Page 194 of Pucking Sweet

Fuck me, am I about to cry?

I let out a shaky breath. I want this. I wantthem. Poppy, Cole, the baby. Our son. God, he’s gonna be so beautiful. Holy shit, it’s a whole other person. And I want all of it. For once in my life, I want to belong somewhere and know it’s not temporary. I want to go home.

God, please let Poppy still want me too.

Janiceand her team spend the afternoon remodeling the bedroom upstairs, while I spend most of it on the floor of my bathroom, trying to get Miss Princess to eat or drink something. It’s gonna be a greatshow of my parenting skills if I can’t even keep a cat alive for one fucking night.

By seven o’clock, I’m scrambling to leave. Fuck, I’m so late for this stupid party. I don’t even want to go, but now I feel like I owe Shelby and Sully. I mean, it’s a costume birthday party for a grown-ass adult. We’re supposed to come as our favorite fictional character.

I pick up Cole at Langley’s place. Both of them are fresh off the beach, looking sandy and salty as they force me into my costume. The three of us are dressed as bikers fromSons of Anarchywith jeans, white T-shirts, and fake leather biker vests.

“Everything good?” Cole says as we get in the truck.

I nod. “Yeah, Janice just texted. They’re still working.”

“And you went with the ocean explorer theme?”

“I sent her all your mood boards,” I assure him. I don’t know the first thing about decorating any room, let alone a nursery, so Cole put together some ideas. All I know is I saw a lot of blue paint and a large stuffed octopus.

We roll up to the party, and it’s already in full swing. Dance music pulses and colored lights flash in the windows. As we’re crossing the lawn, Coley cries out, nearly knocking Langers over. “Jesus,” he shouts. “Dude, what the fuck?”

We all turn to see a grim reaper-looking fucker wander out of the shadows.

“Who the fuck is that?” Cole shouts. “Who are you?”

“Dude, chill,” comes a deep voice. “It’s me.” Dave-O pulls back his hood and the three of us sigh with relief. “Pretty cool, huh?” he says, gesturing to the costume.

“It’s not a haunted house, asshole,” Coley snaps. “It’s a birthday party.”

I just grin. Cole doesn’t like horror movies. He’s worse than Poppy when it comes to jump scares.

“Yeah, but this was left over from Halloween,” Dave-O says with a shrug.

They keep bickering as I lead the way inside. We hit the front entry, and J-Lo and Lauren are there wearing bright blue and pink wigs. Lauren’s pink dress is covered with flowers, and J-Lo is in robes of black, a little skull pinnedto his chest.

I grin.Herculeshappens to be one of my favorite movies. “Whoa, cool costume, J,” I say. “Hades, right?”

“And his darling wife, Persephone,” Lauren chimes, throwing an arm around his shoulders.

Just then, Teddy the PT intern goes dancing past between us, moving like he’s got noodles for legs.

“Who are you supposed to be?” Langers says with a laugh.

Teddy turns, double fisting his beers. He’s wearing a long blue bathrobe that has silver stars stapled to it. And he has a Santa beard strapped to his chin. “I’m Merlin,” he says, swaying toward me. “Aw, damn. Where’s my hat?” He looks all around. “It makes more sense with the hat.”

With a sigh, I slip one of the beers out of his hand and pass it to Langers. Then I snag the other one as Teddy goes stumbling off. “This party is gonna get messy,” I mutter, taking a sip of the beer.

Wishing I was anywhere else, I lead the way toward the kitchen. We can’t leave until Shelby and Sully see us—

Fuck.

I stop, fisting tight to my beer. Standing at the other end of the hall, holding a red Solo cup adorned with fruit and a little pink umbrella, is my Poppy. Oh fuck, she’s not supposed to be here. She said she wasn’t coming. I had hours yet. The house isn’t even ready. Janice texted when we arrived that she’s still doing paint touchups. Why is she here?

Cole stops too, glancing between us. Langers nearly knocks into me. “Guys—what?”

What the hell is she wearing?

She’s in a long dress, and she’s done something with her hair to pin curls around her face like a bunch of grapes.

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