Page 12 of Holly Jolly Rebel

“Hey, baby.” Curving an arm around her waist, I pulled her in close. “I missed you.”

Never one to miss an opportunity to insert himself, O’Malley stepped in and kissed Elle on the cheek. “You look amazing, Elle. Glowing. Did you do something different with your hair?”

My wife looked startled. “Uh, no, nothing. Just put a brush through it.”

O’Malley squinted. “Definitely something different. You kind of look like Ash did when she was pregnant with our Bea.”

Gunnar shook his head. “Jesus, O’Malley, no chance of anyone ever thinking you’re the team’s elder statesman.”

Pretty innocuous comment, though, so I had to wonder why Elle blushed. She caught my eye and,uh oh, that was a lot of action.

“Hey, let’s get a drink.”

Instead of heading to bar, I continued on to the kitchen, where Harper was busy instructing some poor guy on tray etiquette. I set the barely drunk pine needles concoction on a countertop.

“Two of my favorite people!” The Rebels boss offered the expected kisses, then stood back with a crumpled brow. “No holiday cheer?”

“Need a spot for a private chat, Harper, if that’s okay.”

She immediately got it. Smart lady. “Laundry room down the hall. Perfect for the must-have convo when the throngs won’t relent.”

Elle still hadn’t said a word since O’Malley blurted out that pregnancy quip. Maybe that wasn’t it. Besides, how could it be? A few months ago, I’d taken care of business, so my wife didn’t have to, but what if—no, just talk to her and find out what’s going on.

Inside the laundry room, we faced each other.

“I can’t believe I’m asking this, but is Dex O’Malley actually right for the first time in living memory?”

“Maybe?”

“Maybe?” That emerged sort of shriek-y.

“I just took a test with Jordan and Violet upstairs. And it was positive.”

It could be a false alarm, but for every one of Elle’s pregnancies, the tests always had it right.

“Do you …feelpregnant?”

Nodding, she worried her lip with a sexy little teeth drag.Not the time.

“Theo, I know this is not what you want to hear, especially with the kids so close to being out the door. Though Adeline might be back for good, and I have no idea what happened to make her come running.”

“I’m going to talk to her soon. Or we will together if you think that’s better.”

“She’s always been a daddy’s girl.” She sighed and placed her hands on my chest. “It still could be a mistake.”

“But also not? So, Ellie, you just said something kind of strange. About how it’s not what I want to hear.”

“You might feel that it’s forcing your hand, bringing on retirement before you’re ready. Assuming we decide to hop on this merry-go-round again.”

I could feel my lips tugging in a grin. Was it possible I thought this wasnotterrible?

“Well, if thisishappening, then I’m not going to leave you with a newborn like the first time. Maybe it’s the kick in the pants I need to call time on my career.”

“Why are you smiling? This should be terrible news!”

“Is it, though?” I pulled her close, my hands slipping to cup her that perfect ass. Her tits always looked amazing but with this new information, I was pretty sure they were even more spectacular than usual. “Is that how you really feel? That it’s bad news?”

She took a moment to consider that. “I think I was more worried about how it affects you. To be honest, I’ve always loved being pregnant. The first time was toughest because of the stress of it being unplanned and my parents in the shadows and trying not to fall in love with you.”

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