***COMPLETED *** Endlessly [A G-Eazy Story, Third Book to If I'm Lucky]

Chapter 24: "I mean that, too."

Three weeks later...

"You like getting your hair washed?" I laughed as I gently washed Rosie's hair with a sponge while Gerald held her in the sink. "You're smiling."

"Or she just likes getting her hair touched, like you baby," Gerald laughed as he gently tilted her head back while I rinsed the soap off. "She's a daddy's girl."

"She's also a mommy's girl!" I giggled as I went to go grab a towel to wrap her in. "Because she needs me to eat."

As Gerald picked her up out of the warm water, she stretched her legs out and started to cry.

"Oh, I know," Gerald cooed as he bounced her gently. "You hate being cold, but mommy's coming with a towel and some nice warm pajamas."

He leaned down and kissed her head as he bounced her. Rosie's cries turned to quiet little whines as she looked up at him with her big brown eyes.

"See? You warmed up, silly goose." He laughed as he met me in Rosie's room. "You find the towel?"

"I did," I grinned as I gently took her from him and wrapped her in it. "I heard you in there."

"She was fussing 'cause she was cold," Gerald said as he leaned against the wall. "But when I kissed her forehead, she stopped. Kind of like her mother."

"Hey!" I laughed as I unwrapped her after a minute to get her dressed. "You're making us sound so needy."

After I put her onesie, some socks, and some mittens on her hands to keep her from scratching herself, I sat down in her rocking chair to feed her. While I burped her, she fell asleep on me, so Gerald helped me gently lay her down in her crib and swaddle her.

He kissed the side of my head and wrapped an arm around my waist as we watched her sleep.

"What do you say we order some dinner and watch a movie?" He suggested. "She probably won't wake up for a couple of hours since she's getting into a schedule now."

We slowly shut the door to her nursery and walked back down the hallway. As I got back out to the living room, I frowned at all of the clothes that were scattered among the room.

"So much for putting away this laundry," I giggled as I sat down on the couch next to Bentley. "Our living room looks like a tornado hit it."

"Or like we just had a baby," Gerald smirked as he took a seat next to me. "Pizza will be here in a bit."

I tucked my legs under my body as I cuddled up next to him, and looked down at my outfit which consisted of mismatched socks, pajama pants, and a baggy t-shirt. It's pretty much all I've been wearing since we got Rosie home.

"Oh, look, Secret Life of Pets is on," he grinned as he clicked on the tv channel. "Your favorite."

"You usually fight me on watching this movie," I giggled quietly as he slipped his arm around my shoulders. "What's so different tonight?"

"Well, I've been trying to make your life easier since Rosie came home," he said as he laid his head against mine. "I don't really know how to do laundry that well, but I've been helping with the dishes, Rosie, making the beds, and everything else...and it got me thinking about how I meant what I said about wanting to spend our lives together."

"We don't have to talk about that," I said as I linked my fingers with his hand that was around my shoulder. "I don't want to fight about it."

He kissed the side of my head and put his hand on my knee, which made me look at him.

"I want to talk about it now," he whispered, no longer paying attention to the movie. "When you gave birth to Rosie, it really hit me that she's here and she's our little human to take care of. I have two beautiful girls that I want to protect with all my heart. It would kill me if I lost you, it would kill me if anything happened to you," he paused as he reached into his pocket. "I guess what I'm trying to say is...will you marry me, Rachel?"

"What?!" I asked as I unlinked our hands and looked down at the ring. "Gerald, that's not funny."

He looked at me as he pulled his hand away and opened the box. He slipped the ring on my shaking finger and held my hand while looking into my eyes.

"Rachel, I am one-hundred percent serious right now, baby," he whispered as he leaned in to kiss my lips. "Will you do me the greatest honor in my life and become Mrs. Rachel Gillum?"

"Yes," I breathed out as I kissed him again. "Oh, my God, yes."

We kissed a few times before I pulled away and looked down at the ring while tears spilled over onto my cheeks.

"I can't believe this day has actually come," I laughed as I wiped my eyes. "We're going to be married."

"We can do whatever you want for the wedding, baby," he said as he watched me admire the ring. "I know we kept Rosie private, so we could maybe get married at the courthouse and then go to dinner with Grady and Kaitlyn..."

A few days after Rosie was born and we were home, we finally decided to announce that we had a baby. I wrote the post on my own Instagram and helped Gerald write his. We had posted them at the same time and got a lot of positive responses.

"That sounds absolutely perfect," I laughed as the doorbell rang. "Oh, I guess I forgot about our pizza."

Gerald went to go answer the door, and luckily, Rosie didn't wake up or cry as I watched her through the baby monitor.

"She sleeps like her mother," Gerald teased as he brought the box and the two bottles of Pepsi over to where we were sitting. "How long do I have to wait to have sex with you? I want to celebrate."

I rolled my eyes with a laugh as I opened the bottle and took a drink.

"It's been three, so we have to wait for at least three more," I smirked, earning a groan from him. "I have an appointment then, so we'll find out if we're good to go."

"I've gone this long, I guess I can go three more weeks," he teased as he picked up a slice of pizza and turned the movie back up. "I love you, Rachel. I mean it."

"I love you," I repeated with a smile. "And I love Rosie, and I love our life together that we're building."

"I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else," he said as he leaned over and kissed me softly. "I mean that, too."