Chapter 23
“Harry’s shutting down the whole place for a taste testing?”
Ian pulled a navy sweater over his T-shirt, shoved his wallet in his back pants pocket. “You know Harry. He said it’s ‘invitation-only’ and we’re on the list.”
“Did he say who else was invited?” Katie glanced up from the jewelry box she’d been rifling through for her “holiday” earrings.
“Nope. Apparently, the list includes those with ‘discerning’ tastes.”
That comment made her laugh. “He’s going to be disappointed when we tell him we love everything.”
“Agreed.” Ian sat on the edge of the bed, watched his wife of eight days as she got ready for Harry’s taste-testing evening.
They’d had a lot of perfect moments these past eight days; nights of lovemaking, mornings waking up next to each other, long conversations about the company, and just being together.
I want you to be a part of Katie’s Soups, and I’m hoping one day our children will be a part of it, too… If they want to...
Children?
A shy smile, as she ran her fingers over his chest. Children. Three?
Sounds perfect.
Life was good. Heaven on earth. Now all he needed was for his brain to slow down so he could figure out what came next.
He’d moved the rest of his stuff into the cabin a few days ago, but they’d been so busy working on factory improvements, visiting with Dolly, and making sure Jack was okay, that they hadn’t had much time to talk about those “next” steps.
Should he put the condo in L.A. on the market now or wait until spring?
How many square feet should they add to the cabin?
They needed a nursery, but what about an office?
Katie had a doctor’s visit right after Christmas, and he was already thinking about it.
The baby would be here soon, and they wouldn’t be ready…
And what about plans for the house they wanted to build on this land? And…
“Ian?”
He blinked, pushed aside thoughts of the new house. “Yes?”
His wife fastened a red-sparkle earring and moved toward him. “You’re doing it again.”
“What?”
“The frown and the furrowed brow.” She stepped between his legs, ran her hands through his hair in a calming motion.
“The look that says you need to figure things out, right now. Is this about the addition, or the new house, or are you already calculating the baby’s college fund?
Or would this be about the brakes on my car that you want checked out?
I did hear you talking to Jack about it.
” Her voice turned gentle, soothing. “We’re in this together, and the only thing I’m certain of is that as soon as we think we have it all figured out, it will flip around and land on top of us.
” She kissed his forehead, stroked his hair.
“Let’s just take one step at a time, instead of wasting all of this extra energy worrying.
Isn’t that what an efficiency expert would do? ”
Ian shot her a look. “Did you really just say that?”
She tried to hide the smile. “Yes, I really did.”
“That was a good one.” His lips twitched, once, twice, and then he laughed, his heart full, his mood light.
Katie was right; whatever came at them, they’d face it together, one step at a time.
Like the phone call to Katie’s sister the other night.
Ian had been on the line when Katie called to tell her the news.
Norah could not contain her excitement or her commentary.
Ian Finnegan? You’re the hot guy with the sexy voice who came to Magdalena that summer!
Wow. Just wow. And then, a shriek that hurt his ears. Way to go, Katie!
At some point, he’d call his parents, and Katie would be right beside him…facing life together…one step at a time.
Thirty-five minutes later, they pulled up to Harry’s Folly as a gentle snow fell. “Wow, Harry must have invited half the town to this tasting.”
Ian glanced around the parking lot, recognized a few of the cars. “No kidding.” He made his way to the passenger side, opened the door. “If you get too tired and want to leave early, just let me know.” He placed a hand on her belly. “Okay?”
“Okay.”
“I love you,” he murmured, pulling her against him.
Soft sigh. “I love you, too.”
When they reached the door of the restaurant, Ian opened it, curious to see what Harry had planned for the taste testing event.
Katie moved through first, gasped. He walked in behind her, took in the crazy amount of twinkle lights framing a sign that read: “Congratulations, Ian and Katie.” Before he could process the reason for the sign, lights flashed on, and a room filled with smiling faces shouted, “Surprise!”
And that’s when he realized every moment with Katie was a perfect moment.