Page 123 of Indecent Ventures

I clear my throat. “We.We’regoing to have one of those perfect babies soon.” I smile at Reagan and Skylar. “I did say when we got here that I have very potent sperm.”

They both roll their eyes at me.

Darian hugs Jade. “How exciting. Congratulations.” She turns to Declan with a big smile. “Congrats, Grandpa.”

Declan scowls at her. I wink at him. “Should I start calling you Dad?”

“Fitz, if I were you, I’d sleep with one eye open.”

“Love you too, Dad.” I blow him a kiss.

Jade smiles at me. “This is going to be fun.”

I nod. “Totally.”

Jade rubs her hands together. “So, what did we have?”

Skylar kisses her baby’s forehead. “This beautiful girl is Rylee.” Like her siblings, she has a full head of blonde hair and a cute little nose.

We look at Reagan next. Carter picks up their baby and brings him over to me. He places him in my arms. His hair is light brown like Carter’s, and he barely has any of it. “Collin, meet your godson. George Collin Daulton.”

My hands tremble as I take him in my arms. “Me? You’re naming him after me?”

“Is your name George?”

“No, that’s your grandfather’s name. I meant the middle name.”

Carter smiles. “Yep. We named him after the two most important men in my life.”

I can’t help but tear at that.

At the same time, both Jade and I say, “George is an old man’s name.” We both laugh.

It hits me. We had the same thought. We finished each other’s sentence. For some reason, that makes me happy.

I whisper to the baby, “Don’t go by George. You’ll definitely want to go by Collin. It will help you with the ladies.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT

COLLIN

Jade and I are headed to Lucy’s T-ball game today. My whole family is coming. We’re having a picnic afterward. With Jade’s support and urging, I’m planning to tell them that I’m leaving the family business. We’re also going to tell them that we’re having a baby and not getting married. It’s going to be a mess. I’m anticipating bloodshed, but I need to be strong and finally have some hard conversations. Jade has given me the fortitude I desperately needed.

We cheer for little Lucy throughout her game. She’s so cute in her little uniform, with the pants practically falling off her. Ashleigh is sitting on the other side of Jade. I hear her telling Jade about her upcoming job interviews at schools. I love that Jade helped her in this process. Jade’s strength and conviction are so attractive to me.

We all gather at the picnic table in the park afterward. I brought a cooler of beer. Jade brought Snoop Dogg wine for the ladies, though she obviously won’t be drinking. Lydia and Ashleigh are already a glass in, and Jade is making Snoop talk on the bottle. I don’t understand the fascination with it.

I grab Jade’s hand. She squeezes my hand knowing what’s coming. She mouths, “I love you.”

I nod before turning my attention to my family. “Everyone, can I have your attention? Jade and I have some news to share.”

Everyone looks our way and I smile. I rub her flat belly. “We’re having a baby in about seven months.”

Ashleigh and Lydia scream in excitement, running to hug both of us. The rest of my family looks confused. My father asks, “When is da wedding?”

“Well, we’re not getting married yet. We’ve only just moved in together. We’re going to see how that goes. If we’re so inclined, after the baby comes, we’ll consider getting married then.”

My father goes to smack the back of my head, but Jade snaps her head and gives him a death stare. He stops himself before making contact. Braden and I look at each other in complete and total shock. Is my father afraid of Jade? My father has never been afraid of a single human being in his entire life. He’s so tough, I spent half my life thinking he was in the Irish Mafia. He’s not scared of union workers or big construction guys. It’s Jade McGinley that scares him? My blonde-haired, blue-eyed baby mama? I can’t help the big smile on my face.

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