“Hey there, Papa Jack. It’s good to see you awake. You had us so worried.” Millie enveloped him into a hug. Drew quickly moved out of her way, coming to stand behind me.

“I not going anywhere before I get to meet my grandson,” he said, smiling up at her.

“Well, you will be around a lot longer than that.”

“Yep, gotta stick around for the next one,” he said, winking at me.

My face flushed. Millie whipped her head around to face me, raising an eyebrow in my direction.

I shot to my feet and held out my hands in protest. “I’m not pregnant!”

Drew pulled me back against his chest and wrapped his arms around me. “Not yet,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to the sweet spot behind my ear.

I thought Millie’s eyes would pop out of her head. David just smiled and shook his head while Papa Jack laughed.

“Aren’t you skipping a few steps there, buddy,” I said, pulling away from him. He laughed and pulled me back into his arms.

“Maybe so, but practice makes perfect, right?” Drew leaned in and kissed me, almost bringing me to my knees. There I go again with the swooning.

“Well, it’s about damn time!” Sean said from the doorway. We hadn’t seen him come in, but I guess he witnessed everything.

After a while, David told Drew and me to head home to rest, which he said with a wink. Millie slapped his arm for that one. We said our goodbyes and turned to leave.

“Son,” Papa Jack called to Drew as we headed to the door. We both turned to face him. “You don’t deserve her,” he said with a smile.

Drew nodded. “I know, Pop. I know.”

Epilogue

Alex

A year later…

“Babe, check this out!”

I looked up from wrapping my gift to see Drew digging through a bag with childlike excitement. He pulled a ninja turtle action figure out, waving it at me. “I got him all four of them.”

“Oh God.” I sighed and shook my head with a smile. “There is no need to transfer your sickness to your nephew, Drew.”

“Every kid needs a hobby. I’m just helping to push him in the right direction.”

He dropped his bag on the table next to me and peeked over my shoulder. “What did you get?”

“A ride on Thomas the Tank Engine,” I said, fixing the bow, knowing I had won.

“Oh man. Why didn’t I think of that?” he whined. “I wanted to get him something really cool for his first birthday.” He sunk down into the chair next to me with a pout.

“I know. That’s why I already signed your name on the card.”

He reached up, a smile stretching across his beautiful face as he pulled me down into his lap. “You’re amazing,” he said against my lips.

The kiss started out slow but intensified quickly as he ran a hand up my back, pulling me closer. His tongue pushed into my mouth. I got lost in the feel of his hands on my body as his lips traveled to my favorite spot behind my ear.

“Drew,” I moaned.

“Hmmm?” He started kissing his way further south.

“If we don’t stop,” I paused, moaning as his thumb grazed my nipple through my shirt. “We…we will be late to the party.”

He stilled and leaned back. He met my eyes and smiled, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. “No one will notice if we’re a little late.”

He lifted me into his arms and I squealed as he carried me to the bedroom.

***

We pulled up to Millie and David’s about twenty minutes late and trust me, it was well worth it. Drew popped the trunk to remove our gift and we headed around back to join the party hand in hand.

“‘Bout time you guys showed up,” David said as we rounded the corner. Drew’s face lit up when he saw his nephew, Jackson. He went right over and plucked him from David’s arms, holding him high above his head. Jackson squealed with delight.

Drew was an amazing uncle. He doted on Jackson and that little boy loved him. It warmed my heart to see the two of them together. Drew was really going to be an excellent father someday.

I left Drew and Jackson to play and went to see if Millie needed any help. “Happy Jackson’s birthday!” I said when I walked in the back door.

“Hey, Alex,” she said as she bustled around the kitchen. Millie had gone all out. Balloons filled the back yard and the house. She had a huge food spread even though it was really only just us. I was sure little Jackson wasn’t into the roast beef pinwheels and stuffed mushroom caps, but it smelled delicious.

“Do you need anything?”

“No. I got everything done, but you can start taking some of the platters outside.”

I did as I was told. When all the food was out, I went to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of wine. “You want one, Millie?” I said, gesturing to my glass.

She smiled. “No thanks. I’m not drinking.”

I laughed. “Seriously? With all of this party stuff going on, you would have to pry the bottle from my cold, dead fingers.”

She just smiled to herself. Something was up. I studied her carefully for a few minutes.

“Oh my God!” I shouted, startling her. “You’re knocked up again, aren’t you?”

She waved her delicate little hand at me. “Shh, we were going to announce it after the cake.”

I jumped up and down. “Millie, that’s amazing. I’m so happy for you.” I wrapped her into a hug. “Jackson needs a little sister!”

“Maybe,” she said, “but I would be happy with another boy.” She smiled and laid a hand gently on her stomach.

“This is so exciting!” I beamed up at her.

We joined the boys outside just in time to see Papa Jack come around the corner. He was doing so much better since his heart attack. He was still taking it easy, though. He hired a fulltime bartender for The Den, a guy name Liam who was straight off the bus from somewhere down south.

Papa Jack had a hard time letting go of the reins, but after spending the first few weeks sitting at the end of the bar, barking at the poor guy, he eventually eased up a bit and only went in to harass Liam two or three times a week.

Papa Jack picked up Jackson. “Happy birthday, little man!” Jackson smiled, grabbing a fistful of Papa Jack’s beard.

Sean rounded the corner and shouted, “Ain’t no party like a one-year-old party!” He waved his arms above his head. Papa Jack shot him a look and he awkwardly lowered his arms. Papa Jack shook his head, looking down to hide his smile. He had forgiven Sean for the thing with Bridget, but Papa Jack had fun messing with him anyway.

“Who wants cake?” Millie asked and headed inside to get the cake. I followed to help with the plates and stuff. She brought out a beautiful, two-tiered masterpiece that had train tracks with a Thomas the Tank Engine running along the top. It was so adorable. Then she brought out a small round cake with white icing.

“What’s that one for?” I asked, pointing to the smaller one.

“It’s a smash cake. This one is just for Jackson. He gets to dig in on his own.”

Her eyes shined with excitement. I considered getting a tarp. This was going to be a mess, but as usual, Millie was a step ahead. She had Jackson’s high chair set up out back on the patio, where it could be easily hosed down. David put Jackson in his seat and strapped him in as Millie put the smash cake down in front of him.

The kid went at it like a champ. I was impressed. He grabbed a tiny fistful of cake and shoved the whole thing, fist and all, into his mouth. We cheered and he clapped as he demolished the little cake. Jackson grabbed another fistful and offered it to Papa Jack, who happily took it from the baby’s slimy hand.

Drew came up behind me, wrapping his arms around me as we watched Jackson rip into his cake. David and Millie looked so happy. They were the perfect little family. I found myself wishing that I would have this one day with Drew. I thought about what it would be like at my son’s first birthday with all of our family around, Drew laughing as our son or daughter smeared icing in his hair.