Jack's Surrender (Holiday Cove 5)

“A boy? We’re having a little boy?”

Tears formed in my eyes as I nodded, just as surprised by the news as Jack was. The crowd erupted into applause and we were swarmed by everyone wishing us well and sharing in the excitement of the moment.

When things wound down again, we were sent off into the night by the remaining guests, out to a waiting limo that was set to take us to a hotel for the night and in the morning, we’d catch a plane to Hawaii for a few days in the sun before we both needed to be back to work.

As we walked to the limo, I looped my arm through his and smiled up at him. “You ready to call it a night, Mr. McGuire?”

“Not a fuckin’ chance, Mrs. McGuire,” he replied, flashing a wicked grin.

Epilogue

After marrying Holly on the bluff,, surrounded by family and friends who were close enough to be family, I thought nothing could ever come close to topping that day. Nothing could ever be that perfect.

I was wrong.

At three-fifteen on a Saturday afternoon, Holly fought like hell and pushed through the birth of our son. The moment that tiny little pink body was placed in her arms, I knew I’d never seen anything so damn beautiful as the way Holly looked, glistening with sweat and tears, staring down into the face of our little son.

Jackson Aaron McGuire, all ten fingers and toes.

I cried like a damn baby.

Weeks turned into months, each day flying by as Holly and I were lost among a sea of diapers, laundry, and baby bottles. It was exhausting but worth every sleepless night and long day. Jackson grew like a weed and by the time we made our first formal outing as a little family of three, he was already busting out of his onesies.

“You ready for this?” Holly asked, glancing into the backseat at Jackson who was sleeping in his car seat. She’d dressed him in a three-piece suit for the occasion—which I told her was a little much all things considered, but she insisted.

I smiled over at her. “I don’t know. I kinda wanna take advantage of Jackson’s hot mama while he naps.”

Holly laughed as she dragged her eyes from our infant son and locked them with mine. “Is that right?”

“Your tits have never looked better, baby.”

She slapped me playfully on the arm. “Jack!”

“What? He’s knocked out. He can’t hear me.”

She glanced back at Jackson and then smiled over at me. “Still…”

“Hey, if you didn’t want me to oogle, you shouldn’t have worn that dress.” To prove my point, I dropped my eyes to her ample cleavage and down the curves that were wrapped in a form-fitting black dress. She insisted she wasn’t back to her pre-baby weight but I didn’t care. I thought her filled-out booty looked hot as hell and didn’t mind if it stayed around a little while longer. She’d always had a butt, but since having Jackson, she was even more lush than ever before. The dress she’d picked out for the occasion hugged her in all the right places and sent my mind racing with all kinds of nasty thoughts.

Holly glanced down at herself, following my eyes. “It’s too tight, isn’t it? Let me run in and change. I knew I should have worn the purple one.”

I snagged her hand before she could open the passenger door. I tugged her across the center console and kissed her nice and slow—silencing all her doubts and insecurities. If she kept complaining about the way her body looked, I was going to have to take her inside and show her just how much I appreciated it.

Which sounded good to me. But Aaron would kick my ass if I was late to my own grand opening. He’d been bitching like an overworked party planner the last few months, trying to make sure everything went off without a hitch. While I appreciated all his hard work, I was ready to get to work simply so he’d stop complaining about the menu and the lazy ass people who didn’t bother RSVP’ing in time.

“Mmm,” Holly murmured as we broke apart. “I guess the dress works.”

“Baby, you look smoking hot.”

“You just wanna get in my panties,” she teased, her eyes sparkling with desire and mischief.

I shifted in my seat and hurried to put my seat belt on before I got carried away. “Maybe Jackson could stay with Aaron and Gemma tonight,” I suggested, flashing her a dark grin. “They could use the practice.”

Holly laughed. “I don’t think either of them are thinking babies right now. We’re the only ones crazy enough for that right now.”

She was probably right. Aaron and Gemma were only a month away from their own wedding, and Nick and Carly talked about running off to Jamaica and tying the knot on New Year’s Eve. We were all invited of course. I was ready for a little vacation, even if it ended up only being for a few days. Between Jackson’s birth and the new business getting off the ground, things had been hectic and a little downtime was just what we all needed.