Page 79 of Can We Try?

“Yeah.” I glance at my watch. We have a couple of hours before we pick up Grandma Doris and head to my parents’. “Christmas movie?”

“Is that a real question?” she asks, laughter in her tone.

“Pick a movie, woman.” I hand her the remote.

She skims through our options and picks one, before moving to snuggle into my side. I kiss the top of her head and place my hand on her belly. My dad used to tell me that there was nothing he loved more than just spending time with Mom and me. As a kid, I thought he was just giving me a line, telling me that out of obligation, but I was wrong.

So very wrong.

This, right here, is my happy place. There is nothing I would choose over holding her, holding them in my arms. I didn’t know that being in love would make me feel so… settled. So content. I can hear my dad saying, “I told you, son,” in my head, and it makes me smile. I’m going to have to confess he was right all these years, and I was wrong. He’s going to love that.

Maggie places her hand over mine that’s resting on her belly. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Mags. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas.”

Chapter

Eighteen

Lachlan

* * *

“Thanks for the hook-up on the 3D ultrasound,” Forrest tells me. “Briar loved it, so did the girls.”

“Those things are bad-ass,” I tell him.

“I’m going to need that information,” Roman tells us.

“Go ahead and add it to the group text,” Maddox tells us.

“Yep,” Legend agrees. “Monroe can’t stop talking about how you can make out the baby’s features. She thinks he’s going to have your eyes,” he tells me.

“Did you see the drawing that Maggie got me for Christmas?” I ask them.

“Yeah, you showed us,” Roman tells me. “That was a great gift idea.”

“Right? I was going to hang it up in my office at the shop but decided to put it in the office in the basement at home.”

“Good choice,” Forrest tells me.

“Hey, do you and Briar have a name picked out yet?” Roman asks him. “You have a theme in your family.” He grins.

“Yeah, we’re naming her Willow.”

“Nice.” I nod my approval.

The ladies laughter catches our attention. The five of us stand here in the kitchen of Briar and Forrest’s house, staring at our women in the living room like love-sick fools. I don’t know how much time passes when Forrest clears his throat.

“Did you see the email our accountant sent?” he asks.

“No. Bad news? Good news?” I ask. The others shake their heads too.

“Good news. We almost tripled our income this year.”

“No shit?” Roman asks.