Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36019 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36019 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
My chest ached in the best way.
As the crowd began to filter toward the open doors, I felt a gentle nudge at my side.
“You okay?” Reid asked, watching me with a furrow in his brow.
“Yeah.” I bit my lip. “More than okay.”
We took a quick walk through the building, greeting guests and answering questions. I loved hearing the excited squeals from kids discovering the reading nooks and tech stations. The new library didn’t just have books. It had classrooms, a 3D printer lab, and even a kitchen space for cooking classes. All built with reinforced safety measures, thanks to Reid’s and my obsession with structural integrity.
When the crowd thinned out, Reid pulled me aside into a quiet corner of the library’s staff office. He tilted my chin up and scanned my face. “You sure you’re not overdoing it?”
I softened at the concern in his voice. “I swear I’m fine. Just a little tired.”
He leaned in to kiss me, and I melted into him for a few seconds before I pulled back, a nervous flutter in my stomach.
“There’s another reason I’m tired.”
His expression turned serious instantly. “What is it?”
“It’s early days yet, but apparently, it takes a lot of energy to grow a life.”
His dark eyes widened when the meaning behind my words registered. “You tryin’ to tell me that you’re carrying my baby?”
“Yeah.” I pressed his hand against my flat belly. “I just realized today how late my period is, so I took a test this morning.”
“I’m so fucking happy.” He captured my mouth in another deep kiss. “But next time, I’m there when you pee on that damn stick.”
I gave him what he wanted every other time he knocked me up.
EPILOGUE
WRECKER
Our old farmhouse sat on ten acres on the west end of Old Bridge. The late afternoon sun stretched long shadows over the porch as the birds chirped in the trees. I’d gutted the whole place after we bought it—ripped out walls with my own hands, reinforced the frame myself, and built everything new from the bones out. Every nail, every board, every fucking hinge had my mark on it. I needed it that way. Needed to carve out a place in this world that was only ours.
A home.
Not just a place to sleep, but somewhere to belong.
I stood just inside the front door, filthy boots planted wide on the scuffed hardwood and dust streaking my shirt while sweat clung to my back. But none of that shit mattered.
Because my attention was glued across the room. Peyton sat cross-legged on the couch, hair up in a loose, messy knot with a pencil stuck in it, flipping through one of her construction codes manuals. She had no clue I was watching her, and that made my desire for her even worse. Or better. Depending on how a man looked at it.
She was wearing my old tee—stretched across her tits and tight over her belly.
Perfect. My very pregnant, very fucking perfect woman.
Curled up next to her on the couch were our daughters, both fast asleep. Farrah had a blanket twisted around her legs and had a stuffed wolf tucked against her chest. Not quite two years old, and already a little spitfire. Just like her mom.
I was fucked the second she started talking in full sentences. Didn’t stand a fucking chance. Learned that when our four-year-old, Mindy, opened her mouth and let out all her sass. She sighed in her sleep and snuggled her bear closer.
My girls were cute as fuck, and they had me wrapped around their little fingers.
A lump formed in my throat, and I scrubbed a hand down my face, swallowing hard as I crossed the room. Peyton looked up at the sound of my boots, and her whole face lit up, her smile cracking my chest open so my love poured out.
“You’re home early,” she whispered, voice soft so she wouldn’t wake the girls.
“Yeah.” My voice came out rougher than I meant, but I didn’t care. I leaned down and kissed her, one hand sliding to her swollen belly like it had a magnetic pull. “Missed you.”
She kissed me back, eyes closing, her lips soft and warm. “You always miss me.”
“Fucking right I do.”
I dropped to one knee in front of her, hands splaying over her stomach. When I felt the little kick against my palm, I grinned.
This one was a boy. Thank fuck. I needed backup with all these gorgeous girls to protect.
We found out last week. I’d nearly put my fist through the drywall in the clinic from the pressure of waiting even though I’d been good. I’d kept it together because Peyton wanted a calm moment.
And she’d gotten it.
Afterward, though…she didn’t complain when I bent her over the bathroom sink and made sure she knew exactly how proud I was of what her body could do.