Always and Forever Read Free Page B

too well.”
    She went to protest and he grabbed her tighter, lifted her up into the air in his arms. She squirmed, fighting against his hold. They’d always been like this—always goofing around, and she loved that Matt didn’t treat her any differently now.
    “Matt! Put me down. I thought I’d told you enough already with picking me up!”
    “Did you? I don’t recall. There’s something about you being preggers that makes me want to hold you.”
    He play-growled again and kissed her, melted away all her struggles until she was like marshmallow in his arms. Nothing felt better than Matt’s touch, his kiss, the way he held her and gave her all his attention like nothing else in the world mattered.
    “Make the most of it before the baby comes,” Kelly called out. “And please, please keep your clothes on in my kitchen!”
    Lisa indulged in one last kiss before reluctantly pulling away. “It’s time to take the food out,” she said.
    Matt blew her a kiss back. “I’ll do the drinks. I’m ready for another beer.”
    She watched him walk out of the room, couldn’t take her eyes off him. She didn’t realize her sister had been staring at her.
    “And that’s why the rest of the female population is jealous of you.”
    Lisa shrugged. “I’m not going to lie: I hit the jackpot with Matt.” He was infuriatingly laid-back sometimes, drove her crazy when he arrived home late after beers with the guys when he’d promised a date night, but she couldn’t imagine being with anyone else.
    “You know I’m only teasing, right? There are no two nicer people in the world than you guys. You deserve each other.”
    Lisa nudged her sister with her shoulder and picked up the plate of sandwiches. “Thanks for all this.”
    “Sweetheart, you’ve been the best aunty to my girls. This is a big deal and we’re so happy for you.” Kelly smirked. “Besides, you keep me in clothes. As long as I can fit your sample sizes, you’ll always be my favorite sister!”
    Lisa walked out through the same door her husband had disappeared through, a smile on her face that she doubted anything could crack.

2.
    THREE MONTHS LATER
    L isa held on tight to Matt’s hand, but he didn’t seem to mind. Something about squeezing his palm hard was making her less anxious.
    “We’re going to do a scan now to check the baby,” the sonographer told them, her smile kind as she faced them. “I’m going to squirt a little of this on your tummy and then we’ll get started.”
    Lisa adjusted her pants so they were low, jumping when the cold jelly-like liquid touched her stomach.
    “Cold?” Matt asked with a laugh.
    “Freezing,” she muttered.
    “Your doctor tells me you’ve had some bleeding?” the sonographer asked. “That can be perfectly normal during pregnancy, but we’ll check everything out just to make sure. We’ll also be able to check all the baby’s measurements and make sure everything is okay in there.”
    Lisa let her breath go as something appeared on the screen, a blur that turned to something more recognizable.
    “That’s our baby,” she whispered.
    “Sure is. And that bit there that’s gone red on the screen—that’s the heart, so you don’t have to worry that your bleeding has been related to a miscarriage. Give me a sec and I’ll play the heartbeat for you.”
    Lisa looked up at Matt. He was grinning like crazy. She closed her eyes and smiled as the strong little heartbeat played out.
    “Unreal, huh?” he said.
    They’d had one scan already, but this one was different. This one looked like a baby and not just a little bean. This time felt so much more real.
    “Can you tell what gender the baby is?” Matt asked. “It’s killing me not knowing.”
    “Let me just do all the vitals first, and then I’ll tell you whether you’ll be picking out dresses or toys for the sandbox. You should be just far enough along for me to see.”
    Lisa laughed, her worries falling away. She’d known that bleeding was