Page 16 of Loving You

No, this time that annoyingly hot and impossibly sweet man was staring at me with what could only be described asreliefin his eyes.

It was just too bad that the appearance of it made my heart sink and reality seep in.

To have someone lookthatrelieved to see you laugh could only mean one thing: you were seriously fucking up the fake-it-till-you-make-it routine.

6

ERIC

I gazed down at Will’s youngest, running a hand gently over her fuzzy peach hair. “You won’t be horrible and annoying like your father, will you, Lea?”

Will snorted and pulled Kate into him, pressing a kiss to her temple. “My daughter is a perfect angel baby sent from heaven and will do whatever she wants, most especially annoy her uncle Eric.”

I shot him a glare, then tucked the sleeping bundle into her bassinet that was nestled next to the couch at Mom’s. She stayed snoozing, unlike her cousin, and I snuck away with a thumbs-up to her parents where they sat at the table. “All good.”

Kate grinned, and Will nodded, tossing out a cocky, “Of course she is.”

Everyone snickered at that, including Jackson. “Dad, you know she’s going to—”

Will cut him off. “She’s a human. I know this. I don’t expect her to beactuallyperfect. But let me be as obsessed with my baby as I am with my grown son, okay? I can’t cheer for her at football games and track meets like I can you, so my fatherly adoration comes in ridiculous fucking proclamations about her perfection.”

At the other end of the table, Mom beamed. “Well, sheisperfect, so I approve. But watch that mouth, William Thomas Walker.”

“You think anyone with Walker blood is perfect. You’re not exactly discerning,” Sammy quipped as Will cringed at the you’re-in-trouble use of his full name.

Mom scowled. “I’ll have you know I extend the same sentiment to those who choose to join the family by other methods, too.” She winked at Ellie, beamed at Kate, and finally turned to Willa, who sat in a high chair between Rachel and Sammy and whispered, “but you and Jackson and Lea are my favorites.”

Everyone laughed as Willa jabbered away in her secret baby language and shoved a fistful of dinner into her mouth. Damn, she was cute. A total disaster at most times, but in the most endearing, heart-achingly adorable way.

By the time I tuned into the conversation, everyone was discussing the wedding.

“Brenna said they’re flying in the week before and I think they’re planning on staying at the B&B unless anyone wants to host them. But she was adamant they didn’t want to inconvenience anyone.” Mom eyed each of us boys with a raised brow that conveyed something like,How dare you let my only daughter stay at the bed-and-breakfast instead of your homes?

“And why isn’t she staying here?”

Mom slow-blinked before settling her gaze on Jake. “Because my two extra bedrooms are reserved for my granddaughters when I’m watching them. If no one else in this family can accommodate them, of course I will host them, but I want you all to come over as much as possible, and I’ll need napping rooms for the girls when you do.”

I pressed my lips together to stave off a grin, then said, “They can stay with me, of course.”

She nodded, appeased on that front, then launched into plans for something called a bridal tea. The woman was holding court and clearly in absolute heaven as she presided over her people.

I took in the faces around the table with a sense of fullness in my chest. Jake and Ellie were about to marry and were so in love, they defined the word. Will had reunited with his first love, made an excellent father to my awesome nephew, and reveled in his new baby. Our missing pieces, Brenna and Connor, were scheduled for a visit soon. And Sammy had his life together and was married to a good woman with a baby girl named after our dad.

Not only did all of that represent pockets of happiness within the family, but as a whole, the strained relationships between us had been mended, strengthened, and in some cases, reforged.

Fuck, I missed my dad.

The scene sent so much satisfaction through me, it made me ache. These family dinners that’d grown richer with each addition to the table felt like a dream he might’ve had for us.

It was certainly what Jenna Walker had always dreamed for her boys, and I hated that she couldn’t share it with him. That he wasn’t here to see it—to see how they’d all grabbed life and were living it.

I caught the shine in my mother’s eyes as she smiled at me, but the note in her expression hit hard, as it often did. It was full of joy but a little wistful, with a hint of sadness directed at me.

And I already knew what she’d say.I just want the same for you. It’s okay for you to live your life, Eric.

I cleared my throat of the tightness that’d settled there, joining in laughing at some smart-ass comment Sammy had made to Jackson.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and since almost everyone I cared about was sitting here, I glanced at the screen.

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