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“Don’t you start crying, Grove, or else this will turn into a real shitshow.” Luna pushed my hand aside. “I said my piece. He said his. Now, for goodness’ sake, put the boy out of his misery.”
Luna turned and marched out, slamming the door behind her. Brady and I stared at each other. Carefully, I rose from where I’d been behind the desk. Brady’s eyes widened as my belly came into full view. At almost twenty-six weeks, my belly was prominent these days. I slipped a hand over the roundness, feeling self-conscious.
Brady’s gaze jumped back to mine, but now there was fear there, sharp and dark. He swallowed. “That was a surprise.”
“Yeah, I guess it was.”
“I didn’t think she even knew my last name.”
I gave a watery chuckle. “No jokes. Not yet. I need to know what you meant by all this.”
“I meant exactly what I said. I want to be there for both of you.” Brady’s face was serious. “I’ve spent too much time doing what I thought I should. Too afraid to let myself enjoy my life. I’m ready to do what I want. And what I want isyou.”
“Did you just say you want to do me?”
“Don’t deflect. You said no jokes.”
“Fine. Don’t break my heart.”
“I could never do that. It’s self-preservation. Because hurting you, it would kill me, Cecelia.” He moved around the desk, taking my hand and pulling me until I rested gently against him. My belly bumped against the hard, flat plane of his body.
“Well, I have to say. You really nailed that interview, Mr. Martinez,” I said softly, my hands slowly moving up and over his shoulders to wrap around his neck. I pulled him tight as much as I could. “I’m a little scared, you know.”
His hands rose to settle on either side of my belly. Almost instantly, the baby in between rolled, pressing a foot to my ribs as he settled once again. Brady’s face was full of wonder. “Me too. But I have a sneaking suspicion that Luna isn’t scared of anything. So we can always rely on that.”
I laughed, but the sound was quickly cut off as Brady’s mouth found mine in a bruising, almost desperate kiss. Not that I minded. I ached for him, for the heat and solidity of him. I opened my mouth, letting my tongue reach for him, to taste him.
“I missed you so much,” I finally said, my breath coming quickly.
“I missed you too. More than you can imagine.” Brady pressed his forehead against mine, letting his hands stray low again, to press where our baby grew. “What now?”
I pulled away, brushing the tears that had slipped out. “What do you know about building a crib?”
***
Chapter 27
Brady
The last two months were a blur. The best blur of my life. After Cici gave us another chance, I devoted my life to preparing for our son. Oliver. Or maybe Lucas. Or Antonio.
Whatever he was going to be called, he would be here before we knew it. Since neither of us could do things halfway, we moved Cici and her hoard of baby things into my house. And while I’d never pictured getting kicked out of my own closet, I gladly shuffled all my things to one side of the racks and let her take over the rest.
And take over she did. In the best way possible. Waking up next to her every morning, watching her belly grow, was well worth the lack of space for my dress shirts. Not that I needed them anymore now.
Other than some small consultant-type of projects I had my thumb on, I was going to be a stay-at-home dad. And nothing had ever sounded so good.
But first, we had to survive the strangest plot twist in the history of our relationship. Because sweet, sunny Ashlyn Grove had turned into a grade A bridezilla. And today was her wedding day.
God help us all.
I straightened my tie in the full-length mirror. “You ready to do this?” I asked Liam, who lurked behind me on a couch. When he didn't answer, I twisted to look at him closer.
“Did you hear me?”
“I heard you. I’m just not sure.”
“What do you mean?” Ian, his mountain-sized best friend, stepped up between us. As best man, Ian had taken his role very seriously. He’d planned an appropriately wild guys’ trip to Breckenridge, where we’d skied and drank until we couldn’t move. That’s when he’d asked me to be a groomsman.
