In the End

80: Do You Know How Much I Love You?

Pushing the door of his hotel room closed as quietly as he could, Gerard shuffled through the room, carefully balancing the cup holder in his hand as he ducked back into the bedroom. He had woken up early, with him having informed Estella the previous night that he wanted a few hours alone with Ariella before they arrived to collect Toby, the older woman had sent him a text to inform him that the little boy had been fine overnight, and whilst it had disturbed what had been a particularly comfortable night’s sleep, it had allowed him to slip out to collect breakfast before Ariella had woken up, something he was a little proud of, even if they could have simply ordered room service. He wanted to make sure that their first morning as a married couple was as calm and relaxed as it could possibly be.

They still had to talk, after Ariella’s revelation the previous night, his mother had been quick to interrupt their moment and usher them back into the reception, and whilst he hoped that his reaction had been enough to show her just how excited he was at the prospect of their family growing by another member, he knew that they had to talk, even if it was just to establish that they were on the same page. He knew that they couldn’t just ignore it. Padding across the hotel suite, he carefully bumped the bedroom door open with his hip before he stepped inside, his eyes quickly settling on Ariella who was sat up against the bed’s headboard, scrolling through something on her phone.

Quirking a small smile, he took a couple of seconds to admire how beautiful she looked, before he cleared his throat, something which caused her to look up, a smile quickly lighting up her features. “Where’ve you been?” she asked.

Gerard lifted his hands, showing off the cup holder and the bag of food which he held. “I went out to grab us some breakfast” he replied “Why? Did you miss me?” he teased, toeing off his shoes before he padded back towards the bed, plopping down onto the unoccupied side of it.

Ariella scoffed. “I wouldn’t say that” she played along “Though, I will admit that I was pretty surprised to wake up and find the bed devoid of my brand new husband” she added, her smile widening a fraction as the word ‘husband’ slipped out of her mouth. They couldn’t stop themselves, since they’d walked away as husband and wife the day previous, both Ariella and Gerard had taken every opportunity to use the new titles in conversation, and it never failed to make either of them smile, something they were both hopeful would last for a little while to come.

Gerard rolled his eyes, but couldn’t keep the grin away from his lips, something which made Ariella smirk triumphantly before she leant across him, collecting one of the cups. “This is for me?” she asked.

Gerard nodded. “It’s tea” he mused “It is what you drank when you were pregnant with Toby, wasn’t it?” he asked, trying to stifle the grin which itched to spread across his face by taking a sip of his own drink.

Ariella spared him a brief glance, not missing the way that his expression had brightened, before she nodded softly, her fingers gently messing with the duvet which covered her stomach. Gerard watched the movement of her hand for a moment before he shuffled down the bed slightly, leveling himself with her stomach. Stopping for a second, he rested his head against the mattress before he gently reached his hand out, slotting his fingers through hers before he settled her hand back over her stomach. “I love this” he mumbled, disturbing the silence which hung around the two of them.

“Huh?” Ariella spluttered.

“You being pregnant again” Gerard replied “I love it, and I just wanted to say that. I don’t think I actually said that last night” he added, lazily brushing his thumb over the back of her hand.

Ariella tilted her head. “You mean that?” she murmured.

Gerard nodded firmly. “Of course I do” he mused “I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that it’s a little soon, and that we’ve not talked about it much, but honestly? I could care less about that. I’m crazy about you, Ella, I love you and Toby so much too, and the idea that you’re carrying around another little baby, it’s crazy, but it’s the best kind of crazy. You’re not wrong, we haven’t talked about it, not really, and Toby’s only just turned one, so maybe it’s soon, but really, none of that matters to me. All that matters is that you, my beautiful wife, are pregnant with our baby and that is something which makes me very, very happy” he insisted gently before he dipped down, pressing a scattering of kisses to the top of the duvet which covered her stomach.

He knew that she had concerns, the way that she had tried to shy away from telling him the previous night had confided her nervousness to him, and he didn’t want to hesitate in offering her reassurance. He didn’t care that the timing wasn’t perfect, or that it wasn’t something they’d really discussed. He was just happy that she was pregnant.

Ariella watched him for a couple of seconds before she quirked a soft smile, her blue eyes growing slightly tearful. “Do you know how much I love you?” she murmured, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

Gerard, who’d been gazing down at her stomach, looked up at the sound of her voice before he quirked a boyish smile. “I think I have an idea” he quipped “I mean, I like to hope it is as much as I love you” he added, dropping a soft kiss against the back of her hand which was still held in his.

Ariella smiled down at him tearfully, marveling at the loved up smile which lit up his face, before she gently shifted her other hand, cupping it around his cheek before she leant into him, pressing their lips together. Gerard grinned into the kiss, returning it enthusiastically for a few seconds before Ariella jerked away from him, flashing him a slightly apologetic glance before she sprung out of the bed, almost sprinting away towards the bathroom.

Gerard blinked a couple of times, surprised by the sudden movement, before he moved to sit up on the edge of the bed for a couple of seconds, unable to shake the smile away from his face. The news was a surprise, as it had been when they’d found that she was expecting Toby, the idea that Ariella was pregnant for the second time had come out of the blue, but still he was thrilled. He loved the idea of their family growing.
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Thanks to FootieJo for the comment :)