Page 136 of Redemption

“Thank you.” She smiled and held out her hand. The large diamond ring was dazzling, and her accompanying smile even more so. “So glad you made it.”

“I wouldn’t miss it. It’s nice to add more women to the family.”

Especially women like Emerson and Kendall. They were both a lot younger than my brothers, sure. But it was clear how much they loved Nate and Knox, even if they’d both started as their employees. Emerson as Brooklyn’s nanny, and Kendall as Knox’s house sitter and his son’s ex.

Nate was right. I shouldn’t have been concerned. If everyone could get past all that, I had faith that they’d be just as welcoming and accepting of my relationship with Jackson.

Emerson wrapped her arm around Kendall’s waist, and Kendall leaned her head against Emerson’s shoulder. I smiled, thinking of Greer and wishing she were here. I’d spoken with her on the phone a few times since she’d left Puerto Rico, and we texted daily. It was a huge relief that our friendship hadn’t changed since Jackson and I had told her about our relationship. If anything, we’d grown closer.

And Jackson’s mom, Belinda… Oh my. I smiled. She had been over the moon when she’d found out we were together. Disappointed that Jackson wasn’t moving to New York after all, but we’d promised to visit often or fly her to London on my private plane.

“Here.” Emerson held out her hands. “Let me take that for you.” I handed her the gift I’d brought and followed her inside.

I glanced over my shoulder and spied Shea standing near the door to the garage.

“How do you like your new bodyguard?” Emerson asked.

“Everyone from Hudson’s been great, but I like that she’s a woman. I feel like it helps her blend in more easily. And I think we could actually be friends.”

“That’s awesome,” Emerson said. “Nicholas is great, but no one is Jackson.”

I smiled and turned to Kendall. “It probably isn’t my place to tell you,” I said, but I felt like Kendall deserved to know. “But I feel like we girls have to stick together. Did you know that Knox hired a bodyguard for you and Jude?”

She dragged a hand through her hair. “Oh yeah. Since he’s never bothered to tell me, I just pretend like I don’t know. It’s pretty amusing to see what kind of ridiculous situations I can put Knox in because of it.”

“Oh my god.” I laughed so hard tears came to my eyes. “That’s diabolical. And totally genius.”

“Thank you,” Kendall said, looking pleased with herself. “If he’s already this bad, can you even imagine how he’ll be once I’m pregnant.”

She’d made the offhand comment to her best friend, but my expression must have betrayed my shock. Kendall merely smiled. “You’re surprised, aren’t you?”

“I…” I smiled, thinking it was none of my business, but they’d brought it up. “I guess I am, yeah. Not that you’d want children, but that Knox does. Though he’s always wanted a big family.”

She nodded. “You know him well.”

“He’s always been there for me,” I said. “Despite the fact that we had the biggest age gap of the five of us. It’s funny to think that now we’re going through similar things even though we’re a decade apart.”

“Meaning…” Emerson leaned in, her eyes darting from my bare ring finger to my stomach, giving each a pointed look.

“What?” I jerked my head back. “No. No. Jackson and I only recently reconnected. We’re moving in together, that’s it. No wedding. No children.”

“For now.” Kendall shared a smirk with Emerson. She didn’t seem surprised, but nothing had ever stayed a secret long in my family.

Though their comment got me thinking about Jackson’s and my future. About what we wanted and whether it would include marriage or children or both. We’d been so busy trying to figure out if we could even have a future together, we hadn’t discussed what it might look like beyond where we’d live.

“Speaking of children,” I said, needing a segue before this conversation derailed even more. “Where’s Brooklyn?”

“Brooklyn,” Emerson called. “Sloan’s here.”

“Auntie Sloan?” She came tearing down the stairs with a huge smile. For a minute, I could imagine doing this with my own kids. Jackson’s and my kids. They’d have his eyes, and my gran’s nose. Jackson would be a great dad—overprotective, of course, but also fun.

And then Brooklyn flung herself into my arms, tearing me out of that daydream. The force of her embrace nearly knocked the air from my lungs, and I knew I needed to talk to Jackson to see if we were on the same page about this. Because if we weren’t… Well, I didn’t know what I was going to do then. I wanted kids, had always wanted kids. But I was thirty-seven. I didn’t have the luxury of waiting like Emerson or Kendall, who were both in their late twenties.

“I really missed you,” she said, squeezing me tight.

“Hey, kiddo. I really missed you too. I brought you something.” I reached into my bag. I pulled out a conch necklace I’d gotten her in the Bahamas. “This is for you. And Jackson picked this for you.” I handed her a stuffed turtle.

“Thank you!” she squealed and hugged the turtle tight before asking me to help her put on the necklace.

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