Page 79 of Wish You Would

Holden and I have settled into an easy routine. We spend every minute we can together when we’re not working. Dinners at night. Showers in the morning. Beach walks. Coffees shops. And sex. So much sex. But my favorite moments are the quieter ones, like when Holden and I are on his couch reading. Me with a romance book in my hand, Holden reading a copy ofWhat To Expect When You’re Expecting. He borrowed it from Everly. My heart exploded into a million pieces when I caught him reading it for the first time one night in bed. I am falling so hard for this man.

I haven’t seen or heard from Justin since the morning he stopped by the house. I’m relieved, but part of me is surprised that he would fly all the way here from Vancouver and not try harder to actually find me. Then again, it’s justlike him. He never tried hard at anything with me. He never cared enough.

My gaze wanders to Holden again. When he stops at a red light, he rakes his eyes over me. “Give me your mouth, pretty girl.”

Leaning over the console, I press my mouth to his, kissing him with intention. Showing him that I care. That I’m here for him no matter what happens around us.

“Mmm. I like your mouth,” I say to Holden after we break the kiss.

“I likeyou.” He lifts our joined hands to his mouth, pressing his lips to my knuckles.

After circling Buttercup Bakery a couple of times, we finally find a parking spot a few blocks away. Holden helps me down from the truck, because according to him, anything I do can possibly cause harm to the baby. His eyes rake down the length of me as I run my hands over the flowy fabric of my dress. “I know, I shouldn’t have worn this one. It clings to me in all the wrong places.”

“Briar.” He grips my shoulders, speaking so reverently I hang on to his every word. “You had me speechless the moment I saw you in this dress. If you hadn’t spent an hour in the bathroom doing your hair, and I wasn’t so worried you’d kill me if I made a mess of it, we would have been late for the party. You had my cock hard by just looking at you.” His hands slide down my arms to the top of my belly. “If I was attracted to you before you got pregnant, I’m even more so now. You knock me off my feet by just walking into a room.”

“Holden.”

“I’m warning you, baby. I won’t give a shit about messing up your hair when I get you home tonight.”

I laugh at his bluntness, but my panties are now damp.Damn this man and his mouth for making me go to my own party this way.

“Ready?” he asks, slipping my palm in his.

“I guess I am.” I lean into him. “This is a big day, Holden. I can’t believe we’re about to find out if we’re having a boy or a girl.”

“A boy. Remember I told you so.”

He winks.

I melt.

This man is too much for my heart.

We walk down the street hand in hand in silence, the excitement and nerves we both feel growing stronger as we approach the party.

Laughter and cheers greet us when we walk through the doors of the bakery. “Oh my god, what did our friends do?” I squeal, looking around the space, which has been transformed. Everything is covered in pink and blue. There’s a giant balloon arch, cupcakes on stands of different heights, jars of candy, and the most beautiful vases of fresh flowers that are no doubt from Bloom, my favorite flower shop.

“Daisy doesn’t know how to do anything simple,” Holden smiles, kissing my cheek before my best friend is rushing across the room towards me. Holden veers towards the guys as I let Daisy pull me to where Sierra and Ev are waiting.

“Happy gender reveal day! I know I said I would try to keep it simple, but you know me… I couldn’t,” Daisy gushes, shrugging.

“I do know you and I love you for doing all of this for us.”

“You’re here and you look adorable,” Sierra says. “Also, I know what you’re having.” She places a hand on the curve of my stomach. “I told Daisy there was no way there wouldbe confetti cannons going off in my bakery. I’m not cleaning that shit up for days. So, we settled on a layer cake for the reveal. She had no other option but to spill the beans. I spent all morning icing it.”

“Do you know too?” I ask Everly, who has baby West on her hip.

“Nope. I had nothing to do with this. I can’t wait to find out what it is. I think it’s a boy.”

“You really think that, or you’ve heard Holden say it so often that you’ve been influenced?” I ask, my gaze drifting to Holden, who is talking to his parents with a glass of champagne in his hand.

“Just a hunch.”

“You better go say hi to your in-laws,” Daisy says with a smirk, following my gaze. “They just about talked my ear off about how excited they are to become grandparents. It was cute. I’m going to grab you a glass of sparkling apple juice.”

I leave the girls and join Holden, his mom and dad and Barb. Donna and Barb pull me into a hug so tight I can barely breathe. Holden’s dad, David, embraces me too, and I’m surprised to find it makes me a little weepy. It has been a long time since I’ve been hugged by my stepdad; being with Holden’s dad makes me miss him.

“We have a bet going, Briar. It’s three against one. I’m the only one who thinks it’s a girl,” David says with a big smile. “We’ve got 50 bucks at stake.”

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