Page 79 of Wild Night

He couldn’t ever recall consciously thinking of her that way, but had he?

God knew he looked at her like that now. Every freaking second of the day.

She’d become his world, and his only regret in life was that the stupid teenager in this photo hadn’t leaned forward and wiped that ketchup away with his tongue…followed by a kiss.

“So many wasted years,” he murmured.

“Oh no, son. That’s not what I see at all. I see two headstrong, stubborn, independent people who had a lot of life to live before they could see and truly appreciate what they’d found. This moment…it was just the beginning of your story. An epic tale.”

“Complete with blackouts, karaoke, wine, and babies.”

Pop Pop laughed. “As well as laughter, friendship and love. The best kind of story. Because it has a happy ending.”

“I love the picture.” They both looked at it for a moment longer before returning to their chairs.

“Twins,” Pop Pop said quietly. Like Colm, it seemed as if the only way for Pop Pop to truly believe it was to say the word over and over a few thousand times. It still hadn’t sunk in for Colm either. It was just too good to be true.

“So,” Pop Pop said. “It sounds like your father’s prayers for you when you were a teenager have come true.”

Colm tilted his head, curious. “Prayers?”

“He always said he hoped you had children just like you,” Pop Pop said with a wink.

Colm laughed. “I think you and I both know that wasn’t a prayer, Pop Pop. It was a curse.”

Pop Pop reached out and patted Colm’s hand. “And you and I both know…it’s not.”

“You’re right. It’s not. But telling you about the babies isn’t the reason I came here. At least, not the only reason. You and I have some work to do.”

“We do?”

“Yeah. Names. If these babies are boys, I want names that mean something tough. None of these stone or dove names. Something rugged. Like a gladiator. Or maybe even a god.”

Colm chuckled to himself as a name popped into his mind.

Kelli would kill him.

“What’s Thor mean?”

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