Page 90 of Decked, Wrecked and Pucked
“And yesterday’s eggs were perfect too,” Jasper adds from across the island, smirking as he lifts his coffee to his lips.
“Well, I won’t be making them tomorrow because I’ve got a bunch of indie books arriving first thing in the morning, so I’ll be at the store early.”
“Are you serious?” Zeke’s voice punches through the room. He shoots up from his stool, slowly backing away from the counter. The phone’s still to his ear, but his other hand moves to his hair, pushing through it roughly. His bare chest rises and falls too fast, and something cold snakes down my spine.
My fork hits the plate.
Addie sits up straighter.
Jasper stops chewing mid-bite.
Someone’s hurt.
Something’s wrong.
When he ends the call, he just stands there, clutching his phone. I ease Addie from my lap, ready to go to him and hold him up if he needs it.
“What is it?” Jasper asks, worry etched across his face.
But Zeke’s face breaks into the biggest smile I’ve ever seen, and now I’m just fucking confused.
“You’re scaring me,” Addie says, her brows pinching as she steps closer to him.
“That was…” He blows out a shaky breath while the three of us stare at him. “That was Victoria.”
“Victoria from the agency?” I ask.
My heart’s going a mile a minute like it already knows, and Zeke gives the smallest nod, his lips parting as if he can’t believe it himself.
“What did she say?”
“She called because… we’ve been matched.”
Addie’s hands fly to her mouth, and Jasper bolts up and steps forward, both hands buried in his hair as he looks between all of us in shock.
“Wait, wait—matched? Like, matched matched?” he asks.
Zeke nods again, and his voice cracks when he says, “With twin boys.”
“You’re serious?” Addie asks, and Zeke nods, pulling her into his body.
“They’re just over a month old,” he murmurs, his lips brushing hers, “and they’re ours.”
Addie cries into his neck, and Jasper crashes into me, grabbing my face and kissing me hard before pulling back and pressing his forehead to mine.
“We’re gonna be dads, Rome.”
With his chest pressed against mine, I let myself feel everything—the hope that’s been quietly building inside me for months, ever since we first talked about growing our family. The fear that’s always been there too, whispering that maybe thiswould never happen for us. But beneath it all is the overwhelming, all-consuming love I have for Zeke, Addie, and Jasper.
“This is really happening,” he says, and his voice cracks just enough to make my throat burn.
“Yeah, it is.” I close my eyes and breathe him in before I pull back and turn to Addie.
I wrap her up from behind and press my lips to the top of her head before leaning in and catching Zeke’s jaw with my lips.
“You’re going to be the most amazing mom,” I whisper in her ear, feeling her melt into us.
Jasper’s wiping at his eyes, Zeke still has his arms locked around Addie like he’ll never let go, and I’m just standing here in awe of the life we’ve built.
