Chapter 35
Jaxon
My palms sweat as I pull out the hot, cheesy garlic bread from the oven at Colin’s, and it’s not from the heat. The girls are all in the living room with Syd and the twins, so now’s my shot to talk to the guys.
“So…”
Colin looks up at me, noting my hesitancy.
“Before I ask you all the dad questions, I have something to bring up while they’re all in the other room.”
Colin smirks, and Trystan tilts his head in question.
Garrett’s bouncing Charlotte in her carrier as she smiles and makes cute baby noises at us, since she’s facing our way.
Mark’s tossing the salad with a vinaigrette at the island between them, trying not to make silly faces at Charlotte but totally losing. Big softie.
“Go for it.”
“I have something I’d like to do tonight while we’re all together. If you’d rather I wait, that’s fine, but it’s one of the only times I know I’ll catch her by surprise. She won’t expect it.”
“Dude…” Garrett grins wide.
“I totally get it if you think it’s inappropriate.”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Trystan asks. I smirk at him.
“Do you have it with you?” Colin asks, his eyes going wide.
“Yes, and yes.”
“Are you fucking proposing tonight?” Mark asks louder than I care for.
“Dude!” Trystan and Garrett both smack at his biceps, eliciting a gleeful squeal from Charlie.
“Did you think that was funny, Charlie? They’re all teaming up on Uncle Mark.
Tell them ‘doo doo’.” He wags his finger at Garrett and shoots a dirty look Trystan’s way.
“Give me that squirt.” He unhooks Charlie from Garrett before Garrett has a say and smiles at the ‘squirt’.
“That’s right, I know I can count on you to have my back. ”
A dangerous rumble of baby thunderbutt rolls through the room as Charlie grins in Uncle Mark’s arms. We bust a gut. That shit right there, pun fully intended, is funny. Mark’s face is better as he holds her back from him, arms outstretched toward Garrett.
“Gare Bear, she’s yours.”
“Uh-uh, don’t ‘Gare Bear’ me. You stole her.”
“Jane!” he hollers over his shoulder, then turns, marching out of the kitchen on a mission to momma. Ah, that’s great.
“I can’t wait to hear about how he handles future blowouts,” Trystan laughs.
“I hope we get to witness one,” Colin adds, then looks my way. “I don’t know why you even think you needed to ask me for permission. I’m pumped for you, man.”
“Well, you did just bring home twins. I didn’t want to ‘steal the show’.” I throw up quick jazz hands to make my point.
“You should know by now that’s not how we all work.”
“Yeah, yeah. Thought I’d ask out of respect, anyway.”
“Appreciate the thought.”
“You nervous?” Garrett asks.
“Sweating bullets.”
“That’s good,” Trystan adds over by the fridge, pulling out a beer and tossing it to Garrett.
Mark walks in and hitches his chin in the air like the next one better be his.
When he gets in range, Trystan lightly tosses it.
Grabbing two more, he hands one to Colin, then me, before clapping my shoulder.
“Ladies! It’s din din time!” Mark hollers, winking my way in good luck.
???
We’re all sitting in the living room, sprawled around couches, chairs, and the floor, passing around Charlotte and Carter while Sydney’s curled up in the chair breastfeeding Wrenley.
I don’t know how she manages to keep that poncho thingy for women who wish to have some coverage while they feed in a decent position.
She already seems like a pro at it. It probably helps that neither of the munchkins is big enough to really start squirming yet.
Give it a few months, though. I’m proud of her.
Colin sits on the arm of the chair, watchful and ready to help at a second’s notice.
They look like they were born to do this.
I notice Holly’s eyes shifting over the scene as well. She catches me looking and blushes. Our little secret swells between us, and I lace my fingers through hers. The guys all kind of go quiet, all looking at each other, then looking at me like they’re trying to tell me–now’s the time.
“Garrett?”
“Yes, Jane?”
“Why are all of you guys looking around at each other like there is some tea to spill?” Jane wonders aloud with wide eyes. The rest of the ladies stop chatting amongst themselves and look to Garrett. “You all have been having some sort of secret conversation since dinner.”
“Oh, um–” Garrett fumbles, looking at Trys first before looking my way. Damn, he’s bad at keeping a secret from her.
“Oooohhhh, no you don’t. You don’t keep things from me. What do you know?”
Laughter bubbles out of Ava’s chest as she grabs Charlotte from Brynleigh. Brynleigh tosses a questioning look up from the floor at Trystan.
“Don’t look at me! I’m not squealing.” Trystan tosses up his hands in the air. Mark clears his throat. The box burns against my thigh. Sydney unlatches Wren and hands her up to Colin while fixing her clothes under the cover.
I shift, grabbing Holly’s water bottle and setting it on the side table next to the couch we’re sitting on; I pull the little box from my slacks as I lower onto the floor, onto one knee. Gasps from all the girls fill the room.
“Well, nice timing, guys,” I toss out with a devilish smirk as I shake in my fucking boots on the inside.
“Anytime,” Mark says, and Ava slaps at his jean-clad thigh to shush so she can hear every word. I look up into golden brown eyes, filling with the sweetest of emotions.
“I said I’d do it right this time.”
Jane gasps louder, like she missed something, and I hear Garrett shush her.
“Cupcake, I meant every word I said the other night. These last months have taken every plan I had for myself and replaced them with an even better dream. You see, I walked into a hospital room and overheard the naughtiest of details one could ever spare from Miss Jane over there, and nothing’s been the same since.
I have never sought out, chased, or yearned for something or someone so hard in my life.
Until you. Suddenly, uprooting myself and moving towns, jobs, homes, meant nothing as long as I knew I even had a chance at seeing your face again.
When I found you, I knew I’d move heaven and earth to win a smile from your lips again.
I wasn’t going to give up. The more you pushed me away, the more I felt resolved to win your heart.
With the help of some very smart, very talented local matchmakers–”
Throats clear in the background, but I only have eyes for my girl.
“The best weekend of my life happened, and I knew you were mine. I surrendered all of my tomorrows to you in a matter of days. I would chase you to the ends of the earth or wait as long as you’d make me, proving myself over and over again if I had to.”
Awwws chorus behind us, and Holly giggles.
“I’ve finally found the one I want to have all of my adventures with, and they’ve already started.”
My eyes ping back and forth between hers, wondering if I can add in the other news to what I have to say, tilting my head in question as I cast my eyes down to her belly then back up. She nods. My heart swells.
“You’ve given me the greatest gifts any man could ask for. Your love, your heart, this family… our family,” I add, reaching for her belly.
The room fills with another loud round of gasps. Happy tears run down her cheeks, and she nods with the truth.
“So, Holly Nicole Irving…” I lift the top of the box and her lips part in surprise. She’s so beautiful. “Will you go on this adventure with me? Will you promise me all of your tomorrows? Will you be my forever? Be my wife?”
“Yes, Jaxon, yes!” she chokes out happily as I slide on the ring. Holly throws her arms around my neck as our friends clap and celebrate, and I hold my whole world tightly to me, my heart soaring with all the joy.
“Did I see and hear that right?” Jane asks in the midst of the hugging. “Did you say what I think you did?”
Holly steps back and reaches for her purse, pulling out a sheet of tiny pictures, and all the girls squeal.
“Yeah, it was definitely a surprise, so… Surprise! Found out today I’m around eight weeks along.”
“New bestie?!” Jane asks breathlessly with a big ol’ grin on her face.
“New bestie!”
Jane jumps and pulls me into her arms excitedly, crushing me against her chest as she does.
“Oh-my-gosh-this-is-perfect!” She stops and points at Brynleigh and Ava. “Get to work!”
Mark and Trystan look at each other, and I can’t read it. It’s somewhere between sizing each other up for a ‘challenge accepted’ look or an ‘oh shit, we’re on a time crunch now’ look. Either way, the point seems to have been made, and the race has silently begun.
“Marcus, it is not a competition,” Ava snarks, only solidifying my thoughts.
“Pshhh…of course not,” he answers dutifully, but we all know he’s full of shit. “But, like, maybe we should go work on that.” He picks up a random baby sock off the top of the folded laundry basket next to him and wiggles it at Ava. Her eyes sparkle for a second, then she tosses him a saucy smirk.
“You can wait to get me naked a bit longer.”
Mark huffs and drops the sock back on the pile.
“Forewarning, I swear little gnomes steal those things just to spite me. You’ll never have enough of them,” Jane says distastefully.
Chuckles rumble throughout the group.
“I mean it. You all just wait and see.”
“Yes, dear. Looks like Charlie’s about ready for bed.”
Everyone notices our typical rambunctious, happy baby is starting to nod off in Ava’s arms.
“Are you really going to take the sleepy baby from me?” Ava whines.
Jane holds out her hands. “Yeah, if we want a shot at getting any actual sleep tonight, I probably should.”
Ava pouts and nuzzles Charlotte before handing her over. “See you later, sweet girl.”
“So, I guess I actually need to list the house now?” Trystan asks.
“Looks like. It’s too small for a family. Plus, it’s not on Ridge Lane, so that makes the choice easy.”
Trystan nods and raises his beer, casting a gaze around the room. “To you guys. May all your tomorrows be full of adventure. To our chosen family. May we never forget how loved we all are as we grow. Here’s to our forever on Ridge Lane.”
???
Holly
Twisting my glittering, teardrop diamond around my finger, the dim light of the dashboard bounces off of it as Tyler Rich’s The Difference fills the cab of Jaxon’s truck.
This all feels surreal. Less than three months ago, I was single, yearning for a man I made out with in a closet with a mysterious smirk and a wicked touch.
A man I thought was unattainable, that didn’t truly have an interest in more than a supply closet hookup.
I was thankful it hadn’t gotten far, but it left an imprint on me that I couldn’t shake.
I look over, noticing Jax’s soft smile. He feels my gaze and grabs my hand, lifting my fingers to his lips for a kiss.
He’s mine.
Our family…
His words echo from his proposal in my head as he parks the truck and sighs, looking at the front door, then at me.
“We’re home.”
Yeah, I like this.
“So, you’re officially moving in?”
“I figured you’d notice quickly.”
I snort.
“If I walk ahead and unlock the door, am I going to catch you checking out my ass?”
“It’s a great ass, Jax.”
Jaxon tosses his head back with a hearty laugh that warms my soul as he hops out of the truck and walks around to open my door and help me down. As soon as my feet touch the pavement, he tips my chin up, and his lips capture mine with a claiming intensity.
“Watch it closely,” he whispers and winks, walking off with a little more swagger that definitely warms my blood and gives me lots of ideas. He stops at the door and drops the keys dramatically with the fakest ‘Oops’ leaving his mouth. I bust a gut, but the pressure stops my laugh shortly.
“Oh my gosh! I gotta pee! Hurry!”
“It has begun,” Jaxon deadpans, his shoulders shaking as he laughs and unlocks the door. I shoulder past and run for the bathroom.
Minutes later, I’m walking into the bedroom, unbuckling my pants and looking for jammies.
“Much better?”
“Much. So I can expect that a lot more now?”
“Yup.”
“What if I piss myself.”
“You wouldn’t be the first.” His eyes glitter with mischief as I let out a strangled ‘ugh’ of frustration. Jaxon pulls me into his arms. “I can’t wait to see you all round with my baby.” His lips press softly to the side of my neck, and he breathes me in like he’s memorizing my scent.
“What if I change so much you aren’t attracted to me anymore?”
“I am not a shallow man. I’m in love with your heart, with you, not just how you look to me. Those are just the perks.”
I press at his chest playfully. “Yeah, but what if I don’t look and feel like me after the baby’s here?”
“You grew my child in this body. I will love it no matter what it goes through and after.”
“Can I get that in writing?”
“Memo style? High school, love note style? Your wish is my command.”
“Only if you sign it, Dr. Sexy.”
“Hmmm, I think you need a checkup.”
“I go back in a few weeks–”
“No, you need an exam right now.”
“Oh, Oh– Dr. Reyes… I have something I need you to look at.”
“You have my attention. How long has this been going on?”
I walk toward the bed, fluttering my most innocent eyes at him as I slip off my shorts and kick them away with my feet.
“Oh, it’s an ache that seems to come and go. I’ll need to show you the area so you can see if anything is out of the ordinary.”
A low sound rumbles from the back of his throat, telling me he likes this game.
“I’ll give you a thorough examination. No worries. Is there anything you’ve done that relieves this… ache?”
I blush. “I don’t know if that’s relevant to my examination, doctor.”
A throaty chuckle leaves him as he pulls my legs apart, designing a plan for all his desires as he pulls off his shirt.
“Show me.”