Page 131 of Wicked Love

“Oh,” I grin, leaning my head back against his chest. “Iwas imagining us getting married on a beach somewhere tropical.”

“Is that your dream wedding? On a beach?”

I sigh. “It sounds nice, doesn’t it?”

“Well, if that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do.”

My eyebrows lift. “I…we don’t have to do that. I was just?—”

“I want you to just...” He teases. “It should be exactly what you want.”

“What do you want?”

“I want you to be my wife. The sooner, the better.”

I turn and lace my fingers around his neck. “I love you.”

“I love you,” he says, leaning in to kiss my temple. “So we’ll get married after the baby comes?” His lips poke out in a slight pout.

I laugh. “I mean, it’d beniceto be married before, but that’s so soon.”

“Yeah, and you can’t fly anywhere now anyway…”

I grin. “You’d really want to marry me right away?”

He makes a face. “Are you really in doubt?”

I laugh. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen…”

He tickles my side and I jerk out of the way, cracking up. He chases me out of the bathroom and when the backs of my knees hit the bed, he wraps his arms around me, hands landing on my backside.

“You make me fall deeper every single day,” he says.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

MOMOSAS

BOWIE

The moment we get to Rhodes’ house, I know this baby shower is going to be legendary. There’s a huge floral display hanging between the trees that we drive through, and then a balloon arch leading to the area behind their house. Their property is stunning, with the lake glistening not too far away. We debated on whether we should have the shower inside, but the weather has been too perfect to miss out on this beautifulOctober day.

“Everything looks so beautiful,” Poppy gasps.

The girls surround her, hugging her and then me. I’m grateful all over again that these women, who are married to my best friends and have become family to me too, have welcomed Poppy so completely. Our framily.

“Bree helped a ton,” Elle says, her smile wide. “I couldn’t have pulled it off without her.”

Henley’s ex-wife Bree hears her name and comes over to hug us too. She’s great. Henley lucked out, having a peaceful relationship with his ex.

“Thanks, Bree,” I say when I hug her. “Everything looks beautiful.”

“I’m just so happy for you guys,” she says, squeezing my arm. “It’s wonderful to see you like this.”

I smile at her and when she walks over to straighten something, I take it all in. There’s a cute “Baby Fox” banner fluttering in the breeze, and it matches the woodland fox theme that’s everywhere I look. The grill is going, the music is cranked at the perfect level, and everyone is happy to be together. My hodge-podge family…don’t know what I’d do without them.

Mr. and Mrs. McGregor are here. My mom is too, flitting about. I see her laughing with Stephanie, Tru’s mom, nodding and gesturing like she’s in her element. She’s already hit it off with Poppy’s parents, and they’re here too, sipping hot cider nearby. It’s good to see Mom making friends. God knows she needs someone to focus on besides me.

Marley and Eric are even here for the weekend and a few of Poppy’s friends from work.