Page 25 of Can We Try?

“But going home to practice is making a family,” Maddox counters sweetly, kissing her cheek.

I can see the indecision on Brogan’s face. Not that I blame her. If I had a sexy husband wanting to practice with me, it would definitely be hard to say no.

The doorbell chimes, and the kids start to cheer, chanting, “Pizza.” I guess they’re hungry. Roman gets the door, and we all trail behind him into the kitchen. The kids' plates get made first and then the rest of us dive in to do the same.

“How are you feeling? Need a ginger ale?” Lachlan asks.

“I’m good, thank you. Besides, I don’t think Roman and Emerson keep that on hand.”

“I brought some in a cooler in the back seat of my truck, in case you needed it.”

I turn to look at him, and he shrugs. “I wasn’t sure if baby Noble was going to play nice with Momma tonight, so I wanted to be prepared.”

Not caring that our friends are here to witness this, I turn to him, wrapping my arms around him in a hug. His come around me, instantly holding me tightly. “Thank you, Lachlan. You take such good care of m—us.” I almost said me, but I know it’s the baby he’s worried about.

“I’ll always be here to help take care of both of you, Maggie. Today and twenty years from now. You and this baby, you’re my family.”

His words have tears springing to my eyes. I’d love to say it’s the hormones, and that might be part of it, but the other part is this incredible man. He always knows exactly what to say, and I know he means every word. Lachlan is a “what you see is what you get” kind of guy, and what I’m getting is a man who was told his one-night stand and friend is pregnant with his baby, who steps up in a major way.

Pulling back, I smile up at him. “I’m glad it’s you, Lachlan.”

His blue eyes blaze with something I can’t name. “Me too, Mags, me too. Come on. Let’s get you something to eat.” He releases me, picks up my discarded plate, adds a couple of slices of pizza and a few boneless wings, and carries it to the living room. I follow along behind him, like a puppy, and take a seat. I’m shocked when he bends and presses a kiss to the crown of my head once I’m seated, before heading back to the kitchen to make his own plate.

I don’t dare glance around the table to see the curious looks of our friends, because I’m just as curious. Instead, I pick up a slice of pizza and start to eat. When Lachlan joins us a few minutes later, he places a bottle of water and a small bottle of ginger ale in front of me, before going to join the guys to eat in the living room.

“Maggie?” Monroe says.

I look up to find my friends watching me closely while the twins and Lilly munch away on their dinner. “I don’t know,” I answer her silent question.

“We’re here,” Emerson says.

“Thank you.” I smile at them, and thankfully, the twins start asking us about our favorite pizza and ice cream, and the heat is no longer on me. However, I still feel the warmth of his arms wrapped around me.

Chapter

Six

Lachlan

* * *

“I promise you have nothing to worry about,” I tell Maggie. We’re on our way to my parents’ house to tell them about the baby.

“Are you not the least bit embarrassed to show up with me in tow and tell them, oh, by the way, we had a one-night stand, and now we’re having a baby?”

She’s telling me more than she thinks from that line of questioning. Reaching over, I lace my fingers with hers. “No. I’m not the least bit embarrassed to be having a baby with you. I’m not worried about my parents thinking less of me or you. You have nothing to worry about. What about you? Are you nervous about telling your grandma tomorrow?”

“No. She’s always telling me her biggest worry is her leaving me in this world alone. She’ll be happy to know I’ll have family once she’s gone.” Her voice cracks. “I can’t even think about her not being here anymore. I know that’s a part of life, but I’m not ready for that. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for that.”

“Yeah,” I agree. I don’t know what else to say. She’s right, death is a part of life, but that doesn’t make it suck any less. “You have me and our baby forever, Maggie. You will never be alone. That’s a promise I can make to you, your grandmother, and our baby. I’ll always be right here.”

“You’re going to meet someone someday, and how you’re feeling right now could change.”

“Never. You are the mother of my child, Maggie. We shared an incredible night together, and now we’re going to have a permanent reminder of that night. Whoever may or may not come into my life will have to understand that. There is no in between. I will always be there for both of you.”

What I want to tell her is that we could be a family. I want to tell her that I couldn’t stop thinking about her before I found out about the baby, but I know Maggie well enough to understand she’ll assume my sudden interest in us being together is solely for the baby. That’s not true, but only time and my actions will prove that to her. She’s still dealing with some insecurities from her cocksucker of an ex-boyfriend.

All I need is time.

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