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Andie laughs and it makes my heart flip.
“You’re an amazing dad.”
I pinch my brows together. “I don’t feel different. Is it a good or bad change?”
She looks at me and contemplates. “Definitely good. You’re softer around the edges. It suits you.”
I nuzzle her neck and kiss her, drawing her closer to me. “I love you, gorgeous.”
“Love you more,” she says, followed by a yawn.
She’s right. I am different. Ten years ago, I would have never put work on the back burner for personal matters. I would have spent all my time finding a new location for the third bar. But now that I have a family and a baby on the way, opening a new Social Hour just isn’t a priority anymore. Andie, Enzo, Charleigh, and this baby are my number one in my life.
I slowly place soft kisses behind Andie’s ear. “Babe…now that the kids are asleep, want to get naked?” Soft snores break the silence in the bedroom. “Andie?” I sit up on my elbow and look down at my beautiful, passed-out wife. I kiss her cheek and pull the covers over her.
“Come on, Vader, let’s go grab a beer and catch the end of the hockey game. We’ll make it a guys’ night,” I say to our dog, who pops up out of his dog bed and trots after me.
I settle down on the couch after grabbing two beers, and pop the tops. Vader jumps up on the couch next to me and I clink my bottle with his. “Cheers, buddy.”
If twenty-five-year-old me could see me now, having a guys’ night with my dog, he’d be laughing his ass off, calling me a pussy. What that stupid-ass punk didn’t know back then is that love changes everything.
Chapter 28
Lex
Jax strolls intothe kitchen and grabs a can of sparkling water from the fridge. He turns around, and I peer at the doll strapped to his front in a baby carrier.
“What the feck are ye wearin’?”
He pops the top of the can and takes a drink. “Mom is making me wear this stupid doll of Uncle Connor and Uncle TJ’s.”
I squint my eyes and scrunch my nose. “What the feck is wrong with it? Why is it wearin’ a sequined eyepatch?”
Jax shrugs. “I guess it’s missing an eye. I don’t know, nor do I care.”
Sarah walks in and smiles, checking her watch. “Hey guys. Jax, have you fed BB-2 before baseball practice?”
Jax groans. “I was just about to.”
I track my wife’s movements around the kitchen. “Sunshine, why does Jax have a wee baby strapped to his front?”
She turns around and grins. “Oh, well, you know how we gave TJ a baby to practice with and what a disaster that turned out to be?”
“Connor mentioned something about a scary Chucky doll TJ was taking care of.”
“Yes. When I tried to donate it to Jax’s school’s home-ec class, the teacher politely declined, saying it was too frightening for the kids. So, I thought it would be good practice for Jax, since he’s a mature adult now, right?” She lifts a brow and her smile spreads. I’ve learned to never argue with her when she does that.
“Yes, right.”
“Oh come on, Dad, not you too. I hate this thing. It cries all the time. Mom made me take it to Will’s soccer game the other day. It was so embarrassing. It wouldn’t stop crying and all my friends kept asking why I was carrying around a baby with duct tape on its arm and an eyepatch.”
“Whydoesit have tape on its arm? Is that marker all over its head?” I ask.
“TJ broke it when he slammed it in the car door.” Sarah frowns, peering at the doll. “I thought I got the marker off with rubbing alcohol. Jessica and Matt? Jax, did your friends sign the baby’s head?”
“Well, it already had marker on it.” Jax shrugs, moving away from Sarah.
As if on cue, the baby emits a strange, garbled howl.
