••• FORTY-ONE •••

Sophie

The last couple of months had flown by in a blur as Ashton and I quickly made decisions about the wedding: the venue, my dress, and how big we wanted the ceremony to be. And to top it all off, the Blackhawks had made it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

We had to move the wedding date from June to mid-May, just in case they made it to the finals. To say I was stressed would be an understatement.

I sighed as I set Aurora down in her playpen and sat across from her. "Alright, young lady," I grinned, and she giggled as I helped her stand. "I need you to learn how to walk so you can be my flower girl for the wedding this weekend." She didn't understand what I was saying—she had just turned one a couple of weeks ago—but I wanted her to be our flower girl more than anything in this world.

Aurora wobbled slightly as she stood on her own. I scooted back a bit to give her space, then clapped my hands. "Alright, baby girl, walk to Mommy," I cooed. Aurora clapped her hands and grinned. I giggled, shaking my head as I held my arms out to her. "Come on, Rory! You can do it, sweet girl!" I exclaimed, watching as she took a small, shaky step toward me.

  "Babe?" I heard Ashton call from the kitchen, but I kept my focus on Aurora.

  "That's it, sweet girl! Walk to Mommy." I waved her forward as she took another wobbly step.

  "Soph?" Ashton called again, which made Aurora glance back toward him.

  "We're in the living room!" I answered, clapping to regain her attention. Thankfully, she turned back toward me without falling.

  "Oh my God, is she walking?" Ashton appeared in the doorway, his face lighting up.

  "She's taken two steps and hasn't fallen yet! I think this is it, Ash. I think we have a walker on our hands!" I squealed as Aurora took another step toward me. "Keep going, Rory! You're almost there, baby girl!"

Seeing her toothy grin as she took those final steps toward me is a memory that will be etched in my mind forever. Ashton and I erupted into cheers as I scooped her into my arms and I squeezed her tightly to my chest. Ashton jumped into the playpen, wrapping his arms around both of us and grinned proudly at Aurora.

  "Holy crap, she's walking!" He chuckled, stroking her short brown hair. I giggled, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

  "Hell yeah, she's walking! Our little girl can do anything." I kissed Aurora's cheek, and Ashton chuckled softly.

  "I can't believe how big she's getting. It feels like just yesterday I was taking you both home from the hospital." He sighed, shaking his head in disbelief before smiling down at me. "You two have filled my life with so much love and happiness. I honestly don't know what I did to deserve you both, but I'll forever be grateful to have you in my life. I love you both so much, Soph." He whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead. I closed my eyes, a smile spreading across my face.

  "We love you too, Ashton. I can't imagine my life without either of you." I admitted, opening my eyes to meet his. He smiled, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

  "I can't wait to marry you." He whispered. I grinned, leaning in to kiss him, but suddenly a wave of nausea hit, causing me to pull back. "What's wrong?" Ashton asked, concern filling his voice. I clenched my eyes shut, trying to breathe through the nausea and praying I wouldn't throw up all over the living room floor.

Thankfully, after a few deep breaths, the nausea faded. I slowly opened my eyes to see Ashton's worried expression.

  "Are you okay?" he asked, and I nodded.

  "Yeah, I'm fine. I don't know what happened, I just felt nauseous all of a sudden," I said, apologizing as I kissed him gently.

  "Don't be sorry, Soph. Why don't you go rest for a bit? I'll watch Rory." He smiled warmly as I handed Aurora over to him.

  "Thanks, babe. I have no idea why that happened, but I'll just lie down for half an hour and then come back to make dinner." I kissed him once more before climbing out of the playpen.

  "Take all the time you need, Sophie." He returned my smile. "I hope you're not getting sick before our wedding! You never get sick, and the last time you had nausea... well, you were pregnant with Rory." He chuckled as he helped Aurora stand up and practice taking a step.

I rolled my eyes as I laughed with him and then headed toward the stairs, but the closer I got to our bedroom, the more his words echoed in my mind. By the time I reached our room, my heart was pounding so loud in my ears that I couldn't hear anything. I pulled out my phone quickly and checked my period tracker to try and put my mind at ease, but the second it opened my heart dropped.

My period was due four days ago. With all the wedding planning, I must have missed the notification that it was late. I sank onto the edge of the bed, my breath shaky.

I needed to get a test, fast. I was starting to panic and needed answers before I lost my mind. My thoughts raced with possible reasons for my late period, and I knew stress could be one of them. With all the wedding planning and sleepless nights, I had definitely been feeling the pressure.

But other than stress, I had no idea what could be causing this. I sighed, rushing into the bathroom to get ready and head to the store to put an end to this unnecessary worry. But as I stared at myself in the mirror, pulling my hair into a ponytail, a wave of anxiety washed over me.

What in the world was I going to do if I was actually pregnant?