“Nick?”
He looked at his sister, his pulse beating like a drum in his ears.
“You okay?”
No. He was screwed.
Chapter Three
BETWEEN THE SHOPS ONMain Street and this treed wonderland, Maisie’s Seattle loyalty wavered traitorously in favor of the small-town vibes. Their hostess and her son were so perfect that it was like central casting had chosen them to star in Maisie’s own holiday movie special. The one where she got to have the Christmas of her dreams.
She, her brother and sister, and their significant others had strolled the property as much as they could. Twenty-six acres was a lot of trees. Every gravel pathway between areas was dotted with solar lights. The trees at the front of the property, along with the weathered fencing that trailed along both sides of the long driveway she’d driven down, were strung with multicolor lights. They were glowing brighter now that the moon was peeking out from the darkening sky. Turning, she looked ahead to where Natalie and her husband, Kyle, walked hand in hand. Maisie’s brother was chatting on the phone while his husband, Colton, snapped photos on his phone.
Unable to suppress her perma-grin, Maisie lifted her cameraagain, pointing it in their direction. Natalie turned as Maisie captured her through the viewfinder. Even though her sister wasn’t really showing in a noticeable way, she rested one hand on her belly. Maisie took another photo.
Natalie held up a hand. “Stop. I haven’t even washed off the drive yet.”
Maisie took the extension off her camera, stowed it, and then placed the camera in the bag that hung across her chest. Up ahead, her brother, now off the phone, was saying something to the other guys, making their laughter float in the gentle breeze.
“You’re gorgeous. I can’t believe you’re going to be a mom,” Maisie said, a little sliver of envy twitching inside of her chest. She told herself repeatedly that she was fine on her own, that she didn’t need society’s version of perfect to make her life complete. But the truth was, she wanted what her sister and brother had. Hell, even what her parents had. She wanted a family. Children. A man who looked at her like she was all he could ever need.
She looped her arm through Nat’s as they followed the others back to the house. Despite their differences—Maisie dyed her shoulder-length hair darker than the natural shade of Natalie’s long, loose curls—they had a lot of physical similarities. They shared the same slightly upturned noses, brown eyes, and softly rounded jaws. Natalie had a few inches on her even though Maisie had wasted most of her childhood birthday wishes on getting taller.
“Ican’t believe I’m going to be a mom,” Natalie said. There was more than a hint of trepidation in her tone. “I’m scared, Maze. I’m good with animals. Great with animals. And most people, if I’m being honest, but babies? Unless they have fur, feathers, wings, or four legs, what do I know?”
She and Kyle ran a very successful veterinarian clinic in Lacey, Washington, that had recently been upgraded to a training and education facility in addition to an animal hospital.
Maisie pulled on her sister’s arm to get her to stop. “Hey.”
The moonlight reflected off the snow, making it look like they were walking on thousands of mini crystals.
Natalie sighed, looked at Maisie.
“First, you’ve got lots of time. You’re barely four months. Second, you excel at everything you do. You’ve got a great husband and all change is scary, especially when that change is a miniature human you’ll be solely responsible for.”
Natalie dipped her chin. “Not really smoothing out my anxiety here.”
Laughing, Maisie squeezed her sister’s arm. “You’re going to be a kick-ass mom. You’ve cared for every living thing since we were little kids. If anyone can do this and do it well, it’s you.” She believed that with all her heart. It surprised her to listen to her normally ultra-confident sister express doubt. Like, maybe she didn’t have it all figured out either.
“Everything okay?” Kyle joined them, his gaze on Natalie.
The love in it was a shot right to Maisie’s gut. He loved her so much she could actually see it shining in his eyes the way the moon did on the snow. Now it was Natalie’s gaze looking like it was full of tiny, glittering crystals.
“She’s having a mini panic about being a mom.”
Natalie stuck her tongue out, making Maisie and Kyle laugh. “Snitch.”
Dropping her hand, Maisie narrowed her gaze teasingly and taunted, “Big baby.”
Kyle put his arm around his wife’s shoulder and they started walking. The others had disappeared from view.
“It’s a toss-up as to which of you is more mature,” Kyle said, humor and affection lacing his tone.
“Me,” both sisters said at the same time.
The three of them laughed and Maisie felt like her face wasn’t big enough to hold her smile. She’d missed this. Kyle and Nat didn’t livefar away but they had busy lives and Maisie’s schedule fluctuated depending on the shoot. It was nice to have this time with all of them but, especially, her siblings.
“You’re going to be a great mom, Natalie,” Maisie said quietly.
