Page 223 of Three Reckless Words

“Only because you knocked her up before she ever called you boss. Without little Arlo around to give you an in, you would’ve been boned, my man.”

“Well,someonehad to give Mom another grandkid, since you guys are being so slow with the babymaking.”

Dex’s face darkens.

I laugh, mostly to myself.

There’s one little piece of big news we haven’t shared with the world just yet. We only found out a week or two ago.

Winnie’s not far enough along to mess with the fit of the wedding dress, thankfully, so that’s good. Turns out, all that dirty talk about knocking her up wasn’t just heat-of-the-moment bedroom play.

We didn’t plan this, but it happened anyway.

We thought we’d announce it this afternoon at the reception my mother keeps calling a ‘little party.’

Family and close friends only and that’s fine by me. We’re going to mingle and eat deep dish pizza at Solitude before I grab my bride and blast off for the Pacific.

That was my idea.

Tropical islands are a nice break from the winter chill, plus there’ll be loads of exotic bees for her to freak out over. Makuna and Hawaiian honey colonies are all over the place.

Dexter swings his attention back to me. “Get dressed already. We need to be there by nine.”

I check the clock. “It’s half past seven.”

“So? You know what Mom’s like, and she’s coming over here as soon as she’s got Winnie in her wedding dress.”

I roll my eyes. “I thought the plan was for her to stay with the bridal party?”

“Like Mom was going to do that,” Patton says with a snort. “You’re her baby, the firstborn, and the last to get married.”

“Slacker,” Dexter adds, flashing a grin.

“Get ready. She’s going to be weeping all over you. When you guys got engaged, she told me she knew it was going to happen. But you know what else she said?”

I don’t think Iwantto know.

“About fucking time?” I suggest.

“How did you know?” Patton looks genuinely surprised. “But it’s Mom, so obviously she didn’t swear.”

“Obviously,” I spit.

“Anyway, if you’re not dressed when she shows up, she’s going to hit you,” Patton says.

“You’re not dressed yet either,” I point out.

“Yeah, but I’m just marrying you today, notgettingmarried.”

I convince them to let me have breakfast first to quiet my gut rumbling, and from there we start the wedding prep.

Dexter wakes up Colt.

As a growing boy, he’s hit his ‘sleep in forever’ stage. It takes effort.

Once he’s alive again, though, we all get ready together.

“What do you think, Dad?” Colt asks, tightening his tie and turning to face me.

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