “I’m sure we’ll love it.” Though he wasn’t sure, he wasn’t going to argue with her because he felt like he’d already won a huge battle. She was going to give her notice.

  “I sure hope you love it as much as I do. I want to do yearly Disney vacations for the rest of my life.”

  He thought she was crazy, but he said nothing. If that’s what she wanted, he wouldn’t argue with her. She was carrying his child after all. “Mom is really excited about the baby. She said to tell you that you can’t cook anymore.”

  Marissa laughed and shook her head. “Tell her we don’t have a live-in maid, and I’m happy cooking.”

  “If I did that, she’d want us to move in with them, and that’s not happening.”

  “I can agree with that. I figured we’d turn the spare room into a nursery.”

  “Sounds good to me. That’ll make things easy for us. We can even buy a house soon if you want. I don’t really want to raise a child in an apartment.”

  Marissa nodded, biting her lip. “There’s something we’ve never talked about. As soon as I met you, I was sure that I would want us to separate as soon as our year was up. But now…I think I want to stay with you forever, which is good with us expecting.”

  “I didn’t realize you were still thinking you’d leave,” he said with a frown. “I guess when we started getting along, and we made love, I just assumed you were in it forever.”

  “And I think I was. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t think that I was still thinking of running off at the first available moment.”

  “Not at all. I couldn’t take it if you did leave.” Aaron took a deep breath. “I always kind of thought I was beyond falling in love. I mean, I’m intelligent and educated, and I didn’t feel like I needed another person to complete me. The only reason I ever went to Dr. Lachele is so that I could get tenure and hopefully keep the girls off my back.” He shook his head. “I never expected to spend two days getting to know my new wife and fall so deeply in love with her I couldn’t imagine trying to get out.”