Page 41 of Wicked Little Secret

She appreciated his concern for her. “If I go slow, I should be fine.”

“You sure? Because I can carry you.”

That made her smile. “Trust me, I’m a doctor.”

“Not an ER nurse,” he teased as he took her hand and patiently helped her up the first step.

“Har har. You’re never going to let that go, are you?”

“No, I will.” Then he smirked. “Eventually.”

Maverick held her hand while managing to keep the car seat holding Sawyer steady as Honey made an appearance, walking through their legs and trying to trip them down the stairs.

“Hi Honey. I’ll scratch your ears when I’m sitting down, I promise.”

“I thought you said you had two cats?”

“You probably won’t see Oscar for a month. He doesn’t like strangers.” Which was why Rose had to meet Nick at her house to put him in the carrier. No way would Nick have been able to do that alone.

They got to the top of the stairs, and he directed her down the hall. They paused in front of the first room. “This can be your room—if you want.”

Other than that it was larger than any she’d ever seen, it was a typical guestroom. The white furniture was sleek, and the décor was greys and blues—much like the rest of his house. The cat tree was set up in there.

“It’s nice.”

“Kind of boring,” he supplied.

Olivia didn’t say anything, and they kept walking toward male voices.

She gasped when she stepped through the threshold of the next room. It smelled like paint and there were drop clothes still on the floor, but inside was a nursery with a fresh coat of blue paint and larger than life jungle animals on the wall. There was also a crib with matching changing table and dresser. In the corner was a rug and bookshelf with a few board books and a rocking chair.

“This looks amazing, guys. Thanks,” Maverick said to the four men who seemed to be anxiously watching her expression.

Meanwhile, she tried to find the words as she fought becoming a blubbering mess. These men had come together to put together a room for her son. Sawyer was now part of their family.

“The jungle theme is just giant stickers, so you can easily change it out if you don’t like it,” a guy who looked like a younger version of Maverick said.

“No,” she finally managed. “It’s perfect. Did you do all this today?”

“We got started last night,” Nick said proudly.

“I can’t believe you guys did this,” she whispered as she looked around the room again, then back at the group. “Thank you.”

“I know it still smells like paint,” a handsome man with light brown hair said as he stepped forward. “But we figured it would be okay since his bassinet is set up in the master bedroom.”

She wondered how hard it would be to move into her guestroom.

Maverick’s hand came to the small of her back.

“Let me introduce you to everyone. That’s Gabe,” he pointed to the guy who looked most like him. “He’s the second oldest. And that’s Beau.” The guy who’d told her about the bassinet waved. “And, you know Nick.”

At that, Nick pulled her against his side to hug her around the shoulders. “Hey, Liv.”

“Hi,” she said with an affectionate smile.

Nick released her and Maverick returned his hand to her back as he continued. “And the baby of the family, Derrick, who you’ve met.”

Her smile fell when she recognized the man from the bar. The one who’d said he had no idea who she was talking about. His hair was the lightest of the men, but seeing them all together, she could see the family resemblance. She hadn’t noticed it when she’d talked to him at Flannigan’s.

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