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“You shouldn’t be carrying around that kind of guilt. You have two other kids, you have Asher, you have me, and you have a baby on the way. We need you and we all love you. I—” My breath catches. “I love you.”
Xander sits up suddenly, pulling me along with him.
“I wanted to say it first,” he mutters, staring into my eyes with an intensity that I feel to my core.
“You know I hate to lose,” I say, shrugging.
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Juliette Landers. I could spend all day listing all the reason you made my life better and all the reasons I’m falling in love with, but in the end, it doesn’t matter. All that matter is my heart. And it’s so incomparably, utterly yours,” he breathes.
I feel a tear slide down my face and groan softly. “I’ve cried more this week than I have in years.”
Xander chuckles a second before his lips meet mine and he’s kissing me hard and deep. His tongue delves in and I moan into his mouth. His fingers tangle in my hair as he pulls me closer and I shift toward him but he breaks the kiss too soon.
“I love you so much that I can’t function without you, Firefly. You’re my own personal addiction.”
“That doesn’t sound like such a good thing,” I point out, grinning so hard it hurts.
“It’s the best feeling in the whole damn world,” he growls before his lips meet mine again and everything else ceases to exist.
SEVEN MONTHS LATER
“Juliette, I really think you should have waited before finding out the baby’s sex,” my mother says. “Back in my day, that technology wasn’t available, and it was such a nice surprise when we found out you were a girl. Right, honey?”
Xander and I found out we were having a baby girl two months ago. He was ecstatic, but no one was more excited than the twins. They’re practically counting down the days until they get to meet their little sister.
My father looks up from his phone, clearly not listening. “Yes, of course. You’re absolutely right, sweetheart.”
I grip my fork so hard it starts to dent. Xander gently coerces it from my grip while giving me a small smile.
“It’s okay,” he mouths.
“This is torture,” I mouth back.
I finally caved and agreed to a family dinner with my parents after months of them asking for one. It’s not just them at the table, though, Lisabell’s here, too. With my due date approaching, she flew in from L.A. so she could be here when the baby arrives. Declan and Asher are also seated at the table. They’re both quiet and a little amused as they take in the trainwreck that is my family. I knew this dinner was a bad idea.
“When are the two of you planning to get married?” my dad questions,. I look at him, taking note of his thinning brown hair and the wrinkles around his blue eyes. He’s getting old and the sight is a little jarring.
Mom still looks great, though; plastic surgery’s doing wonders for her.
My eye latches onto the diamond on my finger and a thrill shoots through me. Xander proposed after the grand opening of my new restaurant, which was actually my old restaurant. Rell ended up rebuilding it, but he didn’t want to be in control of it anymore and I managed to convince him to sell it to me. I accepted a very gracious loan from Xander on the condition that he would let me pay it back. We had a really big argument over it, but in the end, he agreed. The restaurant’s doing well, really well, and I couldn’t be prouder.
“In a few months. There’s no rush,” Xander replies.
“Of course. You’ll make a fine husband, Callahan,” my dad states.
He’ll definitely make a better husband than him.
Lisabell asks my mother something but I barely hear her when I feel something running down my thighs. I rush to my feet and every eye at the table turns toward me.
Dammit.Of all times, baby girl, did you have to do this while I was at dinner with my parents?
My eyes meet Xander and he’s looking at me, confused.
“The baby’s coming,” I breathe.
Everyone jumps into action as the entire room descends into chaos. Declan gets his car keys while Xander begins hauling my ass through the door, saying sweet, comforting things about how it’s all going to be okay. Lisabell’s at my side, gripping my hand painfully as I’m helped into the car, while my parent trail after us. They’re all acting really dramatic right now.
We arrive at the hospital and I go into labor. My fiancé’s at my side the entire time and despite how grateful I love him, as I push our baby out, there’s no stopping the number of curses I throw at him. He takes it all, though, as he stays firmly at my side until our little girl comes.
