Page 55 of Break: Vol. 2

“Well, believe it,” Dex said as he descended towards us. He took a moment to take my hand and then give my dad a nod of acknowledgment. “Thank you, Mr. Houston. You won’t regret this.”

My dad puffed out his chest. “I better not,” was all he said, causing Dex to smile and nod again.

“What did you mean about luck?” he whispered as we reached the altar.

I looked at him for a moment and then past him to the rest of the guys, all of them handsome in their suits. “I got so lucky with you. All of you.”

Dare grinned back at me. “You sure did, Sweetheart. And believe us, we got lucky with you too. You’re our lucky break.”

“Now, hurry up and say ‘I do,’” Taylor said, “so we can get to the good stuff.”

“We’re not there yet, son,” the officiant said with an amused chuckle.

I laughed and turned to face the man. Dex held my hand as the officiant started us off. He was wonderful and gracious for a rather unusual wedding. I was sure he’d never seen a wedding party with all of the men giving their own vows. And when the time finally came, the resounding ‘I dos’ from each of the guys had me biting my lip to keep from sobbing like a baby.

In the end, though, as a single tear slid down my cheek and the officiant announced it was my turn, I looked at them and smiled as I said the two most important words in my life.

“I do.”

Epilogue

Cody

5 years later...

My heart pounded as I stared down at the small image I'd found hidden away, buried under a veritable mountain of mail, documents, newspapers, and printed articles that Jamie had been working on from home. It was such a small little thing, thin in my grasp and yet it brought my whole world to a shrieking halt.

"Cody?" I turned as she entered the office. Her eyes went to the slip of paper in my hand and widened. "Oh my god..."

"You're..." I couldn't even say it. My eyes shot down to her stomach. Was it real? It had to be real. Of course, it was real. She wouldn't have this as a joke. She wouldn't look like that if it wasn't.

As if sensing my thoughts, her hands lifted and then came together closing over the front of her abdomen. I was going to be sick or pass out. No, I couldn't pass out. Not yet. Holy shit. This was real.

Jamie continued to stand there in front of me, and when the sound of the elevator doors of our New York City apartment opening reached our ears, she jumped into action. She turned and quickly shut the door before hurrying across the room to me. When she reached for the ultrasound in my grasp, I pulled it back. I couldn't let her take this from me.

"You can't say anything yet," she said quickly, her hands letting the image go as she grasped me by the front of my shirt.

Who would have guessed that I'd uncover such a secret when all I'd been looking for was a fucking pen? "You're pregnant..." I finally managed to blurt.

I couldn't believe it. She was going to be a mother. I was going to be a father. We all were. Jamie took one look at my face and giggled. "Yes, Cody."

"When did you..." I looked down at the ultrasound. It was new. The date printed at the bottom marked it as only just under two weeks old.

"I didn't want to say anything until I knew for sure," she confessed, moving closer. I lowered the image back to the top of the desk and then enclosed her in my arms. "I'm planning on telling everyone else tonight."

I laughed. I couldn't help it. This was … it was impossible and yet so very real. "Our anniversary dinner," I said.

She nodded and snuggled closer, tipping her face up expectantly. I gave her what she wanted, planting a kiss on her beautiful lips before turning and pressing her back against the desk and reaching down to cup my fingers over her nearly flat stomach.

"How long...?" I couldn't even seem to finish my sentences, but she understood me. She always did.

With another laugh that proved just how excited she was by this turn of events, she answered, "I'm still in the first trimester," then tilted her head, "I mean obviously since I'm not showing or anything, but about two months along. We've got another seven to go."

"Holy shit..." It was literally the only thing I could think. My hands contracted against her stomach as if I could somehow feel the little life inside of her growing and wiggling around. A baby. Her baby.Ourbaby.

"You can't tell them," she said quickly.

"I won't."

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