Don’t You Wanna Stay Bonus Epilogue

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Deanna clapped her hands at the production crew who were bringing in furniture and accessories according to her master plan. “C’mon people. Just a couple more hours and we’ll be able to put this one to bed.” And then I can go to bed.

She was so very tired. Not surprising. It had been a whirlwind of a year. The final episode of Season One of Romance Your Renovation hadn’t even aired yet, and the network had picked them up for another three seasons. Bennet was thriving in her role as assistant producer. Wyatt was America’s new favorite sexy contractor. Deanna herself had indulged in design fantasies to her heart’s content. Their whole team was so incredibly lucky, but God, she couldn’t wait for the downtime between seasons.

The only break they’d had was to squeeze in their wedding, which wouldn’t have happened yet if Wyatt’s massive extended foster family hadn’t gotten involved and essentially planned the whole thing. Deanna had cried with relief that she hadn’t needed to decide one more thing, and she ended up married to the man she loved at the end of the day. Win-win, as far as she was concerned. That fast four-day trip to the Caribbean for their honeymoon a couple months before felt like a lifetime ago.

As she moved through the house, directing people here and there, Deanna dreamed about how they’d spend their vacation. Maybe they’d finally get to tackle more of their own house. Blackborne Hall still wasn’t finished. Turned out that running an entire show of this magnitude didn’t leave a hell of a lot of free time for their own projects. She thought she’d like to hit up some more flea markets to see what treasures there were to find. But sleep first. For maybe a week.

Her head swam and nausea roiled as she climbed the stairs to the second floor. When had she last eaten? Bennet probably knew. Bennet managed to keep up with everything. Her friend had gotten pulled off to deal with something regarding the shooting schedule tomorrow. Otherwise, she’d probably have been shoving a protein bar into Deanna’s hand. Honestly, she and Wyatt had done a lot better taking care of themselves when it had been just them running everything. Had she had any food that wasn’t takeout in the past two weeks?

As the negative thoughts tried to take hold, she shut them down. Really, it was fine. They had so very much to be thankful for. It was a small price to pay for getting to pursue their dream. At the top of the stairs, she turned left and into the new master suite. She fussed with the bedding and rearranged the pillows, artfully draping a chunky knit throw across one corner of the king-size bed. The whole thing said cozy and comfortable, and Deanna eyed the bed longingly before moving on to the room across the hall.

Wyatt looked up from where he was assembling the crib she’d picked out to go with the rest of the design for the Silvas’ little girl. “Nearly there. They’re gonna love this.”

As she stared at him, kneeling on the floor, with half a crib assembled, Deanna froze. “What day is it?”

“Uh… Wednesday, I think?”

But she was already fumbling her phone out of her pocket. “No, the date.”

“The fifth? We’re on schedule, honey. Don’t worry.”

But Deanna was worried. Because she wasn’t on schedule. When the hell was her last period? As she opened the app she used to track it, she felt the blood drain out of her face.

Oh God. Oh God.

Not since before their honeymoon. When she’d been taking antibiotics to knock out a sinus infection.

Oh God.

“Deanna? Baby, what’s wrong?” Wyatt scrambled up and crossed to her.

They didn’t lead the kind of lifestyle that lent itself to having a child of any variety. They hadn’t even talked about kids. She hadn’t even thought about it. There’d been so much going on there simply hadn’t been time or room to talk about everything. And now…

Tears sprang to her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ve ruined everything.”

“What are you talking about? The house turned out beautifully. It’s great.”

She shook her head. “No. No, not the house. The show. Everything.” The tears were falling in earnest now, and she didn’t know how to stop them.

“I don’t…” Consternation lit his face as he pulled her closer. “What are you even talking about? I don’t understand.”

“I think I’m pregnant.”

Her husband’s mouth fell open. “What?”

“I think I may be pregnant.” She wanted to close her eyes. To curl into a ball and sob. Instead, the braced herself to weather his reaction.

“A baby. That’s…” His face split into an enormous grin. “That’s amazing!”

Deanna frowned. “The show only just got started. I won’t be able to do all the manual labor while pregnant. How are we going to pull this off?”

He cupped her face in his broad, work-roughened palm. “I have no idea, but we’ll figure it out. You don’t have to be the one doing all the heavy labor around the job site. I know you like to do that, but you can design and take time off to do way more important labor.”

“Oh, God.”

“Before we freak out about it, why don’t we confirm this is actually a thing?”

“I’ve got you!” Bennet popped in from the hall, a box in her hand.

Deanna stared at it, then up at her friend. “Do I want to know why you have a pregnancy test in your Tardis bag of stuff?”

Bennet rolled her eyes. “Honey, you’ve been moody as hell for weeks. You’ve been off your food, and you’re never off your food. I suspected, so I’ve been waiting. Here. Go pee on a stick. Find out for sure.”

With trembling fingers, Deanna took the box. Wyatt came with her to the master bathroom and waited outside the water closet while she did her business. He was the one to set the timer on his phone before pulling her into a tight hug as they waited to find out if everything was going to change yet again.

“It may be a bit late to ask this, but do you want kids?”

Cheek pressed against the steady thud of his heart, she considered the question. “I mean, I used to. I always assumed I’d have them. And then I was grateful I didn’t, because that would’ve made the divorce from Blake that much worse. But I’m older and I just… assumed that wasn’t much of a possibility anymore. Things are so chaotic with the show, and I just don’t see how we can squeeze this in, too.”

“We squeeze in everything we find important. And look at all the others who’ve come before you. Chip and Joanna have what? Five kids now. Ben and Erin Napier have two. They figured it out. We will, too. If you want to, that is.”

Deanna pulled back to look at the man who was her everything. “With you, I do.”

The alarm on his phone began to sound, and they both looked over to the test on the counter.

“Well, that’s a good thing, because it looks like we’re doing this.”

She stared down at the double pink lines and felt the panic recede. “Holy shit. I guess we are.”

Wyatt grinned. “Best thing we ever made.”

He caught her mouth in a sweet, searing kiss.

From outside the master bedroom door, Bennet hollered, “Well? C’mon! We’re dying of suspense here!”

Laughing, he pulled her across the room and flung open the door. “Y’all are gonna be aunts and uncles!”

An epic cheer rose from the crew. And as they accepted all the well wishes and congratulations, Deanna reflected that this baby would never lack for family of any kind.

 

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I’m so glad you enjoyed Deanna and Wyatt’s story! Don’t miss the next installment of the Men of the Misfit Inn series. Griff and Sam’s story is a twofer, with a backstory novella dealing with their surprise Vegas wedding and the second chance romance happening in the now. Pick up your copy of Until We Meet Again and Come a Little Closer today!