She nods, zero indecision in her eyes. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”
I grin. “Well, if you did, I’d answer that with a big yes. I am, indeed, ready to marry Bryn, and to do so with my brilliant and beautiful daughter standing by my side.”
She gives me that cheeky little smile that melts me every time, and this kid. I’m so damn lucky to have her.
“Then I’m ready too. Also, I really want to have that cake.”
“You and me both.”
There’s a rap on the door of the suite. “Knock, knock!” Bryn calls as she swings it open.
“Hey!” I spin around and cover my eyes before she can enter the room. “I’m not supposed to see you before the wedding.”
“Well, face the window. I forgot my something blue.”
“And you couldn’t have Teagan get it for you?” But there’s a smile on my lips. Because this is us—real and making our own rules. If things don’t work, we change them—like Bryn did with her job, like I did in managing my time between my work, my daughter, and the woman I’m about to call my wife.
“My something blue is personal, thank you very much. And besides, my suitcase is a mess.” I hear shuffling as Bryn riffles through her luggage, but I don’t peek.
“I’m glad you’re both here,” Amelia says, sounding more sage than a nearly-nine-year-old should.
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” I ask, a smile in my voice.
“Because there’s something I want to ask you.”
The swish of material stops, and Bryn asks, “What can we do for you?”
“When are you going to have a baby?”
I stop breathing—I have to, the way my chest constricts.
What?
“Sorry, sweetie?” Bryn asks, apparently doubting her hearing as much as I am, because what did Amelia just say?
“Well, you two are getting married. And after people get married, they have babies. It’s just what happens.”
I finally find my voice. “It’s not what happens with everyone.”
“Yeah. It doesn’t happen with everyone,” Bryn echoes.
“It’s what happened with Isla’s mommies when they got married,” Amelia responds, and the story of her bestie’s new little brother does ring a bell. “And you guys already have me. I’d be a great help with a baby, just like Isla is.”
“I know you would, sweetheart.” I swallow around the golf-ball-sized lump in my throat.
“The best,” Bryn agrees.
“So? Does that mean you’ll have one soon?” Amelia presses, and I should call Oliver and tell him to recruit my daughter because she could put some serious pressure on a client. She’d be terrifying in a court of law.
Right now, thanks to this adorable interrogator, the bow tie around my neck has never felt tighter.
Bryn and I have discussed the possibility of children. Of course we have. You don’t go from “Let’s get naked” to “How ’bout we get married?” without some important stuff in between.
But when it comes to the question of kids, we’d agreed to table it. It wasn’t a no—and it wasn’t a yes. It was a “not now, but maybe someday” situation.
After all, Bryn adores Amelia. I adore Amelia. We moved in together and planned a wedding, and that makes my heart full to bursting. Why would I push for anything more?
“Amelia, sweetheart, you would be an excellent big sister,” Bryn starts, and her soft footsteps pad closer to the bed where my daughter sits. “But a marriage isn’t about having babies. It’s about commitment. It’s about promising to love each other for the rest of our lives.”
I peek through my fingers and out the window. Palm trees dance in the gentle breeze. Waves softly whisper to the shore. Attendants string flowers around the wire arch under which we’ll say our vows in a few hours’ time.
I’ve been looking forward to standing there for weeks. Months, even.
And Bryn’s right. This day is about us, and the promise we’ll make to each other in front of the people in our lives who do mean the most to us—including Amelia.
Especially Amelia.
But something about Bryn’s words has me thinking. Before she came along, I didn’t think I had room in my life to care for anyone like I did my daughter. Within days, my fiancée turned that notion on its head.
What if having another kid is like that? What if it’s something I didn’t know I needed but I’ve been missing all along?
“So, no babies for now,” Amelia says, and I focus on my daughter and the here and now.
“Yes. No babies for now,” Bryn agrees, her voice final.
Like there’s no room for argument.
Like it’s set in stone.
Her dress swishes again as she moves toward the door. “I should get back to the girls before they send out a search party.”
“Yeah.” I nod, my eyes still on that floral arch. “Can’t wait to see you out there soon.”
She leaves the room, and my last words to her feel true. I still cannot wait to marry this woman.
