Page 76 of Sincerely, Mr. Braden

“Sure,” my father says. “I have to admit, son, I used to worry about you, never connecting with a woman for anything long term, when you have so much love to give. But you obviously knew what you were doing, and I’m glad you didn’t settle. You and Taylor seem really good together.”

“Honestly, Dad, I wasn’t looking for this.”

“That’s the understatement of the year,” my grandfather says. “You wore long-term-commitment repellent like aftershave.”

I laugh. “That’s true, Gramps. Nothing ever felt right with other women. Not like this. The minute I met Ellie, something clicked. I think about that a lot, actually, trying to understand what it is about her that draws me in every time she’s on my mind and every time I see her. I can analyze the hell out of any deal, but I don’t have the words to describe this.”

“That’s how you know it’s real,” my grandfather says.

“I guess, but you know me. I want to understand it, but it’s impossible. It’s not just one thing about her. It’s how she thinks, the way she loves, the way she takes care of everyone. It’s how she looks at me and calls me on my shit with sweetness rather than ire. It’s the way she sees the world and a hundred silly things, like how her hand fits in mine and that little sigh she makes when I hug her. It’s her resilience and the soft underbelly she hides from the world, which I will protect with everything I have.”

My father claps a hand on my shoulder and says, “Sounds to me like you found the words just fine.”

“No, that’s the problem, Dad. It’s not only those things. It’s a feeling I have when I’m around her. Like the whole damn world makes sense, and it wouldn’t matter if it didn’t, as long as she’s with me.” I down my drink in one gulp and set the glass on the bar. “I’ve never experienced anything like this before.”

“Don’t overthink it,” my grandfather says. “Good women make the world tilt without any rhyme or reason. We just learn to stand steady on the slope.”

“Is there a manual for this?” I grin. “Gravity boots, maybe?”

They exchange knowing looks.

“You keep being the man she deserves, and you’ll do fine,” my father says as he refills my glass. He hands it to me and lifts his glass in a toast. “To the one thing my analytical son will never understand.”

I toast with them, knowing I could spend a lifetime with Ellie trying to figure this out, and never regret a second of it.

When we sit down for dinner, the room is alive with that warm buzz only family can create.

Flynn glances down the table and says, “Hey, we don’t want to take away from Mom’s big night, but Sutton and I are dying to tell you—”

“You’re pregnant?” Clay exclaims from across the table.

There’s a collective gasp.

“N-no.” Flynn sputters. “Jesus, Clay, really?”

“Well, actually…” Sutton presses her lips together, her eyes twinkling.

Another gasp rings out.

Flynn’s eyes widen with shock. “Are you…? Are we…?”

“No!” Sutton bursts out laughing. “Don’t you think I would’ve told you first?”

At the same time the girls exclaim, “Aw!” Flynn exhales with relief, and everyone cracks up.

“Way to get my hopes up,” my mother says.

“Way to give me a heart attack,” Flynn says, putting his arm around Sutton and pulling her closer.

“I couldn’t resist,” Sutton says.

“You married a Steele, Flynn,” Wells says. “You know they’re all about pranks.”

“Dude, the look on your face was priceless,” Noah says.

“That was the shock,” Flynn says. “I’d be thrilled if we were pregnant. We just have a lot going on right now. Which brings me back to our real news. The studio greenlit a sixty-minute special featuring an expedition at Kubla Khan.”

Mom’s hand flies to her chest. “Oh, that’s wonderful!”