Page 52 of No First Kisses

Linc starts tittering. “Kennedy said that we have to be their drivers for the first six months after all the kids get here. So tonight’s our night to party.”

“You’re all fuckin’ crazy,” I tell them when I see Dom wearing a pink sash and rubbing his wife’s stomach. “The only one not losing his mind is Ian, and he’s putting together some sort of baby thing.”

Does that stop me from taking the beer that Poppy holds out for me? Hell no. Nor does it do anything to stop me from pulling Poppy in for a kiss in front of the entire room.

“You picked a last name your father tells me.” I keep my voice down, whispering the words against her lips.

Poppy smiles. “Maybe.”

That minx.

“You’ve got the name figured out already, don’t you?”

She winks at me and then saunters away. Well, as much as a pregnant woman who could pop at any second can saunter. Which for Poppy is quite a bit because I’m about to follow her with my mouth open and my tongue hanging out.

“I love that woman,” I say to no one in particular while I take my time savoring the beer in my hand and trying to ignore the chaos all around me.

“No shit,” Bax says from the love seat where he is sitting with my mom. He is wearing a diaper as a hat, and I think about the likelihood of slipping him a beer, then decide against it. He deserves it. “You have a bunch of people in your house for the first time ever for a social event, not just helping you move Poppy’s stuff. And they’re all over your yard, too. If you didn’t love her, I bet you’d have shot someone by now.”

He is right, so I don’t say anything about it. If it wasn’t for the woman currently hiding from me in the other room, I would have kicked everyone out of my house and gotten in the shower I’ve been craving all day.

By the time everyone leaves hours later, I haven’t had one minute alone with Poppy. I still haven’t had a shower, and I’m ready to burn my house down just to get away from people. But the baby shower is done, and our kid has more stuff than he’ll likely ever need.

“Why was that so much harder than everyone else’s?” Poppy plops down next to me on the couch and closes her eyes. “Every other baby shower, we just show up and decorate and give them presents and food. Then we just get to leave and sleep.”

Unable to help myself, I pull her into my arms and relish the way her body curves into mine. I have one arm wrapped around her back, and the other I bring up to feel our boy move around.

“I had cake today,” Poppy says sleepily. “He really likes the sugar, I think.”

If the rolling and pitching of her stomach is anything to go by, Poppy is beyond right about it.

“Your brother read me the riot act,” I whisper into the silence a few minutes later. “About not trusting you when you went out. For trying to keep you locked up and safe in the house.” I sigh. “By the end of it, I felt like I was one of those people who tries to lock a falcon up instead of letting it go free., trusting the bird to come home when its time.”

Poppy doesn’t even tense in my arms, and if I wasn’t already crazy about her, that moment would have decided it.

“I also know that you’re keeping something from me about the locket.” She nuzzles into my chest, shocking the shit out of me. “I don’t care what you have to do to feel like you’re keeping us safe, Lo. You do you. I’m still gonna be here. I might be trying to kill you by the end of it, but I trust you.”

“I went and saw your dad at the club,” I tell her. “The other day when I came to the realization that you could be in danger because of me.”

I think for sure that will cause her to freak out. That she’ll yell at me or leave. In fact, I tighten my hold on her back just slightly, preparing for the eventuality that I’ll have to convince her to stay. But yet again, I underestimate her.

“What do you mean? I told Sammy what was happening, and I assumed he’d go and tell my dad about it so the club could keep an eye on things, too.”

Shit.

There I am, trying my hardest to keep my shit together and keep her out of it, and Poppy is smarter than I am. Without even trying.

Instead of hiding my guilt or shame at not including her in the discussions that will keep her safe, I pull up my big boy pants and decide to tell her everything. Well, mostly everything.

“Ortega had to be the one to send you that locket.” I smooth my hand over her stomach, hoping for the baby to kick some more. “I know that you know that. I don’t know why I tried to cover it up. I’m afraid that he’s going to come after you so that he can hurt me.”

Again.

“I’ve got a gun,” Poppy offers conspiratorially. “And I might not be as good of a shot as Emma, but I’m pretty good.”

“No one’s as good as Emma. Not even Dom, and he was the sniper in our unit.” I press a kiss to the top of her head. “Why aren’t you fighting me? Or arguing? Or telling me I’m a jackass?”

“Because.” Poppy pulls away just enough so that she can turn and stare into my eyes. “Anything that I could say to you, you’re telling yourself a hundred times over. Not only that, but you’ve already beat yourself down to the point that you were sneaking into my house because you couldn’t stay away…” She yawns loudly.

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