Page 162 of Mended Hearts

“Um. Why?”

“What if baby finds one and chops off a finger? Severs an artery?!Oh my god, Beau’sLegos.It’s like a landmine of choking hazards.”

“Oh, lord. Welcome to intrusive thoughts. They never stop.”

“And fuck those staircases. I used to think they were beautiful, you know? Swoopy. Dramatic. Great for photos. But we’re absolutely looking for a single-story house.”

“Honey, Tillie and Beau toddled just fine in our house.”

“But what if this baby isn’t that coordinated? What if he goes tumbling down and breaks something?”

“I think I still have the baby gates in the garage.”

“But what if he hurts himself?”

“Kids break bones, Leigh. They spend the first decade perpetually bruised and use their disproportionate skulls like battering rams. We’ll take all the precautions.”

“You think I don’t know that? Six brothers, Ollie. Do you know how many casts I saw in my house? Fucking Axel cracked his skull open once.”

“Ouch.”

“Jameson and Rhyett were hell on wheels.”

“I believe it. But girls aren’t always easier—don’t look at me like that,” he added as I scowled. “I saw your home videos while we stuffed bags of almonds before the wedding. As much as I love a good slide tackle, they are against the rules in rec leagues.”

“They arenot.”

“If you’re going forthe ball, Leighton.”

“Who says I wasn’t going for the ball,Ollie?”

“Well, the ref, for starters. Secondly, my eyeballs—she’d just passed the damn thing.”

“I was already mid-slide! You can’t just change momentum!”

“Please. You saw a window for revenge and took it.”

“Imight’vebeen sick and fucking tired of her fouling me all game and the ref doing monkey shit about it.”

Ollie threw his head back, laughing, and I grinned down at my lap, muttering bitterly, “Buncha pussies.”

“And the dickhead in co-ed that kept fouling Kaia?”

“He got what he deserved.”

“For sure. But don’t pretend you were some demure little angel.”

I just grinned, waggling my brows.

“See? Right there. You’re so full of shit. Axel said you weren’t even allowed to get your license until you were eighteen because Milo thought you needed to leash your temper first.”

“Oh my god, we have to teach them all how to drive! Ollie,youhave to tackle that. Boys are crazy. They hood surf. They do parkour. They think they’re inTheDukes of Hazzard.”

“Not a lot of ramps in Emerald Bay, baby.”

“Still,” I squeaked as the elevator dinged.

“Yes, Leigh. I’ll teach our son how to drive.”

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