Page 99 of The Grump I Got Stuck With

She perked up a bit once I set her down. “Where’s the baby?” she asked, looking around.

“He’s not quite here yet,” Weston whispered to her. “This is where we have to wait until Uncle Locke tells us he’s born.”

Kenna scowled, crossing her arms. “I don’t want to wait.”

Lena chuckled. “I’m sure Uncle Locke and Auntie Isla feel the same.”

“Here, why don’t you guys watch some Atomic Kitten Rescue?” Weston said to Aisling, handing over a tablet. “Just keep the volume low.”

While the girls got their fill of screen time, in between yawning and blinking blurrily, Weston and I wore tracks into the floor.

“I still remember when we did this waiting for Kenna,” he said. “While you were off doing the dad thing, Locke and I went stir crazy.”

I chuckled. “Didn’t you guys end up at the café?”

“Yeah, and I thought Locke was never going to stop eating. The guy packed it away so quickly, I was worried he was going to explode.”

I remember hearing how nervous they’d both been. I felt some of that now, too, but mostly excitement, and a longing in the pit of my stomach that I was choosing to ignore.

About thirty minutes later, Locke appeared, half dazed. “You made it!” he said, coming over to greet us.

“How is she?” Lena asked.

“The doc says she’s almost ready to start pushing.”

“Then why the bloody hell are you out here with us?” I said, practically shoving him back the way he came.

“I’m gonna be a dad!” Locke hollered, shooting us a grin before disappearing through a door.

Weston barked a laugh. “Watch the guy miss his own son’s birth because he’s out here giving us updates.”

“He would never,” Lena said. “Isla would kill him.”

I hummed in agreement, then slumped down in the chair next to Kenna, filled with a strange mix of anticipation and disappointment. As I glanced from Weston to Lena, taking in the adoring look they shared, that gnawing pit in my stomach ached.

Madison should have been here tonight to share this moment. But there was no us, despite how desperately I wanted that.

Weston came to sit next to me about twenty minutes later. “How are things with you and Madison? Any progress on that front?”

I blew out a heavy breath, then leaned against my knees, hands folded together. “I actually talked to her today.”

“How’d it go?”

“I told her I loved her.”

“And?”

The words burned coming out as I said, “I guess it wasn’t enough.”

Weston was quiet for a long moment. I hung my head, waiting for him to tell me to give up. He nudged me instead. “Remember all the mistakes Locke made trying to win Isla back?”

I nodded.

“It took him a while, but eventually, he figured out that it wasn’t financial security that Isla and their son needed most but simply his presence.” Weston nodded a few chairs down. “And when I screwed things up with Lena⁠—”

“You had Jo publish that article in the town newspaper and send it to her,” I said. “Yeah, I remember.”

Weston nodded. “I guess what I’m saying is that if Madison said it wasn’t enough, then you need to figure out how to make it enough. It’s not just about loving her—it’s about making her feel loved and valued. It’s about showing you understand what she wants and needs and working on being the man who can give it to her.”