Unlucky in Love

...Dominic's POV...

"Baby, I have great news!" I announced, not being able to contain it. It was incredible, and I had to tell Ember.

Ember came out of our bathroom. She had a brilliant smile on her face and her eyes were all lit up. "So do I,"

"Okay, you first, then." I told her, sitting on the edge of our bed.

She shook her head. "No, no. You go first. Mine can wait."

I nodded. "So...I got my old job back." I started, and her eyes widened almost comically. "Well, I got the job I was supposed to have, where I'm in charge of the European division." I seemed to be the only one excited about this. "We get to go back to Paris," I said, trying to make her smile at least. She continued to stare at me. "Em, what's wrong?"

She swallowed. "How long would we be in Paris?" she asked me, her voice strained.

"For good." I sighed exasperatedly. "Babe, I thought you'd be happy about this."

"I am," she said quickly. "It's just...all this news is happening..."

"Well, what was your news?"

Ember shrugged. "It seems really insignificant now." she took a deep breath. "Dominic, I'm pregnant." She stated, her eyes boring into mine.

"What?" I exclaimed. I picked her up and kissed her. She pulled away and looked confused.

"This is okay?" she asked skeptically.

"Yeah! Ember, we both wanted this. Now I'm getting my job, and we're getting a little brother or sister for Emma."

Ember's smile returned. "So this is all okay?" she asked again, and I kissed her to dispell any doubts.

* * *

"I'm thankful for my husband." My mom started. We were sitting around the gigantic dining room table at my parents' house at Thanksgiving and holding hands before we ate. "I am thankful for my daughter, my son, my daughter-in-law, and my granddaughter. I am thankful for all the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon my family and myself."

I was next, and I was the last. "I'm thankful for all of my opportunities that I've received. I'm thankful for my family, and most of all, my marriage and my daughter, Emma. I'm thankful that the Lord is blessing us with another baby and a fresh start for everyone." I spoke clearly, wanting to make sure Ember heard me from across the table.

She looked up and smiled.

"Heavenly Father," my dad started. "We thank you for bringing us all together tonight to celebrate the holiday in safety and in joy. We ask that you keep our traveling relatives safe when they return home. And we ask you, Lord, for the safety of our family and for our unborn grandson or granddaughter. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen."

"Amen." we all repeated.

"All right, let's eat!" Daveigh said, and everyone laughed.

The topic of conversation seemed to be on the nine-week-old fetus in Ember's womb, and I was just fine with that. But Ember seemed to be overwhelmed with all the questions.

"Have you thought of any names?" My mom prodded, purposely putting more mashed potatoes on Ember's plate and another laddle-full of gravy. She used the you're-too-skinny excuse when Ember objected.

Ember took a sip of sparkling cider and nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking of Eloise for a girl and Maximilian for a boy."

"God no!" I objected immediately. "Maximilian?"

"Yeah,"

"Do we want our son to get beat up at school? He'd be a little prick,"

"Dominic," Mom chastised me. "I happen to think Maximilian is a lovely name. We could call him Max for short,"

"Exactly." Ember agreed. She had a certain glow about her when she talked about the baby. It was a complete 180 compared to when she thought she wasn't pregnant. She really wanted this. "Yeah, we're going tomorrow."

I narrowed my eyes at Ember. "Where are we going tomorrow?"

"Apple Hill to get our tree. I figured you wouldn't want me shopping, so I want to get our Christmas tree and decorate the house this weekend."

I scoffed. "Christmas is in a month, Ember." I pointed out. "Why do we need to get a tree now? Why do we need to decorate?"

I should've kept my mouth shut, because I had not only Ember, but also my mother glaring at me. "Fine. Whatever you want, Ember."

"Thank you." she said, and then went back to talking to my mom.

...Ember's POV...

"Do you really hate Maximilian?" I asked, snuggling up to Dominic. He sighed and wrapped his arm around me.

"If you really like it, then I guess it'll grow on me. We still have a while till we find out the sex, so until then, we can just leave it alone."

I nodded and kissed his cheek. "Thank you." I murmured. "I love you."

"I love you too, babe." he replied, and I smiled and rested my head on his chest. "So, when do you want to go to Paris?"

"I don't know. It would be nice if we could go for Christmas, but I want to stay here. Maybe January or February?" I offered. "I don't want to go past that because I don't want to arrive there as the only fat chick in Paris." I murmured half-heartedly. I honestly didn't care if anyone saw me like that. It would be all baby.

Dominic laughed. "You're gorgeous, Em." he promised. "You're hotter than any French girl,"

I leaned up on my elbow to look at him. "Do you forget that I'm a hundred percent French?" I asked, and he hissed in a breath, knowing he just fucked up. "So, when do you want to go tomorrow? It's supposed to be cloudy and around fifty, so maybe we could go early, get some hot cider and doughnuts and apples and then cut down our tree. And then we can get lunch and come home and put up the tree...what do you think?"

"I'm all for whatever you want."

I grinned. "Good. I still totally love you."

"Me too, Em. Me too."