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Chapter Nine

"So, what's up with you hiding the fact you were dating an older man?"

Riley sighed, taking a gulp of her wine at her best friend's question as she relaxed on the chair while Maya and Josh were lying on their couch. The three of them eating popcorn while watching repeats of the Office as her boyfriend was asleep upstairs in the what is the guest bedroom but what she now knew would soon to be a nursery. "He's not that much older. He is only thirty-five."

"And you're only twenty-three. That's twelve years," Josh pointed out, rubbing his wife's pregnant stomach. He was excited that it was now out she was pregnant, he no longer had to hold back his affection for his unborn child.

Riley rolled her eyes. "Thank you. I couldn't do the math. Now I know it is twelve years but this is exactly why! Did you not see everyone's reaction?"

"Oh we saw."

Riley winced, knowing her uncle was still upset at her for throwing them under the bus to get the attention off of her. "I'm sorry for revealing your guys' pregnancy."

"It's okay," Maya told her before Josh could speak again causing him to frown. "You did us-well more me a favor," she continued causing both Josh and Riley to be confused as she leaned even further back into Josh's embrace. "I was scared of everyone's reaction and kept putting it off when I shouldn't have. Almost everyone was genuinely happy for us," she said, knowing there were a couple of people who weren't that excited about their baby. "And now we don't have to hide it."

Josh smiled, placing a kiss on top of Maya's head.

Riley smiled watching the couple, before finishing her wine. "I think I'm going to call it a night," she told them, standing up before heading upstairs.

Maya watched her best friend go after saying their goodnights to her before speaking, "Do you think it is weird they didn't get a hotel room to be alone after not seeing each other for weeks?" she asked once she heard the bedroom door close.

Josh scrunched his face up in disgust, "I don't want to think about my niece's sex life."

Maya shook her head at her husband. "I'm being serious. Don't you find it weird they didn't go to a hotel and he went straight to bed while she hung out?"

Josh sat in disgust for a little while longer at the thought of the man upstairs and his niece but he couldn't disagree, "I mean if I was away from you for almost the whole summer we wouldn't be leaving the bedroom that's if we even made it to the-"

"Okay, easy there boy," Maya laughed.

"Well...I mean am I wrong?"

Maya smiled. Now she was the one who couldn't disagree. She would be all over Josh if she was separated from him for so long. She remembered how hard it was their first summer together when they got separated when he went back to New York. "Exactly," she confirmed.

"What do you think something is wrong?"

Maya shrugged. "I don't know but something feels off."

Josh nodded, swallowing. "Maybe Riley realized something while being home."

"Maybe," Maya agreed, softly, wondering what exactly was happening with her best friend.

Josh kissed her cheek, "Enough about them. I want to talk about you and me," he murmured against her cheek

"Yeah," Maya grinned, pulling away to look him in the eyes. "What about us?"

Josh raised his eyebrows, tilting Maya's chin up so her lips could meet his.

Maya smiled when she pulled away. "You never did tell me how your talk with Sophie went."

"Well that killed the mood," Josh complained as he adjusted himself.

Maya gave him an apologetic smile but didn't back down. "How bad was it?"

Josh sighed, knowing they shouldn't have this discussion where his niece or her boyfriend could easily overhear. "Let's go upstairs to our bedroom."

"She doesn't want me around Hunter?" Maya asked, astound, as she fluffed their pillows up before getting in bed as Josh was in their bathroom getting ready for bed. Josh just filled her in with conversation from earlier with Sophie and it made her stomach even more unsettled than it has been. "What did I do?"

Josh sighed, "She blames you for me asking for a paternity test and for Hunter to stay over."

"How can she blame me and be upset over something that any normal person would want?"

"I don't know."

"What did you say?"

"I told her we are a package deal."

Maya bit her lip, hiding her smile. She watched Josh walk out of the bathroom and to his side of their bed.

"You're my wife. I'm not going to banned you from being in Hunter's life," he continued once he was comfy in their bed.

"How would that even work?"

"I don't know," Josh shrugged, taking her hand into his. "But when I told her I wasn't for it she offered to not let Lucas around."

Maya's mouth dropped open, "What?" she snapped, shocked.

Josh nodded, "Yeah," knowing he didn't need to repeat what he just said.

"That is just a weird request and offer. She would keep her fiancé away from her child? What happens after they get married and she pretends to want to be my friend to my face but behind my back she doesn't want me around."

Josh sighed, squeezing her hand. "I don't know...I just think she is scared we are going to take Hunter away from her. It was only her and Hunter for some long and now she looking for something or someone to blame."

Maya nodded. Her baby was still safe in her stomach and with her and she couldn't imagine being scared someone was going to take her baby away.

"I'm not agreeing to anything where you can't be around."

Josh said knocking Maya out of her thoughts.

"I don't know how her and Lucas's relationship is," he continued, "Nor do I care but I know how ours is. You're my wife. I want you and our child to be in Hunter's life that is something that I'm not willing to comprise. It is something Sophie is going to have to come to terms with."

Maya slowly nodded again. She knew Sophie wasn't happy she was pregnant. She saw the look in her eyes and on her face before she put the fake happiness look on.

"I'm going to respect Sophie because she is Hunter's mother and try my hardest to play by her rules but she is going to have to respect my wishes too."

Maya smiled, hoping her husband would stick to his plan of standing up for himself and her.

XOXOJOSHAYAXOXO

Josh watched as Sophie nervously walked into the café, taking the seat from across him in the booth.

"Thanks for meeting me."

Sophie gave him a small smile. The two remain in an awkward silence.

"So, I guess congratulations are in order."

Josh nodded, and couldn't help the smile that came to face at the thought of his unborn child. "Thank you."

Sophie gave him another small smile and Josh could tell it wasn't authentic. He wasn't blind. "Sophie just because Maya and I are having a baby doesn't mean it changes anything with Hunter," he wanted to reassure her.

"But it does. This changes everything. I don't understand why you two couldn't have waited to bring a child into the world."

Josh narrowed his eyes in, "Sophie, that's not your call. You don't get to dictated my life or mine and my wife's choices. If my wife and I want to pop out a child every year for the next twenty years giving the Duggars a run for their money that is on us. We get to decide that not you-"

"But this affects my son."

Josh frowned, folding his hands on the table. "Look, Maya was pregnant before we found out about Hunter. I had no clue about Hunter when Maya and I started trying to have a baby. I didn't even know about him when I came here. I built a life here."

Sophie nodded. It was on her that Josh didn't know about Hunter, not him. "Are you saying if you would have known about Hunter before moving here there would have been a chance you wouldn't have moved and we could have tried and been a family?"

Josh was taken back by the question. "I don't know what would have happened if I found out about Hunter before I moved. I probably wouldn't have moved and stayed in New York, and we might have tried," he answered honestly and knowing he had to be careful with what he said. "But I moved here. And met a girl who changed me. Who made me want to change and feel like I had a place in the world again. I fell in love and built a life with her. I know one thing for sure even if I didn't move here somehow I would have met Maya because she is my soulmate and who I'm suppose to build a life with, so even if I stayed in New York and we tried it wouldn't have worked because Maya is my person. She is my better half. I'm meant to be with Maya."

Sophie nodded. "I always regretted not telling you but I did what I thought was right. I let you build that life with Maya," she told him, staring into his eyes. "I am going to continue to do what I feel is right. I want to make things easy on Hunter. He had a hard time when Lucas came into the picture. I know my son and this is going to be a lot for him. We moved and he is starting a new school and now he is going to find out you are his father, and you want him to come and stay with you and there is going to be a new baby soon. A new baby with your wife which might make him feel like an outcast in your home. We can't lay this all on him. He is a little boy. I don't want to do anything to hurt him. It has to be baby steps."

Josh sighed, "By baby steps, what do you mean? What do you think we should do?"

"I think we let him get settled in with school and everything. You continue being his coach and get to know him and him get to know you then once he is comfortable with everything we slowly start to drop hints before telling him. I don't have a time frame, Josh. He could settle in right away and be comfortable around you or he could have problems and it take time."

"Hunter is an easy going kid-"

"With baseball he is an easy going kid. Being on the field is happy place."

Josh smiled. He knew the feeling.

"But with school and school work not so much but he knows in order to play sports that mommy likes when he doesn't get into trouble and I see good grades."

Josh pressed lips together as his heart broke over the fact outside of baseball he didn't know Hunter that much. He wasn't there to witness anything when it came to Hunter. Sophie was right he doesn't know Hunter.

"I want you to get to know him. I want him to get to know you. I need to get to know you more and get to know Maya before letting him just stay over your place. I don't know Maya at all or how Maya is with kids."

Josh frowned, "Maya loves kids and is great with them. She is a teacher and has always wanted to be a mother. Maya is amazing with kids and is going to be an amazing mother. It is one of the reason I love her."

"Maybe with other people's children and her future children but not your child with another woman."

Josh frowned again, ready to defend his wife.

"Come on, Josh, think about it. Maya doesn't pay any attention to Hunter. I think I've seen her at most say five words to him."

Josh sighed, thinking back to Maya's interaction with Hunter and knew Sophie had a point he couldn't argue. Maya has kept a distance from him. At games she always waited until the end of the game before making her way over to him and it was usually after Hunter had already said his good-bye to him and at gatherings she stayed back. Sophie was right she barely interacted with Hunter and only did when she had to. "This is hard on her."

"I understand that so you should understand me wanting to protect my son."

"You don't have to protect Hunter from Maya."

Sophie shook her head, smirking at Josh. "Josh, you are crazy if you don't think Maya's wish is for me and Hunter to disappear so it can just be you two with your two's baby. Hunter and I ruined her little perfect family picture she always she dreamed of."

Josh shook his head, "That's not true."

"Really? You said yourself this is hard on her. She doesn't want me around. She doesn't want Hunter around. I know she is the one pushing for the DNA test in hoping it comes back negative so we can disappear out of your life. Your wife is the one who has internal motives. Not me. She is mad I gave you the son you always wanted."

Josh swallowed at Sophie's words, knowing him and his wife were about to have a serious talk.

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