The Royal Heir - The Valtoria Diaries 2

I've got a Beaumont in my belly, baby!

*This chapter is NSFW*

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"YES, WAY!"

Jen giggled happily, taking in every little nuance of joy in his expression. His stunned, euphoric reaction had been well worth the wait.

She'd had to keep this incredible news in all day. All through the wedding ceremony, all though the wedding breakfast, she'd waited for an opportunity to talk to him in private. Once she'd got this, she'd realised he'd had far too much to drink. So she'd decided to wait until he'd sobered up a little. And now he had; and she could finally share all her excitement and elation with him; just looking at his face right now, illuminated not just by his phone screen, she knew he felt exactly the same way about this as she did.

"You're telling me I'm gonna be a dad?" His eyes were wide, emotional, brave.

"That is exactly what I'm telling you," she sighed, gazing up at him.

He grinned; and let go of her arm, stepping away slightly. She could see the effects of the inevitable adrenaline rush beginning to buzz through him – his hands balling into fists, his whole body shaking with excitement. Eventually, he let out a colossal whoop of excitement that she was sure must have been heard by everyone in Texas.

"Maxwell," she giggled. "People will be turning in for the night!"

"I'm sorry, I just..." He jumped up and down. "I can't contain myself! I'm so happy I want to shout it from a mountaintop! Where's the nearest mountaintop? Does Texas have mountaintops?"

She pulled him close again. "I think any mountaineering will have to wait for another day."

He grabbed one of her hands and began to waltz with her. "Of course. Oh Jen. I'm over the moon. Did you just do a test then?"

"Uh, so the thing is, I did it this morning when we got back from town.. but I didn't get the chance for a moment alone with you to tell you until later on, and so I thought it might be better to wait until you'd sobered up and weren't likely to grab a mic, jump on a table, announce our news, drop the mic and then backflip off the table.... although, that would have been very impressive."

"Aw, now that feels like a missed opportunity!" He chuckled. "But hey, enough about me, how are you feeling about it?"

"I'm not going to lie, in some ways it feels a bit daunting," she admitted, as they twirled together to the rhythm of the band in the distance.. "You know, like I just got on a nine-month rollercoaster and I can't get off? But, you got on it too, and there's nobody I'd rather be on that rollercoaster with."

"Hey, I get it," he told her. "Being thrown into something new. It's hard to decide how to feel about something we've barely scratched the surface of. But sometimes it's when we're thrown into uncertainty that we find a new kind of strength within ourselves."

She raised her eyebrows. "That was.. surprisingly profound, babe."

"Hey, I'm not just a handsome face and toned, lithe body. I have my moments!"

"So how do you feel about it? I mean, I know I only told you two minutes ago.."

His eyes twinkled. "For me, it feels like stage fright before a high-stakes dance off, but times a million. But even when I have a monumental case of butterflies, it doesn't mean I'm not gonna blow the roof off the joint!"

This was more like it. "Are you saying we're going to blow the roof off our baby?

"I'm saying we're gonna blow the roof off of all of parenthood!" He lifted her into the air and span her around, like he had done earlier after all that champagne, only this time she felt a smidgen safer in his arms.