Page 196 of Pucking Sweet

He steps in, his hand going to my waist. “There’s an engagement ring sitting in a box that I will never give to the woman I love. Do you understand? Because I would never put her in the position of havingto choose between us—and thereisan us, Lukas. The three of us. I’m not choosing between you, so why should she? Poppy wants us both, she loves us both, and she deserves us both.” He steps in closer, mouth against my ear. “Now, get your head out of your goddamn ass, and go get our girl back.”

Taking a deep breath, I let it out. “Right. Let’s do this.”

He steps away and nods. “Let’s fucking do this.”

I lead the way as we search the house looking for her. We check all the rooms on the first floor before making our way up the stairs. I’m starting to panic, thinking she left, when I open the door to one of the bedrooms and find her sitting on the bed, clutching a princess crown pillow to her chest.

Taking in the determined look on my face, she clutches tighter to the pillow and slowly stands. Fuck, she’s so beautiful, with her bright blue eyes, and that pointed chin.

I’ll never deserve her, and I know that. If I were a better man, I’d walk away and never look back. I’d free her of the burden of having to love me and put up with all my bullshit. But this woman is mine, and I’m hers, and Cole is ours, and I’m going to make her understand that I am never leaving again.

“Lukas, please,” she says on a breath.

Squaring my shoulders, I hold her gaze. “Poppy, I love you.”

72

Icling to this little sparkly crown pillow like it’s a life saver as Lukas comes blasting into the room professing his love. “Don’t do this,” I plead, my hope mingling with my fear. “Please, not here.”

“No, we’re doing this right the fuck here,” he replies. “Because I can’t go on for another second without you.”

Colton steps in behind him, shutting the door. They’re blocking my only exit…unless I want to flee out the window and shimmy down the rain gutter. In a show of solidarity, Colton steps around Lukas and crosses the room to my side. I sigh with relief as his hand goes to my shoulder. He gives it a gentle squeeze and I go still.

Wait…is he here for me, or for Lukas?

I look up at him, pleading.

“Hear him out,” he says.

Slowly, I turn back to Lukas, heart hammering in my chest. He looks so nervous. He’s clenching his fists and swallowing, jaw tight. He licks his lips, once, parting them as if to speak, but nothing comes out.

Next to me, Colton sighs. “Nov—”

“No, I’m doing it,” he snaps at him. “I’m just coming up with the right words. I thought I had more time, you know? I had this all planned out for tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” I glance between them.

“Yeah, Cole was gonna bring you over to the house, and we were gonna show you what we’ve been working on.”

“What have you been working on?”

“Renovations,” he replies. “For you. For the family. Cole worked with the interior designer you suggested, and he added a whole walk-in closet for you, Pop. And there’s a library. Thereare so many books, baby. And this cool, cozy chair, and I put a cashmere blanket in there for you too.”

Oh god, I’m gonna cry again. “Lukas…”

“And I have the team over there right now finishing the nursery.” He pulls his phone from his pocket and flashes me a picture of a Pinterest board of a nautical-themed nursery. “It’s right across the hall from the main bedroom, and it’ll have monitors, a changing table, everything.” He slips his phone back in his pocket. “I mean, if you hate it, we can change it, obviously. But Cole picked the design, and everything he picks is cool, so I think he’ll like it.”

“He?” I whisper.

He nods, his gaze trailing down my body. “Yeah, the baby.” He looks back up at me. “It’s a he, right? We’re having a boy?”

I nod, tears in my eyes. “Yeah, we are.”

He lets out a shaky breath, dragging a hand through his hair. “Okay, and I’m not saying I’m not still freaked out,” he goes on. “Because I am. I have no idea what to do with a kid, Pop. I don’t know how to be a parent. I never had one. But I figure you two do,” he adds, gesturing between us. “Or you have more of a clue than me. So, maybe I can learn something new. I can figure it out. And I wanna figure it out because goddamn it, I need you. I need you, and I need Cole, and I need us to be together.”

He takes a step closer. “More than that, Iwantto do this.” He looks down at my baby bump, and I fight the urge to cover it with my hands. “I was abandoned, Poppy. I know what that feels like. I know what it feels like to wishoneperson cared about you. Just one.” He holds up a finger. “Well, how lucky could this kid be to say he has three, right? I mean that’s…that’s a really lucky kid. And I could be part of that for someone. I could make someone feel wanted. I’ll figure out the other stuff like feeding it and holding it. But the wanting it? IknowI can do that,” he says with a firm nod, tears in his eyes.

My heart is racing as I toss the glittery pillow aside. “Lukas—”

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