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“Ssssh,” Georgia urged, scanning the area. Family members lurked around every corner of the property. “We’re keeping it secret, remember?”
“Until after the wedding,” he said. “We don’t want to ruin the bride and groom’s big day.”
This wedding had been a group project, with Georgia leading the charge. She and Clayton had gotten married over the summer, but she wasn’t the only Ludington sibling settling down. And now, there was a baby on the way.
She’d passed the first trimester, so it was perfectly fine to tell everyone, but she didn’t want to turn the focus on them. They’d had their moment. Now it was another couple’s turn to shine.
“I’ll handle that,” Clayton said.
She scowled, but she was putting on a show. In reality, she liked him playing hero. She was enjoying every minute of this protective side of the man she loved.
“I can’t believe I wasted a full decade living in the same town with you and not speaking to you,” she said as he climbed up on the chair.
“Well, I was in law school part of that decade,” he said.
“You probably wouldn’t have looked past Lucie to see me anyway,” she said
Clayton laughed. “Are you kidding? I noticed you the second I moved to town. I guess you could say I had a feeling we’d be good together.”
“If I hadn’t been so busy trying to keep a rift going between the Ludingtons and Knotts, I would have sensed it, too. The second I allowed myself to really look at you, I couldn’t stop looking at you.”
He climbed down from the chair and faced her, a big smile on his face. He practically glowed with happiness, and she had a feeling that same glow was on her face.
“So, when do we get to tell everyone?” she asked.
“Maybe let them get back from their honeymoon and tell us all about their trip, and then we’ll spring it on them?”
“The whole family,” she said. “Your family, too.”
His smile faded. His family was a sore subject. His mom hadn’t even come to their wedding. They’d invited her, but she couldn’t be bothered to show up.
“The family next door,” she said. “Yourrealfamily.”
His relief was immediately visible, his features softening and the lines around his eyes diminishing. The tension whooshed out of her, as well. She knew about his rough childhood now, and was so grateful the Knotts had taken him in. They’d not just given him work, but they’d made him part of the family. She knew her own family would’ve done the same if they’d known.
“I’m probably the first person to ever say this,” she said with a smile. “But I’m so happy the Knotts sued us.”
“It was a complaint, not a lawsuit,” he reminded her yet again.
“Okay, complained about us.”
He wrinkled his nose. Yeah, “complained” probably wasn’t the best word for it either. But he seemed to get what she meant.
“Why’s that?” he asked, taking a step closer to her.
He put a hand on each of her upper arms and looked down at her. Nobody had ever looked at her that way. She’d dreamed all her life that someone would love her the way he did. She still sometimes pinched herself.
“We might have never started talking to each other,” she said.
“You might have held this grudge for the rest of your life.”
“And that would have been a shame for quite a few reasons.”
He took another step closer and moved his hands to her back, pulling her toward him. She settled her hands onto his lower back and looked up at him.
“But this is the most important reason,” he said.
And then, he lowered his head to give her a kiss that wiped all thoughts from her busy brain.
* * *
