Page 161 of Cougar

I could junk-punch Cam for being so insensitive and just blurting it out like that. It’s my fault, though. He warned me to stop keeping secrets.

“Jay.” I set my glass down on the counter and make my way to her side. “Jay.” I press my hand to the middle of her back. Zach shoots me a dirty look over the top of her head, but I ignore it because I know he’s just being protective of his wife. “Tell me what’s going on in your head right now.”

She straightens in her seat and wipes the tears from her face. “You promised no more secrets. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We only found out a couple weeks ago. I was trying to wait until after the wedding, because these past few weeks have been about you and Zach, and I didn’t want to take anything away from your special day.”

“Okay. I get it.” She sniffs. “That explains why you’ve been such a crybaby lately.” She twists in her seat and throws her arms around my neck. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Are you really?” Tears stream down my face as I hug her back. “You understand this won’t change anything between you and me, right?”

She nods into my shoulder before pulling away. “You’re having a boy?”

“Yes.” Jameson Trace Parker was conceived around Valentine’s Day. “We found out yesterday. He’s due in November. I wanted to wait until after the wedding to find out but someone”—I glare at Cam over my shoulder—“couldn’t wait.”

Cam gives a careless shrug as he finishes off my orange juice.

“I’ll forgive you for lying on two conditions,” Jay says.

“What?”

“One: I get to throw you a baby shower, and two: I get first dibs on babysitting.” She grins.

“Deal,” Cam agrees from across the kitchen.

“So does this mean you guys are getting married?” she asks, her eyes flicking between Cam and me.

“No,” I say at the same time he says, “Eventually.” He shoots me a wink, and I just smile and shake my head.

“We’re taking things one day at a time.” Cam rolls his eyes. “Your mother isn’t ready for marriage, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to ask her every single day until she says yes. But she is moving in with me,” he adds.

Jay turns to look at me with sad eyes. “I didn’t even think about that.” She blinks back a fresh wave of tears. “You said nothing would change between us. This house is big enough. We can all live here.”

I don’t miss the look Zach shoots Cam. I bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

“Jay,” Cam says. “Sweetheart, this is part of growing up. You’re starting a new chapter in life with your husband. The previous chapters are still a part of your story, but now you’re getting to the good part.”

“Dude, that’s deep,” Zach chuckles.

“Fine.” Jay sighs. “But I’m keeping Grace.”

* * *

Cam rises from his seat and taps his butter knife against his glass in order to draw everyone’s attention. Both our families, except for Liam, are gathered here at the house under the impression that this is a family dinner to celebrate Zach and Jay’s wedding before the rehearsal dinner. But actually tonight we’re telling them about the baby.

The loud buzz around the room fades into a few soft murmurs.

“Emerson and I have an announcement to make.”

“You’re getting married,” Cole chimes in sarcastically.

“Not yet, but we’re having a baby,” Cam replies.

A chorus of laughter mixes with “congratulations” and a shriek of excitement from Cam’s mother as she shoves past everyone and nearly tackles him to the ground.

That went better than I expected.

A strong arm wraps around my chest from behind, and a kiss is pressed to my temple. “I’m so happy for you, Emerson,” Max whispers. “I know you think I’m an asshole most of the time, but when it comes to protecting my little sister, I’m always going to be an asshole. But I love you, and believe it or not, I look up to you because you’re the strongest person I know.”

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