Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Brogan snuggles close to me, and I wrap my arms a little tighter around her waist. “Love you,” I whisper, keeping my words soft just for her. She turns her head to smile at me, and I lean in for a quick kiss. Just a peck on her lips, but it’s perfect.
“It’s so weird with the kids not being here,” Forrest speaks up.
“It is, but it’s also nice to know they’re safe and that we can unwind a little,” Monroe says.
“You want to unwind with me, baby?” Legend asks her.
“Later.” She winks, and Legend pulls her into a kiss so heated, I’m sure someone flying overhead in a plane would feel uncomfortable watching them.
“I agree,” Emerson adds. “I love my daughter, but it’s nice to have a night just to be us, how it all started.”
“Might be a good time to give Lilly a little brother or sister.” Monroe winks at her best friend.
“Now that I can get behind. What do you think, baby girl?” Roman asks his wife. “Time to head home?”
“No.” Emerson chuckles. “It’s not time to go home, but if you’re not too tired, we can probably make time when we get home.”
“La la la la la,” Forrest sings loudly. “I love you both, I do, but, dude, she’s my sister,” Forrest complains good-naturedly.
“She’s my wife,” Roman counters. “You’re going to have to get past it.”
“Leave them alone,” Briar tells her husband, and he instantly turns all his focus to her. Even with nothing but the light of the fire, I can see his entire demeanor change. He softens for her, just as he does with their daughters.
“Baby, she’s my little sister.”
“And he’s your best friend, her husband, and the father of your niece. It’s been years, Forrest. You know she’s in good hands,” Briar reminds him.
“Oh, she’s in expert hands, all right,” Roman quips.
Forrest groans, and everyone else laughs at their antics. We all know Forrest has accepted the two of them and that he knows how much Roman loves Emerson. He’s just playing, and the twitch of his lips as he’s also trying not to laugh is a testament to that.
“At least with the kids here, I have someone to snuggle,” Maggie quips.
“Aww, Mags, you need me to snuggle you?” Lachlan asks her.
Maggie crosses her eyes and sticks her tongue out at him, and we all snicker.
“How are you feeling?” Emerson asks Briar.
“Good. Really good.” Her eyes meet Forrest’s, and I swear his smile lights up the night sky.
Not that I can blame him. If my wife were pregnant, I’d be beaming too. Speaking of. “When can we do that?” I whisper to Brogan.
“Do what?” she whispers back.
“Have a baby.” I slide my hands under her shirt and rest them protectively on her belly. Fuck me, the thought of my wife growing a part of us is an aphrodisiac.
She sits up from where she was leaning against my chest so that her eyes are level with mine. “A baby?” Shock is written all over her face.
Keeping one hand on her belly beneath her shirt, I raise the other to rest against her cheek. “Yeah, we both want a family.” I pause. Has she changed her mind? “That’s still what you want, right? To have a family? With me?” Even I can hear the worry in my tone, and if this woman sitting on my lap didn’t mean the world to me, I might feel a little ashamed of the fear that’s simmering in my veins.
“I want a family.”
I swallow hard. She wants a family, just not with me. That’s a kick to the gut that I wasn’t expecting.
“With you,” she says, leaning in close. “Only with you. I could never imagine being… intimate like that with anyone but you. I know you’d never hurt me, Maddox.”
Fear instantly fades to my heart, throwing a rager in my chest. “Never. I only want to love you, Brogan.”
“So, you’re ready? To have a baby?”
I nod. “When you are. You tell me when.” I slide my hand behind her neck and pull her lips to mine. “In the meantime,” I murmur, “we should practice.”
“You know we can hear you, right?” Lachlan asks.
Brogan giggles, burying her face in my chest. “Then you heard me and the love of my life, my wife, Mrs. Lanigan, discussing when we’re ready to add to the Everlasting Ink family.”
“Well, hurry it up,” Lachlan tells us. “We need one more, so we don’t have to fight over the ones we have now.”
“Hey, we’re almost there,” Forrest speaks up.
“Babe, I’m barely pregnant.” Briar laughs.
“Yeah, but the deed is done. We’re ahead of all of them,” Forrest reminds her.
“Baby girl, you hear that?” Roman asks. “Are we going to let them win?”
“Well, first of all, they already have us by one, and one on the way, so yeah, I think we are.” Emerson snickers.