James
Afew months passed, encompassing an eternity of changes. The biggest and best change involved Reid and where he slept.
We had decided, along with Haley, that we were going to be together whether or not I rose to the throne. Therefore, it only made sense for them to move in. Reid could stop wasting his precious money on things he wasn't using, and he no longer had to work.
I loved being able to provide for him. I knew he wasn't with me for the money I had, but if I could give him what he needed and wanted, then I was going to do so, and gladly.
Haley had no problem with coming to live in the palace. I had warned her that things wouldn't always be so busy and exciting, but she reassured me that she would never get tired of living here.
To combat the wild newness of the situation, Reid imposed some stronger rules about what his daughter could do and when she could do it. I understood the importance of adjusting into a proper life, rather than treating this like a permanent vacation, since I'd made that mistake myself in the past. However, that didn't stop me from occasionally slipping her an extra piece of candy, or telling her she could do something that Reid had denied her.
And, okay, maybe I was also trying to get on her good side. I'd noticed her giving me some odd looks here and there, and I made it my mission to reassure her that I wouldn't be changing just because my relationship with her dad was more serious. I was going to stay fun, and warm, and kind.
One of the other big changes involved Reid himself. No one else would have noticed it, but I had the privilege of seeing him naked. Therefore, I knew he was putting on weight. He was starting to show.
Our baby was growing.
Each morning I woke up with him beside me was gorgeous, and this morning in particular was no different. I came to wakefulness slowly and luxuriously, sensations filtering in through the darkness of sleep: the scents of the perfume we'd sprayed last night before sex, the sheets tangled around my legs, and the warm press of Reid's body tucked against mine.
Rolling over, I wrapped my arms around him and drew him closer to me. His sleeping face was so relaxed and adorable, his lips parted ever so slightly. Tilting my head down, I touched my lips to his and kissed him. He stirred faintly against me, and then his eyes fluttered open.
"Good morning," he whispered, and yawned.
Leaning back, I said, "I even love your morning breath."
"Good," he grunted. "You're going to have to get used to it."
Smiling, I stroked my fingertips over his rounded belly. "You'll make the baby cry."
"The baby is going to grow up in a palace. It's going to be so privileged it should never have a reason to cry." Reid smiled back at me, placing his hand over mine.
I imagined I could feel the baby's heartbeat echoing in tandem with ours. Well, okay, I knew that wasn't possible. I had seen this precious little blob of mine in an ultrasound, and I had listened to its heartbeat race along much faster than my own, even though I had been nervous as hell at the time.
Still, it gave me satisfaction to daydream about such things. This whole pregnancy thing was a lot more magical than I'd expected.
"Speaking of crying, how many people are going to bawl today, do you think?"
After discovering Reid was pregnant, after straightening things out between us, we had unanimously decided that we should wait a while before announcing it to the rest of the world. There were rumors, but no one seemed to know for sure, especially since there were those kinds of rumors constantly in a competition like this.
