Page 147 of His to Save

“Depends. Do we want to get married before or after James is born?”

I tap my index finger against my chin as I mull it over. “Both.”

He lifts his brows. “Both? What does that mean?”

“It means I want us to do the legal stuff before he's born so he can come into this world with us all sharing the same last name, but I want to hold off on the ceremony until he's born. I know it's dumb, but I want him to be a part of it, even if he'll only be a baby.”

“It's not weird.” Atlas cups my cheek, and I can't help but nuzzle into his warm calloused palm. “It's perfect.”

“You mean it?” I ask, even though I already know he does. He's honest to a fault.

“Yeah, Pip. I mean it. Now, let's go tell Ellis the big news.”

“Are you going to ask him to be your best man?”

“I was thinking flower girl.”

Laughter explodes out of me. “He'd so do it. He's been showing me these videos of guys doing just that. Says they're called flower dudes.”

“Oh, shit.” Atlas releases a deep chuckle. “Maybe we better stick to best man then. You gonna ask Scarlet?”

“Yup.” Who else would I ask?

“Here's to hoping those two can get along long enough for us to say our vows.”

“I think they might surprise you.” It's like I tried saying to Ellis the other day, the line between love and hate is razor thin, after all.

EPILOGUE ONE

ATLAS

“Atlas,” Nora calls from a few yards away.

“Almost done!” I holler back, assuming lunch is ready. “Just gotta tighten these straps.”

Nora's due in two weeks, so I figure now's as good a time as any to get the car seat installed.

“Tighten them quickly.”

The strain in her voice has me whipping around to face her. She has one hand on the top of her belly and the other cradling it from below. Her shoulders are tense, her eyes are pinched shut, and her lips are pursed.

Something's wrong.

“What's going on, Pip?” I ask, giving the strap one last tug before closing the car door.

“James—he's—now.”

“What about James?”

“It's time,” she says through clenched teeth.

“Time... time like?—”

“We need to head to the hospital, Atlas.” She sucks in a deep breath and then lets it out slowly.“Now.”

“Fuck, now. Okay. Bags! We need your bags.” I rush toward the house, but stop at the threshold. “Where are they again?”

“Our closet.”

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