Right now, they were riding up in the elevator to Axel and Maisie’s suite, and he wondered if they were going to tell everyone tonight about the baby. He shook his head even as he felt himself smile.
“What’s that smile about?” Evie quietly asked as she looked up at him.
Looking down at her literally made his chest ache. She was smiling and was so damn beautiful, and the thought of not seeing her every day was almost more than he could bear.
“Slater?”
“I was just thinking about something Axel told me earlier, and I’m curious if he’s going to tell everyone tonight.”
“You mean about the baby?” she whispered.
His eyes went wide. “You know?”
Nodding, she said, “Yup. I ran into Maisie yesterday and she swore me to secrecy. She was so happy, and I really hope they say something tonight because it’s killing me not to talk about it!”
Tugging her close, he hugged her. “Same.”
The elevator doors opened, and they both reluctantly broke apart to step out. The door to the suite was open, and voices carried out into the hallway, letting them know they were probably the last ones to arrive.
And it was confirmed when they walked in.
“Hey, look who’s finally here!” Connor called out with a laugh. “Now we can finally put food out!”
After that, it was a borderline party with everyone wanting to talk to Evie and telling her how much they were going to miss her. Walker handed out drinks, Harlow and Nora placed platters of appetizers on the massive dining table, Lexi was sitting and talking to Jonah and Annabeth, while Axel and Maisie were whispering to each other in the corner.
Once everyone had a drink, he figured they’d do it; they’d announce their baby news. But Milo tapped his glass to get everyone’s attention first.
“Hey,” he began. “I know we do this sort of thing a lot—getting together for dinner—but I think tonight there’s a lot to talk about.” Nora stepped up beside him, wrapping her arm around his waist. “First, I want to thank Evie for being willing to uproot her life for the last month to be here helping me get this remote office up and functioning. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Slater’s arm went around Evie as she whispered a thank you to Milo.
“You have been a constant in my life for the last several years, and it’s going to be strange to walk into the office on Monday and not see you there. I know you’re only a phone call or video chat away, but I hope you know there’s a place for you here always.”
He felt her head rest a little heavier against him as she thanked Milo again.
“And while I still have the floor, Nora and I would like to let you know that we have set a wedding date.”
Everyone started talking at once, but Milo held up his hand to stop them.
“We talked about it a lot and looked at schedules and discussed logistics, and we ultimately decided that we’d like a destination wedding. Sort of. No offense to the resort,” he quickly added. “But we’re going to get married on the West Coast.”
“I have a pretty big family,” Nora said. “And there’s a church back home that I kind of always wanted to get married in Sacramento, and Milo’s been sweet enough to indulge me.”
“That sounds amazing,” Lexi chimed in. “But what’s the date? Is it soon because…” She motioned to her pregnant belly.
“We are going to do it the second weekend in December,” Milo replied. “We wanted to make sure we were through with Thanksgiving and the fall season here at the resort so Nora could take time off and relax. Plus, we’re going to go on an almost two-week honeymoon and come back in time to spend Christmas with our families.”
“So, mark your calendars and start booking your flights!” Nora said excitedly. “We want everyone there!” Then she looked at Slater. “You may need to come back and cover for me, so when you leave this time, there better be a forwarding address.”
He laughed and shook his head. “As one of the owners of the resort, I will always be reachable so you don’t have to worry. And if I can’t be here, I’m sure you’ll train someone to handle everything while you’re gone.”
Naturally, everyone started talking again, but a few minutes later, Axel tapped his glass and loudly cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “First, we want to say congratulations to Milo and Nora. That is awesome news. Even though you’re not getting married here—which would have been amazing—we totally understand.” He smiled at Maisie before addressing everyone again. “But we may not be able to go with you.”
“Axel, if you’re worried about the resort, don’t be,” Walker assured him. “We have a great team here that can handle things if you go away for a week.”
“It’s not that,” Maisie said softly, her hand resting gently on her stomach. “But…I might not be allowed to fly at that point.”
You could have heard a pin drop before Lexi excitedly jumped up. “Because you’re having a baby?! Oh my God! That’s it, right? You’re pregnant?”
