Carson’s POV
“No! No! Selena, you can’t! Stop! You’re going to wake up!” Justin’s frantic screams filled our hotel room as he tossed violently.
“Justin, wake up.” I sighed. He hadn’t been sleeping in the last couple of weeks and I knew why.
He had seemed excited about the pregnancy at first, but the nightmares had grown worse in the last few weeks. He tried to act so excited all the time, but the nightmares were cluing me into how he really felt.
“I’m sorry.” He muttered in his sleep as he woke up just enough to wrap his arms around me and pull me into his body. His hand rested on my growing stomach, which was just barely beginning to pop out now. Thankfully, it had been a pretty easy time so far and we had managed to keep it a secret from the public and the majority of the crew and team. I was already twenty-two weeks pregnant, over halfway done, and no one had any idea. Not even Sophie.
“It’s okay.” I sighed as I rolled over to face him. “I want to tell Sophie today. I know we wanted to wait for a while to let her get used to our relationship, but it’s been twelve weeks. For our little six-year-old, that’s practically a lifetime.”
“We can tell her. You should be prepared that she’s going to completely blow up, but we might as well get it over with so she can calm down by the time this little boy gets here.” He grinned as his hands caressed his soon-to-be son, or daughter.
“Don’t get your heart set on a son. It could be another daughter.”
“Who I will love just as much, but I would really love a little boy.”
Justin’s POV
Even though Carson was nearly six months pregnant, she was barely showing. It had been easy to keep it a secret as she casually wore flowing shirts or roomy dresses that didn’t offer views of her changing body.
Only several people in our team knew about the pregnancy. Francia, who had designed Carson’s onstage costumes flew out with new designs to help camouflage the barely visible bump Carson had developed. We knew it wasn’t a permanent fix, but it at least had bought us six more weeks before we rocked Sophie’s world. She was living the life having Carson and I finally together, but that life was about to be changed.
“So is this a pub?” Sophie asked as we walked inside of the small Irish joint we had selected for lunch. Sophie had been wanting to go to a real Irish pub, though she had no idea what that really was.
“This is a pub,” I laughed as we slid into one of the back booths. We waited until our food arrived to bring up the news.
“So, Soph,” Carson tried to start. “Daddy and I love you very much, you know that right? We will love you no matter what.”
“I know,” She smiled.
“We will still love you a lot, even when you aren’t the only child to love.”
“What?” Sophie’s eyebrow perked up as she looked at me. “What is going on?”
“You’re going to be a big sister! You’re going to have a baby brother or sister in a couple of months.”
For a second she just looked at us, completely confused by the news. I couldn’t read her face very well as I watched her trying to process the news.
“You’re having a baby, Mommy? You have a baby in you?”
“Mhmm.” Carson nodded. “You’ll be a big sister by the end of August.”
“What if I don’t want this baby? What if I said no?” She was challenging us and I knew it as she gave us a devious grin.
Carson’s POV
“Sophie, you don’t really get a say in this.” Justin said, half laughing. “I know it’s hard to think about, but you still have a long time to get used to the idea.”
“No! I don’t want to be a big sister!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, causing the whole restaurant to turn and look at us. “Send your baby somewhere else because I am your baby and I will not share you! I don’t want you to have a baby! I am your baby! I am the only baby and that is how it is supposed to be!”
The entire restaurant turned to look at us as Sophie blew up. We had picked a public place because we thought it would distract her. We wanted to take her out for a special outing so that she could see how important she was to us.
I realized that plan had completely blown up in our faces. Now we had a whole restaurant of people who knew our big news before the majority of our friends and family. Justin and I had been trying to figure out how to announce it, but we hadn’t even considered that Sophie might do that for us.
“Sophie!” Justin yelled as she stood up and ran out of the restaurant. I let him go after her. They had always been close and they had a special bond. I knew right now, she needed time with him.
Justin’s POV
I followed Sophie out of the restaurant and immediately spotted her walking on the side of the road.
“Soph, you think you’re winning but you’re not.” I said from a couple of paces behind her. “I don’t care if we walk. I’ll follow you. We can walk as far as you want, but that isn’t going to change anything. Mommy is still going to have a baby.”
She kept walking for a couple of more paces before she turned around and looked at me.
“I don’t want you to love that baby more than you love me,” she said quietly. The way that her voice cracked as she started to cry made my heart break.
“There’s no way. You’re my Sophie. I love you more than anyone.” I picked her up and her arms clasped tightly around my neck.
I started to walk back towards the restaurant, but I walked slowly. I wanted her to be a little more calm when we went back to Carson. Stress was something that only caused problems, and our little drama queen was always causing more than enough stress for us. I wanted to take a shot at getting her calmed down.
“What about Mommy? Will she still love me? What if the baby takes up all her time?”
“You know what, your mommy has proved to me several times over that she isn’t going to let anything get in the way of your relationship. She loves you so much and a baby won’t change that.”
“If anything, she will probably like you more because you won’t wake her up three times a night and you know how to use the bathroom so she doesn’t have to wipe your butt anymore. You can actually use words and you don’t scream constantly. And, you’re pretty darn cute.”
“You promise you won’t forget about me when the baby is being all needy and dependent?”
“Are you sure you’re six?” I cocked an eyebrow at her as I laughed. “You use some pretty big words for a six-year-old.”
“Well, Daddy, that’s because I’m almost seven.” She giggled. The smile on her face was finally back. I hadn’t ever imagined Sophie as a big sister because I thought she would be my only child, but I couldn’t wait to see how she was going to rise to the occasion and be the best big sister a baby could want.
