Page 145 of Luck of the Draw

Brennan half-turned to wave back at her. “Bye-bye, little darlin’.” He blew her a kiss, and a smile persisted on his face while he stepped out of the room to join Liza in hallway.

They were a few paces down the hall when Liza cooed under her breath. “Oh my God, I’ll never get used to how sweet that is. She’s completely enamored with you, and you’re kind of amazing with babies. I can’t wait until y’all have a baby, too.” She sucked in an excited, but quiet gasp, and a pang rattled Brennan’s chest. “What if y’all have a boy? What if he and Savannah—”

“Not gonna have any babies, L,” he said gently, staring at the floor as they walked shoulder to shoulder, her long, Christmas green bridesmaid gown swishing against the side of his pant leg.

“Yeah, well.” She snickered under her breath. “That’s what you said about getting married, too.”

She didn’t know yet, and he wasn’t going to snap at her, but he did catch her elbow to stop her. “That was awon’t, honey. This is acan’t.”

Her smile faded as though she’d read between the lines. “Oh.” Her brows drew together, forming that deep V that only showed up when she was worried. “Is it her or you or both of y’all?”

Brennan swallowed and quieted his voice. “Her.”

Liza took a step back like she was struggling to stay upright. “Are you kidding me?” she whispered. “After all that, this too?”

Brennan shrugged listlessly, and Liza’s eyes began to fill again.

“All of that is why, L.”

Liza’s mouth was hanging open, and she stepped backward again, far enough this time that he lost his hold on her elbow. “That is not fair. That iswrong.” There was a little hitch in her voice. She shook her head slowly, her eyes trained on the floor for a second before she looked back up at him. “I’m so sorry, B.”

He forced a less-than convincing smile and leaned forward to plant a smooch right on that V to make it go away. “Me too. But we’ll be all right.” He offered her his elbow, and she slipped her hand around it as they started walking again. “Besides, we’re already godparents to the most amazing little girl in the wide world, and I don’t think it gets much better than that.”

“Do you think she’d talk to me about it?” Liza asked as she led the way through a side door, and they stepped outside to cut through a courtyard. There was a biting chill in the air, and she snuggled close to his side and began trotting in her stiletto heels, forcing him to pick up his pace.

“Of course she would. You’re her best friend.”

“I know, but she hasn’t said anything, so I wasn’t sure.” Liza paused and then added in another quiet tone, “I’m going to tell her that I’ll carry a baby for her if she wants. I will one-hundred-percent be a surrogate for y’all. I don’t even care if Connor hates the idea.”

Brennan’s eyes widened. “Ummm…” He cleared his throat uncomfortably, and for fuck’s sake, she couldn’t be serious. “I feel like everyone would probably not be comfortable with that, and it would definitely complicate pretty much everything, and this is honestly a weird thing to talk about right before I get hitched.”

Liza cut a squinting glance at him while her upper lip curled on one side. “Okay, it sounds like you have no idea what a surrogate pregnancy is,” she said, full of snark while she paused in front of another door so he could open it for her, “so do me a favor, and whenever you have a second to spare, please Google it.”

Brennan stepped up the small steps inside after her and slipped his phone out of his pocket to Google it right then.

“Oh.” He furrowed his brow at the screen of his phone, scrolling a bit while he skimmed an abbreviated explanation, and then put the phone back in his pocket. “Yeah, that’s not what I thought you were saying at all.”

Liza laughed lightly, grabbing his arm so she could push his back against a wall next to the closed door to the bride’s dressing room. “You’re so weird, B., but I love you.” She crinkled her nose and leaned close to his face. “Just not like that.”

She winked at him and then slipped through the door, closing it behind her.

“Same,” he said to the empty hallway.

Yeah.Same.

“Okay, both of you close your eyes for a second,” Liza said from inside the room.

Brennan complied. “Closed.”

“Brennan?” Skye’s sweet little voice rang out from the same direction as Liza’s.

“I’m right here, baby girl.”

A hand wrapped around his wrist and pulled slightly, directing him to reach around the side of the doorframe. A couple of seconds later, the distinctive feel of Skye’s fingers slipped between his. They were cold and clammy.

“You can open your eyes now, B.”

He did and saw Liza standing on the other side of the hallway, clasping her hands at her waist while she politely averted her eyes.

---