Page 80 of Pastel Kisses

Silence settles over us like a heavy blanket. We’re all thinking the same thing—how close we came to losing her, how lucky we are that she’s back.

“She’s our whole damn world now,” I murmur. “And we’ve got to do good by her.”

“Then let’s make sure she knows it,” Kam says, stretching like a lion in his prime, arms overhead and jaw cracking on a yawn. He finishes it off with a grin that stretches wide across his face, his entire energy shifting from heavy to lit-up like a damn Christmas tree. “We haven’t really gotten into it yet, but I’m excited about being a dad. Like—real talk? I’m already mentally mapping out how we make the next one.”

He lets out a laugh, one of those full-bellied ones that starts in the chest and takes over his whole body. It’s infectious as hell. Even I catch myself smirking.

“Oh Jesus, Kam,” Lennox groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose, but he’s smiling too. “You act like you’re about to start a fantasy football team with our sperm.”

Kam shrugs. “Tell me I’m wrong! We got one bun in the oven, and I say we get to work on the next two or three. Think about it—matching little onesies that sayMy Dads Are Hot as Hell,and a minivan tricked out with blackout windows and car seats for days.”

Liam bursts out laughing. “Don’t forget the ‘Baby on Board’ decal in bold glitter. Real subtle.”

“Oh no, no,” Kam counters. “We go full throttle. Flame decals. Maybe some custom license plate that saysBABY MAMA.”

I’m howling now. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Hell yeah, I’m ready,” Kam says without missing a beat, his grin stretching wide. “I want all of it—the late nights, diaper blowouts, baby giggles... bring it on.”

Lennox points at him with his whiskey glass. “You sound like you’ve got a breeding kink and a Pinterest board.”

Kam just raises his brows. “What gave it away? The fact I already priced out toddler-safe landscaping tools for when they start helping in the yard?”

We all lose it again, shaking our heads and laughing so hard I can’t tell if my stomach hurts from the jokes or from relief. For the first time in what feels like a lifetime, things feel... real. Like we’re allowed to imagine a future again.

I lean forward, forearms on my knees, grinning like an idiot. “It’s wild, though, right? We’re gonna be dads. Not maybe. Not someday. Like… soon. There’s a little life in there, and we helped make it.”

Kam sobers slightly, that grin softening into something more genuine. “Yeah. And after everything? I want this more than I’ve ever wanted anything.”

“Same,” Liam says. “I’d give up everything all over again if it meant getting her, getting this.”

We all go quiet for a beat, the kind of silence that means something. The kind that lets you feel the weight of what you’ve got.

Then Lennox clears his throat. “Just so we’re clear—I’m only cool with baby two and three if I don’t get stuck on diaper duty all the time.”

“No promises,” I say, standing and stretching. “But if it means watching her rock our baby to sleep in that nursery we haven’t built yet? I’d wipe a thousand baby butts.”

Kam snorts. “Guess that makes us ass men after all.”

Liam groans, dragging a hand down his face. “Why are we like this?”

Kam snorts as he pushes off the couch. “Ma always said we came out crazy. And honestly? Nights like this, I’m starting to think she had a point.”

One by one, we peel ourselves off the couch, stretching and groaning like we’ve aged fifty years in one evening. Kam cracks his neck like an old man bracing for a storm. Liam grumbles something about needing a forklift for his lower back. Lennox yawns so wide it looks like his jaw might unhinge.

We're a disaster—and somehow, it only makes us laugh harder.

We’re all dragging, but there’s a shared peace in the exhaustion—a comfort we haven’t felt in months.

“Bet she’s already starfished in the middle of the bed,” Liam says with a smirk, brushing past me as we make our way down the hall. “Called dibs on prime pillow real estate.”

“You wish,” Lennox snorts. “I tucked her in earlier. Told her I’d be back to steal the good spot. She promised not to hog it.”

Kam snickers under his breath. “You know damn well she lied.”

“Yeah, well,” I grin, “she can have the whole bed as long as she keeps letting me stare at that bump like a lovesick fool.”

Liam chuckles. “You are a lovesick fool.”

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