Baby for my Dad's Best Friend (Seaport Billionaires #2)

37. Kaylee

37

KAYLEE

A ustin and I spend the next week packing his house and moving him into ours.

Our days are spent at work, and our evenings are spent packing, moving, unpacking, enjoying dinner, and becoming one as often as we can even though we’re exhausted from everything going on.

That doesn’t slow us down much, though.

Since Austin’s house was his childhood home, he doesn’t want to sell it. Instead, he offers it to his brother, who was living in the city.

Dalton worked in the publishing sector in New York, but he had dreams of moving to a small town to open a bookstore.

If he’s going to move to a small town, it might as well be the one he grew up in, so he accepted the house.

He doesn’t plan to live here full-time just yet.

For now, he plans to spend his weekdays in the city at work, and staying here on the weekends while he gets everything together for his store.

He needs to find a location and start making plans.

I am beyond excited to have a bookstore in town.

I know everyone reads digitally nowadays, but I love an actual book in my hands.

Maybe it’s because I’m a teacher, but I believe every house needs physical books.

They can act as decor until the power goes out, and you find yourself in need of entertainment.

A battery has never died in a book.

I love the idea so much that I talk Austin into investing in the bookstore.

It’s been a couple of weeks since we found out the sex of the baby, and it’s finally time for our family dinner.

Of course, my parents show up first.

I’m slaving away in the kitchen when Austin lets them in.

Austin and Dad’s relationship is still a little strained, but I can see the effort that both men are putting into keeping things smooth.

Austin is more aware of how he acts toward me when my dad is around.

He doesn’t touch me as much, he holds back on the dirty jokes, and he refrains from smacking my ass.

When my dad is around, Austin and I are a TV couple from the fifties.

My dad probably thinks we sleep in separate beds.

The guys shake hands, and he hugs my mom before she moves toward me in the kitchen. “Anything I can help with?”

“Hi, Mom.” I reach out and hug her. “I’m glad you could make it.”

She pulls away with a smile, her hand moving to my stomach. “Look at how much this baby is growing. Did you find out the sex?”

I smile. “We did, but you’ll have to wait until everyone gets here to find out.”

Someone knocks on the door and Austin pulls it open since he and my dad are still talking next to it. “Hi, Mom.”

I take a deep breath and move forward to meet Austin’s mom.

As I walk from the kitchen to the entryway, I see an elderly woman walk in with an elderly man.

The man is cute in his khaki pants, blue button-down, and sweater vest.

He has a cane in one hand and his other hand rests on his wife’s lower back.

Austin’s mom is wearing a pair of navy blue slacks and a lighter blue top covered in a floral print. It’s loose and flows around her.

Her gray hair is short and curled, and she’s decked out in hoop earrings, a long necklace with a pendant hanging nearly to her stomach, and rings on almost every finger tightened around the handles of her walker.

She reminds me a lot of my grandmother who passed away not long ago—the one who left me this house.

As I stop next to Austin, I see his half-brother Dalton walk in behind them.

It makes sense now that I realize how much older they are that they didn’t drive themselves.

I’ve only met Dalton once, the day Austin offered him the house.

Austin greets his brother first. “Thanks for coming, and for getting them here,” he says, hugging him.

“No problem,” Dalton says, patting his back before moving in to hug me. “Kay, as beautiful as ever.”

I smile at him.

Dalton is closer to my age than Austin, and the two look a lot alike but not identical.

Where Austin gets his blond hair from his father’s side, Dalton has dark hair like his mother and father.

And while both have dark eyes, their bone structure is very different.

Austin is tall and broad; Dalton is taller and narrower. Austin is built like a football player, and Dalton has more of a runner’s physique.

I guess that can be explained by how different their jobs are.

It makes sense for Austin to have more muscle mass with all the heavy lifting he does.

Dalton works behind a desk and probably gets his exercise by going for a run on a treadmill when he has time.

“Mom, Dad, this is Kaylee. Kay,” Austin looks at me as he places his hand on my lower back, “This is my mom, Rose, and my stepfather, Pete.”

I smile and hold out my hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you two.”

Austin’s mom smiles her perfect smile and shakes my hand. “It’s nice to meet you too, dear.” She looks at her son. “Austin, you didn’t tell me how gorgeous she was.”

My face heats with her compliment.

“I did, too,” Austin says. “You just didn’t believe me.” He beams his best smile.

Pete holds out his hand, and I slip mine into it. “Nice to meet you, young lady.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too. I’ve heard wonderful things about both of you. Why don’t we show you to the dining room and get you something to drink?” I look at Austin.

“Right this way,” he says, leading them toward the dining room.

The front door opens, and Kinsley walks in with my brother Parker. “Hey,” I say, pulling them in for a hug.

Austin walks from the dining room with a smile on his face.

We’re catching up in the entryway when Dalton walks out from the dining room.

He stops near us, and Austin introduces him to my family.

Everyone is talking when Austin and I slip away to start taking the food to the dining room.

He grabs the big plate of fried chicken, and my mom takes the bowl of mashed potatoes.

Dad has a seat at the table, and I get the pitcher of tea.

I’m walking from the kitchen to the dining room when I notice the way Kinsley and Dalton are looking at one another.

Even though Dalton and Parker are in the middle of a conversation, he keeps glancing her way, and she hasn’t taken her eyes off him.

She bats her lashes, smiles, and blushes.

He shoots her a grin here and there, not aware that he’s angling his body toward her rather than the person he’s talking to.

I wonder if something is starting between them.

Austin gets their attention then, asking them to come to the living room so we can start dinner.

They walk ahead of us, but I grab Austin’s arm and hold him back.

“Did you see what I saw?”

He frowns and shakes his head. “No, what?”

“Your brother and my sister,” I point out, grinning.

“What? No way. He’s too old for her.”

I quirk a brow. “Ummm, hello?”

He laughs and pulls me close. “I mean, I know. I just didn’t know that she would go for an older man. Or that my brother would go for a younger girl. I mean, he’s got to be fifteen years older than her.”

I laugh. “You’re twenty-two years older than me and look how well things are working out for us,” I say, wrapping my arms around him.

He chuckles while bending in and moving his mouth to mine.

He pulls me over a step so we’re in the doorway of the kitchen. He presses my back against the frame, trapping me.

His hand wraps around my throat as he kisses me.

Slowly, his lips move up my jaw to my ear. “I can’t wait to have you all to myself again.” He nips my earlobe. “I’m going to make you beg for me tonight,” he teases.

My blood warms. “I can’t wait.”

He pulls back enough that I can see his dark eyes blaze with need.

“Come on. Let’s get this dinner over with so we can kick everyone out.” He laughs as he leads me to the dining room.

Austin and I take our seats at the table. “Before we dive in, I just wanted to thank everyone for being here tonight. This dinner means a lot to us, especially with the baby on the way. We’re creating our family, so we thought it was important that our families get together and meet,” Austin says, looking at everyone sitting around our table.

“Now, I know everyone is hungry and Kay worked her butt off to prepare all this food, so I don’t want it getting cold, but before we dive in, there’s one more thing I need to do.” He pushes his chair back, and I cock my head questioningly as he stands.

He moves around the table to my side. Then he reaches into his pocket, pulls out a box, and drops to one knee.

I gasp when I realize what this is.

He opens the box, showing me the diamond ring inside.

“Kaylee, I know that I don’t have the best track record at doing everything right and when I should, and I’m sorry for that. Even though I ran from this for the longest time, I knew the minute I met you that you were the woman I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with. Now that we’re finally free to be together, and we have a baby on the way, I can’t wait another day to ask you for forever. Kaylee Ann Presley, will you make me the happiest man on Earth? Will you marry me?”

Tears fill my eyes and even though I’m covering my mouth with my hands, I’m smiling. “Yes,” I whisper, nodding my head.

Austin’s nervous face changes to one of relief and happiness.

He lets out the breath he’s been holding and everyone around us claps and cheers as he slides the ring onto my finger.

The moment it’s in place, we stand, and he pulls me against him to press a long, soft kiss to my lips, no longer holding back in front of my dad.

And when we pull away and I look at him, I’m surprised to see him smiling and clapping with the rest of our family.

Maybe he is coming around after all.