Page 95 of Choosing You

“Not at all,” he replied easily. It was going to take a while to get used to dealing with such a large family since his was relatively small, but the Donovans were good people. As long as everyone treated his girl right, he was happy.

“Come sit with us!” Bridget said as she continued to wave them over. When they reached the table, she cupped Will’s face and kissed his cheek.

“Hey, Mrs. Donovan,” he said, not fully comfortable with all the PDAs.

“You call me Bridget,” she corrected. “And when you’re comfortable, you can call me mom.”

“Um…okay. Thanks.” His smile felt a little forced, but hopefully no one noticed.

“Will!” Kevin shouted, motioning for Will to come and sit by him. “How’s the garage expansion going? The contractor treating you and Devin right?”

“Everything’s going well, sir. Thank you for asking.”

Kevin’s smile was broad. “No need to be so formal! We’re all family now! I just heard my wife telling you to call her by her first name, and I expect you to do the same with me. None of this sir nonsense!”

“Thanks, Kevin,” he said slowly, still unsure if it felt natural. “So, how long are you staying in town for?”

“We’re flying back in the morning. I have some jobs going on that I need to check on. And, between you and me, my wife and I are eager to get home and have our house to ourselves again,” he said, laughing. “It was nice having Sloane staying with us for the last several weeks, but we’re ready to get things back to normal.” He glanced nervously across the table. “Don’t tell her I said that. I know she was stressed out about everything, and we were happy to help.”

“I know she appreciated it, but I’m really glad she’s finally here.”

“This was a big step for her,” her father said, his tone almost somber. “She’s an independent girl. Always has been. I think for a while she was so determined to be her own person that she did the opposite of everything Hailey or her brothers were doing. And when Hailey moved here to be with Max, she felt a little lost.”

They both looked across the table and saw Sloane holding Layla. She was smiling and making silly faces at the baby, making Will smile too.

“It’s a little sad,” Kevin said quietly. “Seeing your kids all grown up and realizing they don’t need you as much. But being a grandfather is a blessing on a whole other level. That’s one of the reasons we’re going to be moving here part time. Bridget doesn’t want to be so far away from Layla. We’ve got our grandson back in Florida and we adore him, but I think he and Ben would come here more often now that both the girls are here.” He grinned at Will. “You’re gonna need a bigger house if we all keep visiting, huh?”

“Well, we’re already considering it. My house is fairly small, so after we do some moving around tomorrow, we’ll see what we’re working with and figure out how soon we may need to move.”

“When you’re ready, you just let us know and we’ll come and help with the move.”

“Who’s moving?” Sloane asked, facing them now with Layla still in her arms.

“I told Will when the two of you are ready to move into a bigger house, we’ll all come and help.”

“Dad! Jeez, too soon! I just moved here and you’re already pressuring us to get a bigger house? What in the world?”

But Kevin took her question in stride. “Relax. I’m just thinking ahead. No one’s telling you to do anything now. Sheesh.” He stood up. “Now let me hold my little angel. When we come back in a few weeks, she’ll probably be twice as big and I want these tiny snuggles while I still have the chance.”

She reluctantly handed her niece over and immediately walked around the table to sit next to Will, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I feel bad that they’re going to miss out on time with Layla, but I know Hailey’s a little frazzled with having everyone here. Once we get everything moved out of their garage and we’re settled, would it be okay if we invited her and Max for dinner one night?”

“Of course! And you don’t have to ask. It’s your house too, and you can invite anyone you want over.”

Picking her head up, she grinned. “Careful. There are a lot of Donovans who would love to come and visit. You never know who might show up for dinner.”

“And I’d still be okay with it.” But then he glanced around and did a quick headcount to see who was left. “When’s everyone heading home?”

Sloane shook her head as she laughed. “Don’t worry, everyone’s heading home in the morning.”

“Hey, guys,” Hailey said to the group. “It’s getting really chilly out and we’re going to head home. If anyone wants to come and hang out, you’re more than welcome, but I am all festival-ed out.”

“That’s our cue to leave too,” Sloane whispered for his ears only. “Let’s go home.”

“Those are three of the sweetest words you’ve ever said to me.” He gave her a quick kiss as they got to their feet.

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