Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 128260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
“Did you think I wouldn’t be?”
She shook her head. “I thought you’d be happy, but I wasn’t sure… The timing… I know you have a lot going on and we’re…”
“Grace,” I said, looking into her eyes. “I’m happy,” I repeated, letting her see in my face that it was true.
When she nodded, tears appearing in her eyes, I said, “Marry me, Grace. Marry me today. Let’s go to one of those chapels on the Strip. We’re already practically living together. Let’s make it official.”
She laughed through her tears. “I don’t want you to marry me because I’m pregnant.”
“Marry you because… Grace, I’ve been waiting to marry you for five years now. Maybe I didn’t exactly know it, but it’s true.”
She laughed and then leaned in and kissed me softly before replying, “Okay, I’ll marry you. But not in a chapel on the Strip. I want our friends and family there.”
“Okay, whatever you want, buttercup.”
After a minute, I pulled away from Grace, frowning as something occurred to me.
“What?” she asked.
I put my hand on her belly. “I think this needs to be a boy. I don’t know if I can handle having a daughter.”
She smiled a gentle smile at me, understanding my reasons for that. “If I remember my biology lessons correctly, the man is in charge of the baby’s sex.”
I breathed out. “Okay, then it’s in the bag,” I said. I bent down and whispered to her belly, “Hey, Junior.”
She grinned and kissed me, for the second time giving me a secret and changing my life.
EPILOGUE
Grace
One year later
“That is the saddest tree I’ve ever seen,” Audrey muttered, tilting her head to look at it.
I laughed, stepping back and admiring the half-bare, leaning tree, weighed down by the heavy strands of outdoor lights, standing—for now anyway—in the middle of our cabin.
“I love it,” I sighed. “Anyway, it’s our first tradition. Don’t knock it.”
Audrey continued to look at the tree with a disapproving expression. I swatted her playfully on her ass.
She let out a shriek and jumped away from me, laughing. “Fine, fine. Maybe I’ll learn to love it too.” She looked at the tree and tilted her head again.
I grinned, shaking my head. I started to turn toward the kitchen, where I was in charge of basting the twenty-pound Christmas Eve turkey we had in the oven, when the door burst open and all the men came crashing loudly into the cabin.
“We’re back, ladies,” Josh yelled. “Who’s in for naked hot-tubbing?”
I laughed and Audrey rolled her eyes. I saw her look around Josh, her eyes landing on Dylan. He caught sight of her and stilled, adjusting his glasses. Interesting. I’d have to ask her about that later. I’d noticed more than a few heated looks going on between those two this week.
Just as Carson had promised me a year ago, we had come back to Snowbird for Christmas. Only this time, our family and friends were with us and instead of lots to worry about, we had much to celebrate.
Unfortunately, there was one person who hadn’t been able to join us and that was Abby. But she had a really good reason—she was almost nine months pregnant and not able to fly. Her little boy, Kyle, and the new baby would only be thirteen months apart, but as Abby said, that’s what happens when you drink three margaritas on your first night out postpartum. A warning to us all. Truthfully, her and Brian were thrilled.
We had rented a big, ten bedroom “cabin” and had spent the week skiing, snowboarding, and playing in the snow, with me strictly doing the latter. My muscles still remembered last year’s lesson and weren’t interested in signing up for more. Everyone had at least one gift. Snowboarding was not mine.
“Carson missed an epic afternoon on the slopes,” Leland said, hanging his jacket up.
“I was busy doing something way better,” Carson said, coming out of the bedroom, our daughter curled up on his chest. “I was cuddling in front of the fire with my girls.” He grinned. “And decorating our tree.” All the men looked over at the tree Carson was referring to and tilted their heads as a unit. I huffed out a breath as Carson walked up to me and put one arm around my shoulders, kissing my head.
“Oh God, he’s choosing cuddling and decorating over sports,” Josh muttered. “Time to hand in your man card, Carson.” Josh shook his head, feigning deep sadness.
Carson raised his brows. “Yeah, your day is coming, my man. Mark my words. And when it does, payback is a bitch.”
“Hey, watch your mouth. My girls are in this room,” my dad said, coming out of his room where he had been napping.
Carson looked appropriately repentant as he said, “Sorry, sir,” but a corner of his lip quirked up as my dad walked by and punched his shoulder lightly.