Page 85 of Mess With Me

She waves it at Seamus, who excuses himself from the cluster of guys next to Griffin and disappears around the side of the house.

Disappointment snags at me. I don’t want this night to end. I haven’t had such a good time in forever. But also, going home means being alone with Griffin after all of this. I have a feeling Griffin’s going to clam up and insist on going to bed, and that’s the last thing I want to do. Marrying for strategic reasons is one thing, but spending my wedding night alone?

Cass grabs Chelsea’s diaper bag for her, but Chelsea’s still juggling the monitor and her purse. “The baby never sleeps well when she’s not in her own bed,” she laments.

“Do you need help?” I ask hopefully when I realize Seamus went to pull the car around.

“Sure—actually, do you want to come with me? I might need to change her.”

I nearly jump with excitement. “Yes, please.”

Cass laughs. “You’re the first person I’ve ever met who looks excited about diaper changes.”

“It’s more seeing the baby. It’s really the only reason I stay in touch with half my friends from college—I get to hold their babies.”

Cass smiles. “I’ll come, too.”

We head into the house, and a moment later, the three of us are crowded around the fold-up crib set up in their dad’s office.

Chelsea picks her daughter up, giving her a plethora of kisses all over her cheeks. The baby fusses, and Cass hands her a diaper and wipes.

When everything’s taken care of, Imogen coos happily.

“Here, want to hold her?” Chelsea must see my eyes light up, because she thrusts the baby at me.

When I feel the warm weight of her in my arms, feel the jerky movements of her fists, something goes tight in my chest. “I don’t know what it is,” I say, sitting down in the office chair. “But there’s just something about holding a baby that makes everything feel right with the world.”

Chelsea laughs, looking truly touched. “You’re right. Although I’ll be hard-pressed to remember that at two a.m. when she’s waking me up for the hundredth time.”

We all laugh. Then I pull out my phone. “Do you mind if I take a picture?”

“Of course not,” Chelsea says. Cass offers to take it, but I shake my head.

“It’s okay. It’s just to mess with your brother.”

Now both women laugh hard along with me. “I’ve never seen a man so big and tough more scared of something so adorable and helpless,” Chelsea says.

I snap a few pictures, trying to make sure I’m not laughing so hard my eyes are closed. Imogen, meanwhile, looks at us like we’ve lost our minds.

Chelsea lets me carry the baby back outside to meet Seamus. I give her one last nuzzle before handing her back to her mom. When Chelsea and Seamus leave, Chelsea slips her arm around Seamus’s back as he holds their daughter against his chest.

I try hard not to look wistful.

“We better head out, too.” Cass fends off a yawn. “I’m going to have a helluva day tomorrow, seeing as I happily bailed on approximately eight thousand meetings to come to an impromptu wedding.”

I start to apologize, but Cass holds up a hand. “Don’t you dare. This might have been my favorite family wedding yet. But I think Griffin’s going to have a hernia if you don’t go home with him right now.”

I’m surprised by this. “He never said anything.”

He’s standing with his brothers, and now that they’ve said something, I see the way his fingers drum on his arm. How he scratches the back of his head and glances over here. He’s fidgeting.

“I’ve never once seen him stay more than twenty minutes at any family function. An hour if it’s Christmas. I think he gets actual hives at social functions of any kind.”

Something tingles across my skin. “Even with his family?”

“We’re the only reason he shows up at all.”

I look over at Griffin. His eyes immediately draw up to meet mine. “Well, it is his wedding,” I say tentatively.

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