Page 71 of This Wild Heart

Poppy shrugged. “It’s either that or a group text, and I get the distinct impression, based on how he’s glaring at me right now, that he’ll say no to that too.”

“You always were a perceptive little shit, weren’t you?”

She glared right back. “Be nice to the pregnant lady. I have wild mood swings, and who knows what I’ll do in the middle of a hormonal surge.”

“Where’s your baby daddy?” I asked, desperate to change the subject.

“Jax is at work.” She popped a piece of candy in her mouth. “He’ll be over when he’s done.”

“Anya, sweetheart, could you hand me that burp cloth?” Sheila asked. Anya set down her sandwich, still chewing as she fished around in the diaper bag and draped it over my mom’s shoulder. Even though it was only two of them, the Wilder women present for our arrival were already half in love with my wife. No real surprise there. Poppy was positively enamored, already asking when we could come back, and why, in God’s name, had she agreed to marry me.

It was on the tip of my tongue to say copious amounts of alcohol, but I didn’t think that would help anything, and my self-destructive streak would not be appreciated by any of the women in the room.

Anya ran her hand over Leo’s head, and my heart turned over behind my ribs. It was unthinking, how she’d done it. A loving gesture that seemed so easy, didn’t it? Yet I couldn’t bring myself to come within two feet of him. Sheila gave her a smile and set the empty bottle down, shifting him up onto her shoulder so she could pat his back.

She’d yet to concede hold of Leo. No surprise there either.

Over her shoulder, I swear that kid looked straight at me, and my chest did this weird pinching thing as I stared at his face. The weight of Poppy’s gaze on my face was heavy, and instead of telling her to knock it off, I just looked at it as practice.

Because once my other siblings arrived? One sister watching me was fucking child’s play.

“Why is there a sign on the door that says Parker has a baby?”

Greer was the first one to arrive. Behind her was Beckett, and Olive perched on his back, her little arms wrapped around his neck.

I swung an incredulous look at Poppy. “When did you do that?”

She smiled innocently from the kitchen. “When you brought all your bags upstairs. Thanks for taking so long, by the way.”

Greer immediately locked in on the baby, still sound asleep in Sheila’s arms. “Holy fucking shit, is that thing real?”

Olive whispered something in Beckett’s ears, and he grinned. “Yeah, sweetpea, Greer did say a really bad word. I think we’ll allow it right now.”

“I want to hold him,” Greer stated, shucking the duffel bag off her shoulder, holding out her arms and making agimmegesture.

“Oh honey, he’s comfortable right where he is.” Sheila’s voice was all fake sympathy. Then she smiled at her daughter. “But there are some dishes that need cleaning up in the kitchen. That’d be a huge help if you want to start there.”

“Yeah, right. Parker can do the dishes. He’s just sitting there being useless.”

Anya let out a tiny snort, and I gave her a glance. “Don’t laugh at anything Greer says. It only encourages her horrible behavior.”

I stood, gathering my empty plate and then Anya’s.

Greer and I passed each other—I was on the way to rip down the sign, and she was making a beeline for the baby. I tried to pinch her arm with my free hand, and she dodged nimbly to the right, landing a sharp smack on the back of my head.

“Nice to see you too,” I called over my shoulder.

“You have ababy,and you didn’t tell me about it,” she called right back.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t know about his existence until last night, so maybe cut me a little slack.”

Once the plates were stacked in the dishwasher, I marched to the door and snatched the paper off the outside.

“Hey, that was helpful,” Poppy exclaimed.

Important Family Announcement,it stated.

Parker has a baby. It’s all very soap opera, but he was dropped off last night with no warning.

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