AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It was good to see Mateo with his wife at that cooking class. I’d still prefer you and Erin were official before they deployed. Then there are the other teams who haven’t seen you two together. The ball is coming up, but that’s just one night. And, with your tour here ending in a few months, we need to start looking at other assignments—ifyou’re not staying. Aside from a recent opening in the Pacific Theatre, there could be a joint exchange with the SAS. That would look good on your resume to make brigadier general.”
“My top choices are staying here or SOCOM.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“So, you are approving my leave then?” Graham returned to the reason he was here. With things progressing with Erin, marriage could be an option—on their timetable, not because they were forced into it. He wasn’t faking his feelings for her, but he wanted any engagement to be real.
* * *
“Still usingthe cardboard box carrier method?” Graham smiled wryly as Erin set the box with both cats on the floor in his kitchen.
“Why change what works? No scratches. You two need to be on your best behavior,” Erin warned Tink and Smokey. The cats’ owners were okay with her bringing them over to Graham’s, though she left out the part about him being a colonel since they might have freaked out if they knew a colonel had been spending the night in their condo regularly.
The earlier test run when she’d brought the cats over for an evening had gone well, but leaving them alone while they went out for dinner and spending the night here could be a whole different story. The new arrangement wouldn’t work if the cats clawed the furniture or wouldn’t use the litter box.
When she opened the box, Smokey jumped out. Tink sniffed the air before joining her to strut around the kitchen with her tail held high.
Graham went out to get the litter box and bag of cat food while Smokey stalked Tink in a game of chase. Erin’s phone chimed, and she checked the message.
“Megan texted us, wanting to know if we were here. She said she and Reece were going to stop by.” That Megan now included Erin in family texts made her long to get her daughters on board with her and Graham’s relationship.
The cats bolted from the room to hide when Reece opened the side door into the kitchen. Megan followed carrying a flat pastry box.
“We wanted to bring you a little something to say congratulations that they’re filming the pilot for the show. Dad said you love these little Bundt cakes.” She set the box on the kitchen table. “Hello, Pops.”
“That is so sweet. I’m taking your dad to dinner at the Italian place where we had our first date. Come with us. We can come back afterward and have cake.”
Megan looked at Reece. “Uh, sure, but why don’t we each splurge and have one now.” She opened the box of mini treats and handed Erin a chocolate one. “What flavor would you like, Pops?”
Graham gave his daughter a befuddled look. “Any. Surprise me.”
Megan’s smile grew bigger as she stuck two decorative toppers in the cake she handed Graham.
He pulled out two cake toppers and stared at them for a second. “You called me Pops.” His face lit up. “Are you—?”
“Yes!” Megan squealed before he could finish.
Even though they hadn’t said the word pregnant, the embrace he engulfed her in said it all. The toppers of pale pink and blue baby onesies in Graham’s hands were also a blatant clue.
“Oh my gosh! Congratulations.” Erin hugged Reece, then Megan while the men exchanged a man hug.
“You weren’t pregnant when you had surgery, were you?” Graham asked the question that had popped into Erin’s mind.
“Nottechnically. I went off the birth control pills before the procedure. We didn’t use any protection the night before surgery or in the—”
“Got it.” Graham held up a hand. “Isn’t it too early to tell then?”
“Remember how Mom first knew she was pregnant because her boobs hurt? Well, last night we were—”
“TMI, honey. TMI.” Reece avoided eye contact with his father-in-law.
“I did a blood test at work this morning. It’s positive.”
“Have you told Jace and Alex yet?” Graham asked.
“No, you’re the first. I’ll wait until I’m about five months along to see if he notices.”
“Right.” Reece laughed. “She couldn’t even wait until Sunday dinner to tell you.”
