Page 57 of What About Now

“That’s amazing, Maddox. I’m so proud of you. Of all of you.”

He pulls me into his chest and wraps his strong arms around me. I feel his lips press to my temple. “Thanks, babe. Come on. I want to show you the rest.” He leads us down the hall, pointing out offices, and the guest artists' offices. “This is the kids' playroom,” he says, pushing open a door.

“You have a playroom for the kids?” I ask, surprised.

“Yeah, I mean, our family is growing, and if the guys ever need to bring the kids to work with them, we wanted a safe place for them to be. It has its own bathroom and tub. That was Roman’s idea. Something about diaper blowouts.” He chuckles. “Through that door there are a couple sets of bunk beds and some baby beds too. This is the play area.”

“Maddox, this is incredible.” I walk over to the three small vanities that I know my nieces would love to play dress-up at.

“That was Emerson’s idea. She thought Lilly, River, and Rayne would enjoy dressing up.”

“They’ll love it. You all have embraced them as a part of your family. I can’t tell you what that means to me, and I know Briar too.”

“They’re Forrest’s daughters. Of course they’re family,” he says, not missing a beat. “The workbench is for Kane, and I’m sure we’ll need to add more as we add babies.”

“You’ve thought of everything.”

“We tried to. We put a lot of time and thought into this. Come on. There’s more.” He leads me down the hall to a large meeting room and another break room. “This is the family break room. The guest artist and staff use the other one. This is a place our wives and kids can be. It’s a little extra, but we wanted it to be our space, if that makes sense.”

“I love it. It’s amazing.”

“We have Legend to thank for all of this. The business is thriving, but he used his inheritance to purchase the land, and he refuses to let us pay him back.”

“He’s a good man.”

“The best. He and the guys, they’re my brothers.”

“I love that for all of you.”

“Okay, let’s go to my office.” He flashes me a playful grin before bending and tossing me over his shoulder, causing me to shriek with laughter.

I smack his ass. “I know how to walk.”

“Yeah, but this is more fun. You’re turning me on with all of that spanking, baby.”

“St—op,” I say, sputtering my words filled with laughter.

When he steps inside a room, that must be his office, he slides me down his body and turns me so that my back is to his front. “This is ours.”

“Ours?” I look back at him over my shoulder.

“Yeah, so this is something else that Roman and Legend insisted on. They wanted our offices to be a space for our families too. So over there”—he points to a couch and a small refrigerator with a TV—“is our little living room area or whatever you want to call it.”

I step away, and he lets me as I walk around the room, taking it all in. There’s a blanket in my favorite color, baby blue, draped over the back of the small couch. I move around, taking it all in, and freeze when I get to his desk. My eyes lock on a picture of us. We’re both smiling. He’s looking down at me, and me up at him, and we look happy. So incredibly happy.

“Where did you get this?” I ask him.

“Emerson. She took it at Lilly’s birthday party. I had to have it. I wanted you here with me when I’m working.”

“Maddox.” My voice cracks. This man continues to surprise me at every turn.

He walks over and wraps his arms around me. “What about now?”

“What?” I ask, confused, my mind still on the fact that he took the time to print and frame a photo of us for his desk.

“Do you believe me now? Do you believe that I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything? Do you understand that I want a life with you? This life we’re building… I want it so bad, Brogan.”

I don’t know what to say, so I turn in his arms and hug him tightly. I let his words wash over me, and they build up a confidence in me I’ve never felt before. Maddox is open with his feelings and what he wants, and I’m not giving this a chance if I don’t do the same.

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