Wow! I am so humbled by all of the wonderful reviews, liked, follows and comments. You are all wonderful for giving my story a chance!
These wonderful characters belong to the wonderfully talented Martha Williamson.
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Chapter 2:
It was a beautiful Saturday morning and birds could be heard just outside the bedroom window. Shane's arm instinctively reached out, seeking Oliver's touch. He wasn't there, however he couldn't have been gone long because his side of the bed was still warm. Shane sat up and immediately smelled the fresh aroma of coffee brewing. She got out of bed and eagerly made her way to the kitchen, longing to be in her husband's arms. Oliver was facing the coffee pot, back towards her, and she froze. In that moment, Shane was overcome with so much emotion. That wonderful man was her husband and they were going to have a baby. She never thought in a million years that she would be lucky enough to find someone as perfect as Oliver to share a family with.
Shane was so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed that Oliver had turned around and was now carefully watching her with a very worried expression on his face. "Shane, what's the matter?" He quickly walked over to her and cradled her face, wiping away the tears that she hadn't even realized had fallen.
"Nothing is the matter, Oliver. I just love you so much and I can't believe how lucky I am to have found you." She put her arms around his neck and leaned in, gently touching her lips to his. Oliver wrapped his arms around her waist, deepening the kiss. As they both breathlessly pulled away, they stared into each other's eyes and Oliver whispered, "No, my love, I am the lucky one."
"I missed you. Please don't tell me that waking up without you by my side is going to become a habit." She playfully pulled at the collar of his t-shirt. "I've become very spoiled having your handsome face be the last thing I see before I go to sleep and the first thing I see when I wake up. I refuse to give that up."
Oliver lightly chuckled and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "I'm sorry, my beautiful wife, I won't let it happen again." He brushed a few stray pieces of hair from her eyes and tucked them behind her ear before continuing. "When I woke up, you looked so peaceful. Seeing as how you were up several times in the middle of the night, I couldn't bare the thought of disturbing your peaceful slumber."
Oliver looked at her inquisitively as Shane's eyes unconsciously grew to the size of saucers. She thought he had been asleep, but she should have know better. Every night since their wedding had been spent cocooned together, arms and legs entangled. Of course he had noticed her getting up several times throughout the night, he had just been too much of a gentleman to say anything. The fact that he was bringing it up now showed that he was worried. She had to think quickly, he was staring at her awaiting a response.
"Oh! I, uh, couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake you. I had a lot of coffee yesterday, must have just been too much caffeine." She gave him a nervous smile, searching his eyes for a sign that he bought her story.
"Speaking of coffee, my love, I have your morning cup all ready for you, just the way you like it." As Oliver walked over to the counter to grab the mug filled with her favorite blend, she could tell that he was unconvinced of her middle of the night restlessness. She was thankful, however, that he was letting it drop for the time being. She happily took the mug from his hands and as she went to take a sip, a horrid thought crossed her mind. Was she even allowed to have coffee? She's sure that she read somewhere that caffeine isn't good for pregnant women and Shane wanted to do everything right with this pregnancy. Oliver was already suspicious, how was she going to explain her refusal to drink this warm, decadent beverage?
Oliver continued to closely observe his wife. Something was definitely off, he just couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. A part of him wanted to nonchalantly interrogate her, however he respected her far too much to do that. The last thing he would ever want to do is have Shane question his trust in her. It took them too many years to get to the happy place that they are now and he wasn't going to ruin it just because her insatiable curiosity had rubbed off on him. He promised himself that he would do his best to let her come to him with whatever was bothering her…the key phrase being "do his best". If his worry for her well being increased, he may just have to gently prod her, just to ensure that she was truly okay.
Shane could see that Oliver was carefully watching her every move. She brought the cup up to her lips and took a mock sip before setting it on the kitchen table, hoping she could distract her husband enough to not notice her reluctance to partake in her traditional morning beverage. "So what would you like to do today?"
"Well, I was hoping I might convince my beautiful, enchantress of a wife to take a stroll through Washington Park with me. Perhaps we might even enjoy a picnic there?" Oliver walked over to Shane with a sly smile on his face and grabbed her hand, placing a soft kiss on it. Maybe some romance would be just what she needed to get her mind off of whatever was bothering her. "This is the first full weekend off that we've had in quite some time, I thought it would be nice to just be together."
Shane could feel her cheeks turn pink. It never ceased to amaze her that he could still make her blush. "That sounds perfect. There's no place I'd rather be then spending the weekend with just you." She couldn't help herself, she grabbed Oliver and seared her lips to his in a heated kiss. As they parted, their eyes locked and the only thing that could be heard was the sound of their beating hearts.
Oliver held onto Shane, refusing to break eye contact. "I love you, my Shane, more than anything in this world. I hope you know that you are my everything. I will never let anything separate us." Shane could feel the tears rush to her eyes. She really needed to work on getting control over her emotions. She didn't want Oliver to find out about the baby just yet, she wanted to be the one to tell him in her own, special way.
"Oh Oliver, you truly are a remarkable man. Words cannot even begin to describe how much I love you. You are my heart and my soul." Their lips met again, and it was in that moment that Shane's worries were gone. Sure, it may come as a huge surprise to him, but Oliver loved her and he would love this baby. She needed to trust in her husband and trust in God that the timing was right. As their kiss continued, she made a decision: before the weekend was over, Shane would tell Oliver about their baby.
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Oliver busied himself with the task of packing the picnic basket as Shane finished getting ready. He was just about done when he noticed the coffee mug sitting on the kitchen table. 'How very odd,' Oliver thought to himself. Shane's mother has given her that mug, along with the matching set, when her grandmother had passed. It was handmade and Shane was a stickler for immediately washing it after each use for fear that the coffee might stain the rose colored porcelain. As he went to retrieve it, he was even more flabbergasted. The coffee inside had been untouched. How could that be? Shane never missed her morning cup of coffee, it was just unheard of. In fact, it was more often than not that by this time of day she had usually consumed at least two cups of coffee. Oliver's mind was reeling now, however he was not even close to reaching any sort of conclusion. He decided to put aside his thoughts for another time so he could enjoy the afternoon with his wife. He quickly dumped out the coffee and washed the cup, then grabbed the picnic basket and made his way to the family room just as Shane met him at the door.
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Shane and Oliver wandered through Washington Park, hand in hand, looking for the perfect picnic spot. They walked up a small, grassy hill and found a secluded spot just under a large oak tree. Oliver laid a blanket down and held Shane's hand as he helped her to the ground. Once situated, they began unpacking the picnic basket that Oliver had thoughtfully prepared. Shane's mouth was watering as she surveyed the egg salad, fresh cut strawberries with yogurt and sliced cucumbers and hummus. To complete their romantic lunch, she spied 2 pieces of lemon cake still hiding in the basket. She realized that she really hadn't eaten breakfast this morning and could not wait to indulge in the feast before her. As she began dividing up their portions onto plates, she heard a loud pop that startled her. 'Oh no,' she panicked. 'Oliver brought wine!' How was she going to get out of drinking it without raising even more suspicion?
"For you, my love." Oliver said as he smiled and handed her a glass of wine. He raised his glass to her and toasted, "Here's to us. We were destined to find each other and I couldn't ask for a better person to share my life with." They lightly clinked their glasses together, gazing into each other's eyes. Oliver took a sip of his wine and waited expectedly for Shane to do the same. It was pure luck that in that very moment a group of teenagers on rollerblades loudly zoomed by on the sidewalk, briefly distracting Oliver. Shane took advantage of the opportunity and quickly tossed the contents of her glass behind her, thankful there was no one in the path of the alcoholic mixture. As Oliver looked back towards her, his eyes zeroed in on the empty glass. He had to do a double take…how had she finished her drink so quickly? "I'm pleased that you like the wine. Would you care for some more?"
"No!" Shane abruptly responded, then corrected with, "I mean, no thank you. I really shouldn't have anymore. I didn't sleep very well last night and too much wine will make me tired. I would hate to fall asleep and miss out on our time together." She gave him a flirtatious smile and then leaned in for a kiss, Oliver's hands instantly getting lost in Shane's hair. When they parted, Oliver gave her a boyish grin and blushed. "Well we certainly can't have you falling asleep just yet, now can we?"
Shane giggled as he pecked her on the lips once more. "Mr. O'Toole, you are distracting me from eating my lunch."
"I do apologize, Mrs. O'Toole. Why don't we finish our lunch and then we can head back home. I'm eager to get you all to myself." Oliver eyed her suggestively.
"My thoughts exactly." As they ate their lunch, Shane couldn't help the butterflies from dancing around in her stomach. This was truly going to be a memorable weekend.
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Here's chapter 2! Up next, Oliver finally finds out Shane's news!