I closed my eyes and promised myself that being who we were, we could take this in stride. Then I realized she could also be having a baby mid-air.
Fuck. Will was right. It’s okay, though. We’ll never tell him I even had that thought.
“Okay,” I said as I reopened my eyes. “I’ll call ahead to the hospital and make sure they know we’re coming.”
Jacque remained supernaturally composed, just sending me a calm smile as she nodded. “I think that’s probably a good idea.”
By the time we landed, I’d aged approximately six years and both Jacque and I were fairly confident it had not, in fact, been Braxton Hicks. We made it to the hospital in a blur of flashing lights, rushed corridors, and a nurse yelling at me to stop sprinting because “you’re not the patient, sir.”
I respected the sentiment, but fuck. We’d barely made it here in time. I couldn’t stop moving now.
Only one ice-chip run later, our daughter arrived, a small, furious, perfect human being who immediately made her presence known by letting out a remarkably impressive wail. The staff didn’t seem either alarmed or impressed by it, but I was so proud of the sound, my chest swelled at least six sizes.
Jacque was exhausted, her hair damp against her forehead, but she was smiling as they finally handed her our baby. I just stared, pretty sure if I looked away, the whole scene might disappear, taking my gorgeous wife and our beautiful little girl with it.
“You’re quiet,” Jacque murmured a little while later.
“Yeah.” I blinked a few times, leaning over to press my hand against the baby’s side. She was all bundled up in a little blanket, but I could feel her in there, real and warm. “I was just thinking.”
“That’s probably dangerous,” she said lightly. “Is it a new skill you picked up in England?”
I wrinkled my nose at her. “Don’t ruin it.”
She laughed softly, drifting off to sleep not long after I settled the baby in a little bassinet next to her bed. I still just sat there, torn between who to stare at in any given moment, so floored by the miracle I’d just witnessed that I didn’t have words for it.
Naturally, that was when my brothers decided it was time for me to formulate words. Lots of them. My phone buzzed with an incoming video call and I took it, shifting the phone so he’d be able to see the small bundle in the bassinet next to me.
“Tell me that is whoat I think it is,” he said quietly. “Did you at least make it to the hospital in time?”
“Only just,” I said. “She and Jacque are both doing well, though. All’s well that ends well, right?”
“Wait, she?” Alex smiled. “Another little Westwood girl. That’s awesome news.”
Nate leaned into frame beside him. “Is she talking yet?”
“No, but she’s got a decent set of lungs on her,” I said. “Tell Theo to add one more to the guest list for his wedding.”
Alex’s smile widened. “We can always make room for another princess. Congratulations, Jess. We can’t wait to meet her.”
EPILOGUE
THEO
Spring had sprung in the desert, bringing with it hillsides that had turned yellow and orange with brittlebush and poppies. The cacti had bloomed with little white flowers. Even this barren landscape came alive after the winter.
It was the perfect time for a wedding, which was why today was the big day. I stood across from the dance floor, watching my family mingle with the locals while late afternoon sunshine caught on the strings of the lanterns swaying gently between mesquite trees.
Long tables dressed in ivory linen had been set up between the trees. A live band was tucked underneath a wooden pergola beside the dance floor. This was about as high class as it got in Quartz Pass, but I’d have been happy with a backyard barbeque as long as it meant I could marry Raquel.
In the two months since I’d moved to Quartz Pass, I hadn’t regretted it for even a minute. Living with Raquel had been a dream. Going to sleep together every night and making breakfast together every morning was so much more satisfying than I could ever have imagined. I was loving the easy, simple domesticity of it more and more every day.
We’d been working together on the house every night to turn it into everything we wanted it to be and we were finally almost done. She’d made it crystal clear from the day we’d landed back in Arizona that it was my home too, and after a few arguments about what that meant financially, we’d settled into the kind of life I’d always prayed I would have.
As I looked at her now, laughing with Kate and Jane beside our table, my heart skipped about a million beats.Maybe that’s an exaggeration considering I’m still alive, but fuck. She looks so goddamn stunning.
Miley had swept Raquel’s hair up into a messy, wavy-looking braid. They’d kept her makeup light but accentuated her lips with a dark red lipstick and her eyes in golds and browns. Her wedding dress was fitted at the top but short, the lace hitting just above her knees. She wore brown leather boots with it, and honestly, she looked like a model in a country wedding spread.
She turned and caught me staring at her. A soft smile spread her lips that made my heart go bat shit crazy all over again. After leaning toward Kate and Jane for a second, she started toward me, those gray eyes locked on mine. The way she looked as she made a beeline for me practically made me drool.
