A Broken Fate (The Beautiful Fate Series book 2) (38 page)

“Oh, my God, Ava. I love you so much.”

Ari put me back on my feet and his hands flew to my stomach, then to my face, then back to my stomach.

Tears rolled down my cheeks and he wiped them away with his thumbs. He was speechless.

Murmers and questions broke out in the kitchen and finally Rory picked up the box and flipped the lid back.

“They’re pregnant!” He announced happily as
he passed the little picture frame, holding the grainy black-and-white first photo of our tiny baby, around the kitchen. Our loving family members gasped and shed tears of joy. “Mama. Baby. Daddy. Max,” Max said, and Ari’s eyes twinkled.

“He knew!”

“Uh huh, he knew. He knew before I did.”

“Why didn
’t you tell me, Max?” Ari asked as he picked him up in our little family hug.

“I did,” Max grumbled.

Once the kitchen calmed down, Aggie began to cut the cake. She slid me a piece with a sly smile and I happily took it. Ari started to slide my plate down the line to pass it to the next person like he usually did and my eyes went wide. I nearly stabbed his hand with my fork.

“Ma, you know Ava doesn
’t eat this stuff,” Ari huffed.

“She doesn
’t, but that little baby does, Ari, so you better give that cake back before you get hurt.”

He looked at me with a confounded little look.

“You told my mom before me?”

“No, I didn
’t. I can’t help it that she decided to be observant one day out of the year. She saw me eat one tiny bite of pie and instantly knew I was pregnant.”

I took a bite of cake and it was the sweetest, most amazing, mouthwatering thing I had ever eaten. Ari watched me eat every last bite of my slice of his birthday cake with a giant smile. His hands never left my tummy.

That night Ari kissed my belly and then whispered to the baby. “I love you. You hold my heart in here. Be careful with it; I can’t live without it.”

####

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cat Mann has lived her entire life in central Illinois, but her interests and passions span the planet. She loves skiing, French music and working with the written language.

A self-proclaimed hermit, she is happiest at ho
me reading, writing and scouring the far corners of the internet for new musical artists -- artists she skillfully weaves into her tales of the offspring of ancient Greece. She is happily married to her amazing and awe-inspiring best friend, Derek Mann, and together they have created two beautiful daughters.

A
Broken Fate
is Cat’s second novel in
The Beautiful Fate Series
. The third installment of
The Beautiful Fate Series
,
A Forsaken Fate
, will be available 2014.Visit Cat on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/authorcat.mann and keep up with Cat on her blog http://authorcatmannblog.blogspot.com/.