Page 5 of Momcom Vacation

Beside me, Beckett growls. “Why am I not the go-to guy for your date? This is my specialty.”

Liam rolls his eyes. “We’ve had this conversation.”

“What?” Stomach bottoming out, I whip my head back to the idiot who insisted we sit next to each other on this flight. “Do not try to play matchmaker with my kids.We’vehadthatconversation.”

Beckett’s only response is a smirk.

I turn back to Liam and unlock my phone. “Don’t worry. I’ll deal with my mom.”

Me: Okay on the 1500. Liam doesn’t care about colors. We’ll deal with his date when it gets closer. And could we maybe pause all the planning for a day or two?

“Talk to me, Man Bun.” Beckett elbows me.

A long sigh escapes me. “I don’t want a wedding.”

Beckett bolts upright, eyes wide and darting around the cabin. “You getting cold feet?” he whisper-shouts.

Heart lurching, I grip my armrests. “No,” I whisper back. “I want Dylan to be my wife. I want to be a family, the two of us and the kids.” The idea of not living the life Dylan and I have created is unimaginable. “I just don’t want this wedding from hell.”

Beckett frowns, his brows pulled low, but before he can respond, Rowan steps onto the airplane, pulling our attention to the door.

He blinks twice, then his eyes narrow on us. “What’s going on?”

A sharp pain lances my stomach. Fuck. With my luck, it’s the beginning of an ulcer. I turn and zero in on the thorn in my side. “I thought you said you told him.”

Beckett shrugged. “I borrowed Gavin’s phone and told him the flight had changed and that the team was heading out early.”

I rough a hand down my face and bite back a string of curses. “For the love of god, when I saidtell himI meanttell him that he’d have to miss a couple of gamesfor this trip.”

“W-what?” Rowan sputters, his brows shooting to his hairline.

I wince. He loves Shay and Kai, but missing multiple games for this surprise family vacation we haven’t even mentioned to our women? Yeah, as a former athlete, I get the frustration.

“See?” Enzo smacks his thighs and glares at Beckett from across the aisle. “I’m not the only one who thinks this is a bad idea.”

“Let the record show that I was the first to say this was a bad idea,” Liam mutters. “But apparently I don’t get a vote.”

Frowning, I turn back to my almost stepson.

“Dude, Ma’s not gonna care, but Aunt Delia and Aunt Liv are going to lose their shit.”

I wince. It isn’t that I think he’s wrong, but?—

“I heard that,” Phoebe calls.

Exactly. Liam needs to watch his mouth. The two of us are really racking up the curse jar expense lately. I blame wedding stress.

“Venmo,” Collette says.

“Who was it?” Finn pops up halfway back, where he and Kai are sitting side by side. The kids all insisted on spreading out in the massive plane.

“I got it,” I mutter, navigating to the app. Normally I’d give him a hard time for the language, but he’s missing out on a comic book release he’s been looking forward to because of Beckett’s last-minute trip, so I understand the frustration.

“Can someone explain what the duck is going on?” Rowan is still standing in the aisle by the door, his bag slung over his shoulder, his feet planted wide, and his face red with fury.

For the first time, a thread of humor works its way through me. Choking back a laugh, I turn to Beckett. “Care to explain why you kidnapped us?”

Chapter 4

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