Chapter 32

                                    

                                          

A couple of weeks had passed since Morgan and I had gotten engaged. I was now 30 weeks pregnant and fully settled into our new Nashville home. Jared and I had not talked since the incident and my practitioner was now Dr.Engler. It pained me deeply to not have my best friend by my side through this huge milestone, but it felt, at times, like things could never go back to the way they were between us. Morgan had been adamant that he did not want me to see Jared by myself, and while I had absolutely no fear whatsoever that he would try to force himself onto me or anything like that, I still respected his wishes. I knew I'd probably be making similar requests, had I been in his shoes and so I did what I could to keep him as comfortable as possible with the situation. We hadn't set a date for our wedding yet, we had both agreed that we should wait until the baby was born and then play it by ear. We knew we'd be too busy as new parents to add planning a wedding to our list of responsibilities, so we decided to focus on our family for now. And I could genuinely say, for the first time in a long time, that I was happy. I had the man of my dreams taking care of me through every waking moment. My daughter had the best father figure I could have ever asked for and an amazing little brother whom she loved to play with. And I was going to have another baby that would be born in a house filled with love and joy, which is more than I could've dreamed of a year ago. The stars seemed to have finally aligned. I did miss Jared, I'd be lying if I said I didn't. But, I couldn't jeopardize my relationship with Morgan, even if it meant having to leave one of the most important people in my life behind. For now, at least. 
Lesli and Morgan's sisters had planned an amazing baby shower for us. They had invited all of our friends and family to join us and celebrate our daughter. 
"We have to pick a name, people are gonna ask us," Morgan said as we drove to Lesli's house for the party.
"You don't like any of the names I suggested!" I complained.
"Because, I don't want my daughter to end up with a name like Eleanor," he joked. 
"Hey!" I said defensively. "Eleanor's a beautiful name, and you already have a step-daughter named Eleanor so that can't even happen," I frowned. He giggled, putting his hand on my thigh gently. 
"I just want her to have a cool name, like Indie," he said.
"Ellie's a cool name! It was my grandma's name," I pouted.
"I know, I know," he said softly. "What about Willow?" He suggested. I snorted.
"Willow Wallen? Seriously? Willy Wonka while you're at it?" I laughed.
"I hadn't put both names together," he mumbled, rolling his eyes. "What about, Sailor?" He asked. I played with it in my head a little. Sailor Wallen. Definitely out of the box. 
"I don't hate it," I said. He smiled.
"What about her middle name?" He asked.
"Lesli," I responded instantly.
"Really? You want to name her after my mom?" He confirmed softly, visibly touched by my answer. I nodded. "She'll be over the moon."
"So is that it? Did we just pick a name?" I asked him, excited. He chuckled.
"I think so. Sailor Lesli Wallen. It has a nice ring to it."
"It does," I agreed as he pulled into the driveway to his parents' house. Lesli was waiting for us on the porch, as per usual. I waved at her and she waved back. Morgan parked and came to help me climb out of his lifted truck.
"Aren't you a sight to see!" Lesli yelled as I walked towards her. "That little girl is really growing!" She said, pointing to my belly. I giggled.
"Yeah, a little too big if you ask me," I joked.