Page 93 of Snowed In With The Second Chance Daddy

I take stock of the party around us once more.

Ash and Rye are sitting at a table, Ivy crashing out on Ash’s lap. Rye’s head rests on her husband’s arm.

Jarred is dancing with Piper while Hayden dances with little Ronnie, June recording the scene on her phone.

Keifer, Dara, and their twins are close to having a food fight, smearing cake on each other’s noses.

And Oliver holds Rose up high to get a closer look at the fairy lights, Rowan hugging him from behind.

We fit right in. Not just because it’s our party.

Because we’re family.

I meet Iris’s gaze again. “What would you say to being Trevor and Iris Hawthorn?”

Her gray eyes widen. “Hawthorn? We’d take their name?”

“I checked in with Ash. We have his blessing. Now it’s just up to you if you feel–”

Iris swings her arms around my neck, clutching me close. She presses her face into my hair.

I realize after a few moments, she’s crying.

Tears of sadness? Anger? Joy?

“I’m sorry, baby. Please, don’t cry. If you don’t like it?—”

“I love it, Trevor. It’s perfect.”

I hold her close.

“The Hawthorns. We’ll be the Hawthorns too.”

“Exactly. It’s where we belong.”

Iris pauses, a few of her tears graze my cheek. “Our baby will be a Hawthorn.”

Fireworks go off in my chest. “As it should be.”

17

TREVOR

It’s latewhen we get home.

Iris has fallen asleep in the car next to me, her hand cupping the lower part of her bump.

It was hard to keep my eyes on the road when my beautiful bride was sitting there looking like a dream.

However, when the car stops, she wakes up, bleary eyed. “We’re home, Mr. Hawthorn?”

“Yes, we areMrs.Hawthorn.”

I know many people would find the choice strange. Some guys take umbrage when a woman won’t take their last name. Not only am I breaking from that tradition, but we’re also taking a different name all together.

It’s much more than that, though. It’s our family, a promise to ourselves and our unborn child.

Of course, it will take some time to make it official. Name change paperwork is all red tape and bureaucracy. Doesn’t mean we need to delay the celebration.

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