Page 107 of Once Upon a Holidate
“Joylyn helped me pick it out,” he said. “Apparently it’s one he’s been eyeing online for a while.”
He’d gotten Joylyn pearl earrings accented with a small diamond.
“They’re beautiful, and I’m impressed with your ability to walk into a jewelry store and not freak out,” Wynn said, teasing him. “It’s a skill.”
“Jewelry stores don’t intimidate me,” he told her. “Although having seen your latest piece, I wouldn’t know what to buy.”
She grinned as she fingered her puka shell necklace. “Are you saying bad things about my Secret Santa gift?”
“Not at all. It’s lovely.”
“I know it’s silly, but I like it.” She shifted a few bags to the “Chandler and Joylyn” pile. “I don’t know Chandler at all, so I went with a family gift.”
“You didn’t have to get them anything.”
“I wanted to.” She tapped the bag. “It’s an electronic picture frame. They can hook it up to their Wi-Fi and send new pictures anytime they want.” She pointed to the large boxes next to the chairs. “Those are diapers.”
“For Christmas?” He sounded disappointed.
“Trust me, she’ll be grateful. No one got her diapers at the shower, and babies go through dozens every week. The cost adds up. They’re a huge expense. However many I buy, she’s going to need so many more.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe once they’re settled I can get them some kind of service.”
“Aren’t you already giving them a week in a cabin in Lake Tahoe?” she asked. “And going in on a meal delivery service with Alisha?”
He shifted his weight. “She’s my baby girl.”
“I get it,” she said softly. “You have a lot of Christmases to make up for.”
“I know. I keep telling myself that I gave her gifts thoseyears, even if she wouldn’t see me, but it’s not the same. I didn’t see her, so I had to guess what she wanted. I never knew if she liked them or not.”
“I think she liked them even if she wouldn’t admit it to anyone.”
They went through the rest of the gifts. The last bag held baby clothes. Wynn pulled out a couple of pairs of footie pajamas and a little T-shirt that saidI’m New Here. There was a cute hoodie with matching baby-sized sweatpants.
She remembered how little she’d had when Hunter had been born and how she’d been terrified they weren’t going to make it. She’d felt alone and lost, and if that lawyer hadn’t shown up with the unexpected inheritance, she didn’t know what would have happened.
Things were different now, she thought as her heart ached with longing. She was different. Settled, mature and with a support network she could count on. She was still in her midthirties. Biologically there was no reason to think she couldn’t get pregnant and have a baby. Maybe even two.
“Wynn, are you all right?”
Emotions filled her, making it hard for her to breathe. The need grew until it was bigger than anything she’d ever felt.
“Wynn?”
She looked at Garrick. “I want to have a baby.”
His eyes widened and he immediately took two steps back, putting one of the chairs between them.
His reaction was so honest and male that she couldn’t help laughing.
“Don’t freak. I was making a statement, not asking for a donation.”
His expression turned from panicked to wary. “It’s an unexpected statement.”
“Sorry.” She held up one of the footie pajamas. “How can you resist something this sweet?”
“Buy all the baby clothes you want.”
