This bonus chapter is also included at the end of the special edition hardcover and paperback.
GRACIE POV
“Ready, Princess? The others are going to be here in a few minutes,” Tyler calls from the living room.
I ignore him and continue to wrap his gift. The black ribbon is silky between my fingertips as I loop it the final time over the matching black package and smile down at it.
His birthday party tonight will be more than he bargained for, and while he might not love being the centre of attention, I don’t think he’ll mind it once I give him his gift.
Tucking said gift beneath my arm, I shimmy my dress down my legs and open the bedroom door, stepping right into his chest.
“I thought you got lost in there,” he rumbles, immediately wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close,
I roll my eyes but return the embrace. “You make it seem like I was in there for hours. It was twenty minutes. That’s got to be a record for me.”
“It felt longer.”
“That’s because you can’t go a minute without missing me,” I tease, stepping back with a kiss to his jaw.
“You’re not wrong.”
“I never am. Now come, I need to make sure everything is ready.”
He follows close behind, keeping at my heels until I shoo him away with a bottle of beer and a hockey game on the flatscreen. I make quick trips around the house, making sure I haven’t forgotten anything. Food, check. Alcohol, check. Surprise, check.
By the time the doorbell rings, I’m glowing with anticipation. I beat Tyler to the door, and as I spin to stick my tongue out at him, he backs me up against the door, forearms resting beside my head.
“You haven’t kissed me this afternoon,” he says.
I trail my hand up his back, feeling the muscles ripple beneath my touch. “Oops. I haven’t?”
He scowls. “Oops?”
“I guess that’s not really fair to the birthday boy, huh?”
Pushing up on my toes, I kiss him softly, more so than usual. It may be his birthday, but I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t tease him just a bit.
A groan escapes him as he kisses back, one hand cupping my jaw while the other grips my waist. His lips are demanding, and when I don’t tease him any longer, he smiles into the kiss.
“I have plans for you tonight,” he breathes, fingers skimming over my stomach before dipping beneath my skirt and cupping me between my legs.
I press into his touch, whimpering when he rubs my clit over my panties. “What a coincidence. I have plans for you, too.”
The doorbell rings again, and I fight off a silly grin knowing time hasn’t stinted our sex life. I still want him anywhere, anytime, and thankfully, he wants me like that too. We’re insatiable. I think we always will be.
“Be a busy night then,” he rasps, and with a final stroke along my centre, steps back.
You have no idea, baby.
I run my hands over my hair and down my body to make sure I’m not opening the door with my dress stuck inside the band of my panties, and then greet our guests with a grin, my broody man doing the same behind me.
An hour later, I’m watching my brother chase his oldest son around the kitchen island while his wife bounces their youngest on her thighs on the floor close by. Maddox screams happily when Oakley catches him around the waist and twirls him in the air, and my smile grows.
“Kids are both the world’s greatest blessing and biggest pains in the ass,” Brooks says, coming up beside me.
I look at him and take in the sparkle in his eyes and the hint of a smile creasing his face. He takes a sip of the beer in his hands and leans toward me.
“You have the look, sweetheart. My boy hasn’t figured it out yet, but I would recognize it anywhere.”
Surprised that he picked up on something I haven’t told a single soul about yet, I point my finger at him. “You better zip those lips, Gramps. I have it all planned out.”
He belts out a laugh, nodding. “I wouldn’t dream of ruining such a well-planned surprise. Your secret is safe with me. But I gotta say congratulations to you now, so give me a hug.”
I do, and as he gives me one final squeeze, I blurt out, “I don’t think I’ve ever told you how thankful I am for what you’ve done for Tyler. He would never admit it to anyone, even me, but you mean the world to him. Taking him in and accepting him regardless of the circumstances . . . it fixed something broken inside of him.
“I know that he’s ready to be a dad and that he will love our baby with everything inside of him, but I think we owe some of that to you. God knows the other parental figures in his life never taught him how to do that.” Pulling back, I offer him a soft smile and a quick kiss on the cheek.
He blinks repeatedly before saying, “I would say that he’s lucky to have you in his life, but I think that goes for all of us as well. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, what do you say we let the birthday boy know that he’s about to be a dad?”
“Go get him, Gray,” he says, ushering me out of the room.
I feel lighthearted as I search for my husband, finding him a few moments later in the living room. His eyes find me the second I enter the room, like he was waiting for me. I wiggle my fingers in a wave and pick the black box from the table of gifts, bringing it toward him.
“Do you want to open your gift in private, or should I call everyone in here with us?” I ask, already knowing the answer to my question.
He lowers the volume on the TV, silencing the sportscaster before patting his lap. “Private.”
“I think I know you a little too well by now,” I say, taking the offered seat and handing him the box.
“As you should, Wife. Because I know you just as well.”
“Is that so?”
He kisses my hair, draping his arm around me. “It is.”
“I guarantee you don’t know what’s in this box.”
Giving it a slight shake, he curves a brow. “I have a guess.”
“You’re probably wrong.”
“We’ll see.”
He carefully pulls the ribbon, and the bow falls free. Then, he peels off the top of the box, dropping it on the floor before pinching the tissue paper beneath, eyes lifting to me.
A coy smile curves my mouth as I nod, giving him the go-ahead.
The barked laugh of surprise that falls from his lips as he reveals what’s inside is everything I was hoping for. He ever so carefully picks up the ultrasound picture and looks at me with the question in his eyes.
“I know it doesn’t look like much now, but with your genes, it won’t be lo—” I squeal when he bursts from the couch, pulling me up with him and spinning us around.
“I fucking love you,” he breathes against my ear. “The both of you. Is this for real?”
I smile from ear to ear as I reply, “So real. And we love you, too.”
And later that night, once everyone has gone home after saying a million congratulations, we hang the picture on the wall of our spare room and start making plans for how we’ll transform the space into a nursery. Tyler rambles off idea after idea, seeming to have a million things already planned in his head, and it isn’t until I distract him with kisses that he carries me off and lets me give him his second birthday gift.
How did I get so lucky?