Christmas in Pine Island: A small town holiday romance

this little bundle of joy,” I tell her earnestly, relieved to feel truth in every word.
Stacy’s hazel eyes soften as she squeezes my hand. “Thank you, Chloe. Ryan is thrilled to be a big brother. It’s all he can talk about.” She laughs, though the sound is stifled through her tense smile.
Weird. Stacy is the most nurturing, easy-going of the three of us girls. Morgan and I jokingly called her ‘mom’ when we were roommates.
I eye her carefully. Maybe she’s just uncomfortable being in a bar while pregnant. Can’t blame her there. Even I think it’s a bit kitschy that we still come to this seedy place now that we’re not struggling twenty-somethings anymore.
Though I continue to congratulate Stacy and Jake along with the rest of the group, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a tiny bit envious. Donovan and I are so happy together . . . but I also feel so far from the baby-having stage.
Hell, we haven’t even set a wedding date yet!
I know it’s not a race, but Donovan and I have been together much longer than Stacy and Jake. Yet I know we’re nowhere near ready to be talking babies.
The only baby in our life is our company.
I love working at Dunn Advertising at Donovan’s side and making that business boom. After all, I’ve always been the career-oriented one. I learned early on that if you want something, you have to work tooth-and-nail for it—and I’ve done just that.
I worked my butt off to put myself through college and it paid off. I graduated near the top of my class and got my dream job and my dream man. I’ve always fantasized about being successful, and now I am . . . but lately, pestering doubts have started to creep in.
I don’t want to be married just to my job. I want more than that for my future. But what about Donovan? We’ve never really talked about what we want for our future beyond our career goals.
I steal a glance at my fiancé, recognizing the faint clench of Donovan’s tan jaw. He’s grinning too, but I can see his mind churning behind his bright blue eyes.
This baby news has set him on edge, too.
Is the reason he’s been dragging his feet on setting a wedding date just because we’re so wrapped up with work, or is it something more? Is it me?
He and I got engaged so quickly after we met. At the time, I was sure it was meant to be, but is he regretting his hasty proposal now? I mean, how could I blame him?
Donovan was engaged before he met me. He’d already fallen in love with someone. Someone he unexpectedly lost forever.
I’m not trying to replace Vivian, and Donovan doesn’t make me feel that way. But I have to wonder, can what we have ever truly compare to that first love of theirs?
I don’t have these doubts often. For the most part, we dealt with them early on in our relationship. But for some reason, this news from Stacy and Jake is dredging up old insecurities.
Am I enough for the handsome billionaire at my side?
Will he ever be ready for family life with me or will he always be married to his job first?
I sneak another glance at Donovan, wondering if I’m going to wake up and find this dream relationship of mine has been just that . . . a fantasy.
Terrified of the answer, I suggest another round and switch to my preferred method of liquid avoidance . . . cosmos.

Jacob Eckhart
As thrilled as I am to be here with everyone, I still find myself checking my watch every few minutes to see how close we are to going back home.
I know Stacy is excited about having gone out tonight so that we could finally share this big news with our best friends. We’re so busy between our professions and looking after my adopted nephew, Ryan, that we don’t have much of a chance for nights out anymore.
Even still, home is where I’d rather be.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that we’re here with the people who mean the most to us, and I'm glad that they can share in our joy, but I'm also keenly aware of how many other people are packed into Club Thorn right now. I would so much rather be back at my penthouse, safely inside, cooking a meal together while Ryan begs and pleads for a new puppy.
I miss my apartment’s security system. I pay good money to guarantee all the nosy cameras of NYC’s bottom feeders are a safe distance away.
As one of the NFL’s most elite players, the lesson I’ve learned hardest is that the paparazzi are never far away. They’re always hunting for a story they can pounce on. The truth doesn’t matter to them either. All that matters is the paycheck they get for anything that looks juicy.
It doesn’t matter that I’ve cleaned up my image since Stacy stole my heart. Every time we go out, one of them still bombards us, always quick to bring up my reputation as the Hartbreak Kid.
There might’ve been a time when I was a bit of a womanizer, but now my whole world centers around my fiancée and my nephew. I’ve always adored that little boy, but I’ve been raising him as my son since my sister, Jenny, died.
But even that’s not enough to get the vultures to back off. I can only imagine it’ll get worse once news of Stacy’s pregnancy breaks. I know I can’t hide it forever. Hell, I don’t want to hide it at all. If it were up to me I’d yell it from every skyscraper in the city. But I know it’s not worth the risk.
All that matters to me is keeping my family safe.
Even being at Club Thorn, which used to be one of my favorite haunts, has me on edge.
I'm constantly aware of anyone pointing a phone or camera in our direction.