Page 69 of Her Arranged Alpha
I scanned the table and frowned. "Speaking of surprises, Henrik, where's Henry?"
Katie and Henrik both looked where Henry had been sitting, and then they looked underneath the table and around the picnic area. We all looked and spotted him crawling towards the lake.
"Son of a bitch," Henrik said, pulling himself up and hurrying over towards him. He was a few feet away from us, but the kid moved quickly. Henry burst into a loud giggle as Henrik pulled him up into the air.
"Where do you think you're going?" Henrik asked him in a fatherly voice.
I glanced at Jillian, who softly smiled. I rubbed a hand up her back, feeling that tug, that want.
The girls quickly broke away, taking the kids down by the water as we packed the food away. Jay paused next to me. "Have you guys talked about kids?"
The others looked at me. I nodded. "We had the conversations, but this was a while ago."
"And?" Frank asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We're taking things slow. Unlike you, horn dogs, I want her to have everything she wants first before becoming a mother."
"Ouch," Aaron said with a snort.
Jay punched him in the shoulder, and Aaron lost his balance. "What the hell," Aaron said, waving a hand. "Jesus, are you working out more of something? That hurt." Aaron rubbed his shoulder, making a face.
I couldn't help but laugh.
"So, she's happy?" Frank asked.
I looked at him and tilted my head. "I knew you were concerned, but I didn't realize you were that worried."
Frank frowned. "If you saw what I saw, Maddox, you'd understand my concern."
I frowned at his words. I knew that Jillian said her parents had died, but I didn't know the details. I suddenly wondered what had happened.
"Alright, let's go." We both looked over to see Aaron and Jay circling each other. I frowned. "Are we serious, you two?"
"He said he wanted to see if I was stronger than him, which I am," Jay said, a smirk pulling at his lips.
"No, you're not stronger than me," Aaron said, ducking lower.
"Get him, Dad!" Maddy cheered as she ran over to us.
"Hey, what about Uncle Aaron? I bought you a doll set for your birthday."
Maddy giggled as she watched them. Frank swung down, pulling her up out of the way. My eyes snapped back to the water where Jillian stood. She was holding onto Henry's left hand while Katie held onto his right hand. I watched her smile happily as she said something.
My heart clenched, not realizing how badly I wanted that. I told myself that I was better off not aching for a family. It was hard enough to find someone to connect to, but even harder to find someone who would understand everything. Understand my fear and the stress of it all.
But when it came to Jillian. It all changed.
An hour later, we were walking back. We waved goodbye to everyone and headed up the road. Jillian was set from the water and hadn't thought to bring a towel to dry off. We decided a walk was perfect, and the weather was nice enough.
"That was fun," Jillian said, a smile still plastered on her face.
I nodded, pulling on her hand, hoisting her closer to me. She placed her hand on my shirt, her fingers leaving fingerprints.
"How old were you when your parents died?"
The question shocked her, and she blinked, seeming unsure of why I would ask. "I was nine. Marsha was seventeen."
I frowned. "You said before that she raised you."
