Give Me Your Heart

“Are you sure that you don’t want me to take him with me?” Riley posed as she leant over, tying the laces of her shoes. It had been impromptu, the offer to head out to lunch with Antonella and Cassidy had come a little out of the blue, but Riley was more than slightly eager to accept it. It had been a while, she couldn’t quite remember the last time that she had had a girly lunch, and she was eager to take the opportunity.

Gerard, who was sat on the couch with Alexander, shook his head. “I think we’ll cope” he quipped “It’s not the first time I’ve watched him by myself, Ry, and Leo said that he and his boys would come over. You don’t have to worry, me and Alex will be fine” he enthused with a grin.

Riley offered him a look before she pushed herself up, moving to collect her jacket. “I shouldn’t be gone for too long” she quipped “The chances are that Antonella and Cassidy are going to want to ask about wedding plans and seeing as we have none, it should be a pretty short lunch” she quipped as she moved to wrap her coat around her shoulders.

It had been put on the back burner, since they’d discovered that Riley was expecting their second baby, they’d barely mentioned the idea of starting to plan their wedding, but it didn’t faze them, even if Gerard was keen to get married sooner rather than later, they were both more than content to focus on the impending new arrival.

Gerard, who’d moved to settle Alexander beside a few of his toys, smirked a little at the comment before he padded towards Riley, settling his arms around her waist. “You know, we can start planning any time you want to” he teased softly “I know your mother is counting down the days until you ask for her help and my mother would be than happy to help too…we could always start at least thinking about it” he enthused softly.

He didn’t want to pressure it, for a while, things between him and Riley had been better than ever, but he wanted to at least contemplate making a start, even if nothing was formally planned until the baby had arrived. He didn’t see the harm in coming up with a few ideas.

“You want to start thinking about it?” Riley teased, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“It couldn’t hurt” Gerard quipped, shrugging slightly “We can start to look at dates and things before the baby comes along and then, once he or she is here, we can start to plan properly. What do you think?” he posed gently.

Riley studied his expression for a moment before she quirked a small smile, pressing a brief kiss against his lips. “I think that that sounds like a plan” she enthused softly.

Gerard offered her a small smile before he ducked into kiss her once more, only for the sound of the doorbell to interrupt.

Riley spared a small giggle before she pecked his lips, quickly ducking back to pull the door open to Antonella and Lionel. “I’ll see you later?” she quipped as she moved to pick up her bag.

Gerard nodded. “Of course. Have fun” he enthused.

Riley flashed him another grin before she followed Antonella out of the house.

“You two look happy” Lionel quipped as he moved to settle his youngest son beside Alexander.

Gerard, who’d been watching Riley out of the door, shook his head. “Things are good” he enthused with a small shrug.

~#~
“So, Riley” Cassidy grinned as she placed a glass ahead of her friend. It had been a while, since she had gotten married, Cassidy had only seen Riley a few times, and she was keen to enjoy spending some time with her best friend, especially since opportunities to get together without her husband or Gerard seemed few and far between.

Riley, who’d been pushing the last of her starter around her plate, lifted her head, a knowing look on her face. “Cassidy” she warned softly.

“Come on, Ry” Cassidy grinned “You’ve been engaged for a while now. Are you honestly going to tell me that you’ve not even thought about what you want?” she teased.

Riley offered her friend a small look before she shook her head. “We’re not in a hurry” she noted softly “Things, since we found out about Alex, have moved pretty quickly, and right now, we’re just trying to take our time. We’re looking to start tentatively planning things, but the date is likely to be while off” she explained, trying to keep things vague.

Cassidy offered her a slightly dubious look before the sound of her phone echoed, causing her to excuse herself from the table.

Antonella, who’d been quietly watching the other two women, watched Cassidy pad away before she leant a little closer to Riley, carefully nudging her ribs. “How long?” she posed softly.

Riley tilted her head. “How long what?” she posed.

Antonella smiled. “How far along are you?” she rephrased.

Riley, who’d been sipping on her glass of water, stiffened a little at the argentine’s question before she flicked her eyes to her, her expression one of surprise. “W…What?” she stammered.

“Oh, come on, Riley” Antonella grinned “You and Gerard didn’t show up for New Years. You’ve been evasive when it comes to the idea of starting to plan your wedding, and you’ve not touched a drop of the wine that Cassidy gave you. You’re pregnant, no?” she teased amusedly.

Riley blinked a couple of times before she dropped her head, a hint of pink playing on her cheeks. “You can’t tell anyone” she mumbled.

“It’s not my news to tell” Antonella mused comfortingly “So, how far along are you?” she posed.

“About 9 weeks now” Riley mused softly “We saw my midwife a couple of weeks ago and she was pretty happy. We’re putting off telling other people until after the next scan” she added, sparing a small look down towards her stomach.

Antonella watched her for a second before she reached her hand out, gently squeezing Riley’s. “Congrats, Ry” she breathed softly.

Riley offered her a small smile before Cassidy padded back towards the table, plopping back into her seat before she leant down, fishing something out of her bag. “I know you want to take your time” she mused “It’s very much your style, Riley, but I thought you could use this. It came in handy for me when I was planning a wedding and, even if it isn’t going to be used right away, I thought you could use it” she added, placing the binder into Riley’s lap.

Riley spared it a small glance before she shook her head, a small amused smile on her face. “Gracias, Cass” she enthused “I am sure that it will come in handy eventually” she teased.