Page 91 of Secret Baby Next Door
David smiled. “Yeah. I can see that. Good luck, Pops.” He clapped his hand on my shoulder, giving me a smile before heading off.
Piper took my hand, and together we stepped out onto the front steps of the courthouse. The whole family was there, all holding signs and letting out huge cheers as they laid eyes on our happy family. Gage, though only a year old, had a big smile on his face, as if he understood just what was going on and wanted to share in the fun with everyone.
“Congrats, Mom and Dad!” Greta said as she stepped over to give me a hug.
“Thanks, sis.”
“Speaking of sisses,” Veronica said, “Congrats tooursister!”
At first, Piper wasn’t sure who she was referring to. When it dawned on her, however, a huge smile spread across her face. Tears formed in Piper’s eyes, and I could tell exactly what she was thinking—she finally had a family, one that loved her like crazy.
As the celebration went on, I nodded for Dad’s attention and guided him away from the crowd.
“You still have it?” I asked.
He laughed. “What, you think you’d give me the most important little thing in the world, and I’d just lose it? It’s right...” He patted his inner suit jacket pocket, then his pants pocket, then hisotherpants pocket. “I swear, it was right here...”
“Dad.”
He laughed, reaching into his suit jacket pocket and slipping out a small, black box. Once I’d seen it, he winked and tucked it back in.
“You’re out of your mind if you think I’d lose something this important on a day like today. Now, let’s get over to your place and do this.”
Relief washed over me, but the sight of the box was more than enough to make me more nervous than I’d been in as long as I could remember.
“Dad?” Maddie asked, tugging on my pant leg.
God, I never got tired of hearing her call me that.
I bent down and scooped her up, carrying my precious little daughter on my shoulders.
“What’s up, baby?”
“Are we still going to have a party?”
“We sure are. What do you say we load up the gang and get moving?”
“Yeah!”
I gave a wave to the rest of the group, all of us piling in our cars and heading over to our place. We weren’t too far from downtown, our little convoy arriving fifteen minutes later.
I wasbuzzing. The excitement from the evening to come was enough to make me need to focus entirely on the road, a big, stupid smile on my face the whole time. The house was decked out for a party when we all arrived, lights strung about, a big banner that readHAPPY BIRTHDAY, GAGE!!!out front.
We poured into the house, along with more guests—neighbors, friends from work, and even Jake and Sara, the couple renting Piper’s old house next door, and their two kids. Gage was the guest of honor, of course, celebrating his first birthday and his official induction into the family. He might’ve been only a year old, but there was no doubt whether or not he liked being the center of attention.
While he might’ve taken after his mother in the looks department, he was sure as hell taking after me when it came to size. The kid was huge, already busting out of the eighteen-month baby clothes we’d bought for him. I’d known that we’d be getting plenty more clothes for his birthday, so I’d passed word around to only buy toddler gear.
The party got started, Dad manning the grill, beer and wine being passed out here and there, music playing from the house’s stereo system. Mick and some of the other dogs from the neighborhood kept the kids plenty busy in the backyard.
It wasn’t until Dad slipped the box into my hand and gave me one more swat on the shoulder that I knew it was time. My heart beating fast, I picked up my glass of wine and tapped the rim. Dad turned the music down, and all eyes were on me.
I hadn’t been this nervous since the night before the MCAT.
I cleared my throat and began.
“Everyone, first of all, I want to thank you for coming tonight. We’ve had a lot to celebrate this year, and me and Maddie and Piper and Gage have been thrilled to see that with each celebration, the party gets a little bit bigger. We’ve made some amazing friends over the last year, and I want you all to know that we’re thankful for each and every one of you that’s here tonight.”
Alright, the preamble was over. I glanced over at Piper, Gage in her arms and an expression of mild confusion on her face. She had to have been wondering just what I was going to give a speech about.
