Page 29 of When The Rain Falls

But I'm already out the front door and running to the parking lot. I pause in front of two vehicles that couldn’t be any more different. One is a shiny, white BMW convertible. And the other is a beaten up minivan. The van is a metallic silver color and the front bumper is being held on with zip ties.

Unfortunately, I get in the minivan.

10DR. JONES & THE NEW LEAF

FINN

"It's hideous,"Laurel declares, putting a hand up to her mouth in horror.

I lean proudly against the silver minivan and pretend to check out my hair in the side mirror.

"It may be hideous," I explain. "But it's got the best safety ratings." I pull down my sunglasses and give her a wink. Laurel sighs as she rubs a hand over her belly.

"A minivan? Ew."

"Don't ew me." I pat the side panel. "At least not until you've seen the inside of this bad boy."

I push off from the side of the van and dramatically open the sliding door. "Look at all those cupholders! Eighteen, I counted." I step back so Laurel can peek in.

"What are you going to do with eighteen cupholders?" She eyes me suspiciously.

"I'm more worried about filling all these seats." I gesture to the interior. "Five kids, right? That was our deal?"

"Deal? What deal?"

"I wed and bed you. And you give me five children to carry on the Hudson legacy."

"First of all, never say 'wed and bed' ever again. Second, I don't remember agreeing to this." Laurel rests a hand on her baby bump and fuck, she's so sexy like that that I have to bite back a growl. Laurel doesn't like when I growl at her. She says it's repulsive and bestial.

"Laurel. I lived up to my end. That's partial performance."

"Will you stop trying to lawyer your way through our marital decisions? I went to law school, too, you know."

"The law is the law." I come up behind her and grab her hips. I may not be allowed to growl, but I can touch. Laurel slaps my hand away. Or not.

"There's the letter of the law and there's the spirit of the law. And the spirit of the law says you better stop being a chauvinist dick or you'll never touch your wife again." I grimace and hold my hands up in surrender.

"Laurel, babe. We're getting off track here," I say defensively.

"Ok, Finn. Where exactly is the track?" She puts her hands on her hips and it's so damn cute that I have a hard time taking her seriously.

"The track, or the point, is that I love you both so much that I bought the safest vehicle on the market. Even if it means the mark of death for my manhood."

Laurel's pursed lips loosen slightly. She peeks into the van one more time. "It does look pretty safe," she says.

"Side airbags. Reinforced side panels," I explain. "The back seats fold down," I add with a raised eyebrow. That earns me a good dose of side eye.

"Fine," she says finally.

"Fine?"

"Yeah. It's not what I pictured, but..."She turns to face me. "I think it's really sweet that you did all that safety research."

I pull Laurel into my arms and nuzzle her neck.

"That just leaves one more point of discussion," I say, planting a kiss along her jaw.

"What's that?" Her voice sounds like it's melted.

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