Page 68 of Worth the Chase

I shot her a look. “I did show him the house.” I rolled my eyes as we headed into the kitchen and deposited the trays on top of the oversize counter without anyone realizing we were even here.

“Hello!” Addi suddenly shouted.

A chorus of hellos hit us before the sound of running feet echoed in our direction.

“They must have been outside,” I said as I heard the balcony door shut.

The entire O’Grady family appeared in the kitchen with giant smiles on their faces.

“You closed early?” Patrick asked as he swept Addi into a hug and kissed her hard, their dog, Jasper, right on his heel.

“And you brought food?” Matthew asked as he lifted one of the tops off and inhaled, his eyes closing as he breathed in the scent.

“You brought a lot of food,” Mr. O’Grady said with a laugh. “But I’m not complaining,” he said as he pretended to wipe the non-existent drool from his lips.

No one in Sugar Mountain would complain about Addison bringing them a meal.

“More food!” Clara said as she ran toward Addi, who bent down to give her a hug.

“Did you already eat?” Addi asked.

Clara shook her head dramatically. “Mama Waffles and I got pizza!”

“That was hours ago,” Matthew said as he stalked straight to me. “Hey, babe.”

He leaned down to kiss me in front of everyone, and I turned my head quickly, his lips hitting my cheek instead of my mouth.

“Hey.” I blushed.

We were still so new. Brand-new really. I wasn’t prepared for the public display of affection.

“Uncle Matthew, did you just try to kiss Bella?” Clara asked behind a laugh.

“You saw that? How embarrassing,” he joked, and she put her little fist up to her mouth as she continued to giggle.

“We all saw that. It was embarrassing,” Thomas added with a smile, his arms wrapped around Brooklyn’s waist as his hands flexed over her stomach. “You two missed the big announcement.”

Brooklyn flinched. “We didn’t mean to tell everyone without you.” She looked genuinely apologetic.

I already knew what was coming from our interaction during the restaurant’s big opening, but Addi apparently did not.

“What announcement?”

“About the Little Goo,” Clara said, and that comment cleared up nothing.

“We’re pregnant.” Brooklyn beamed, and Addi let out some sort of squeal before she launched toward her future sister-in-law and hugged her.

“Oh, I’m so happy for you. Congratulations!”

Patrick pulled Addi away and held on to her. “Should we tell them our news?”

Addi glanced back at him. “I think we need to.”

Everyone quieted down at once and focused on the couple.

“One of you, speak,” Matthew demanded.

“We’re getting married in two weeks,” Patrick said.

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