Page 163 of Pucking Tangled
She felt like four heartbeats pick up around her. Luca stirred behind her, his lips brushing the top of her shoulder.
“Please tell me this isn’t about your internship right now,” he mumbled. “I’m still emotionally fragile from all the cuddling.”
Mia smiled against the pillow. “It kind of is. But also... not just that.”
“What is it?” Casey murmured.
She hesitated. “Do you ever think about what this looks like… years from now?” Mia paused for a beat then continued. “Like… careers? Kids? Cities?” she prompted. “Not a plan, just…thoughts. Hopes.”
Luca laughed.
“Why are you laughing?” she asked.
“You want to tell her, Waylon?” Luca cracked open one eye.
Waylon propped himself up on one elbow, squinting through his bedhead. “I’ve thought about it.”
“I think we all have,” Casey admitted.
“Are you ready to start trying, right now?” Waylon asked, seemingly all too eager to make her motherhood dreams come true.
Casey chuckled. “I think she means eventually.”
“I mean one day,” Mia said, her voice barely above a breath. “Years from now. When we’ve figured things out, when we have more room. But I think… I want to be a mom.”
“You’d be an amazing mom,” Luca said gently, his hand still resting on her belly.
“You’d be the kind who makes forts and reads bedtimestories in funny voices,” Casey added, nuzzling into her side.
“Not to be dramatic,” Waylon said, stretching his arms over his head, “but I’d personally die for the privilege of being the chaotic father figure who teaches our future kid to swear creatively and appreciate his momma.”
Mia laughed, blinking away the sudden sting in her eyes. “So… it’s not crazy? The idea of raising a kid—together?”
Owen answered first. “We’d have to figure out what that means. What it looks like. But no, it’s not crazy.”
“I think about it sometimes,” Luca said. “When it’s really quiet. I picture a house with muddy floors and someone calling all of us dad.”
“We’ve built our whole damn relationship from scratch. We’ll build our future that way too,” Waylon said, rubbing her shin. “Along with a tree house and skateboard ramps in the backyard.”
“I don’t want it right now,” she said. “But someday…yeah. I want all of that. With all of you.”
“I’d teach them how to play hide and seek in the dark,” Casey smiled. “Prank wars. Fort-building with couch cushions and zero adult supervision.”
“You would,” Mia snorted, thinking back to some of the things they did together growing up.
“Can I be the one who brings our kid to career day and completely derails it?” Waylon asked.
“You’re gonna be the one who teaches them to skateboard and then cries when they fall,” Casey shot back.
“I don’t know what kind of parent I’d be,” Luca admitted. “But I know they’ll be loved and that I want to try, with you.”
“You’d be patient,” Owen said. “And gentle.”
“And fiercely protective,” Waylon added.
Luca ducked his head, and Mia squeezed his hand.
“What about marriage?” she asked quietly.
