These Thorn Kisses (St. Mary’s Rebels 3)

A baby girl named Halo.

She’s five weeks old and she’s the most precious baby ever. With the most loving parents in the world. Both Callie and Reed are super crazy for her. As I knew they would be. I knew they would make the best parents and they do.

So now they’re a happy family of three.

Suddenly Callie beams, squeezing my hands. “My brother is your dream man.”

I chuckle at her excitement like it’s only now hitting her. “I know.”

“This is incredible,” she breathes out, shaking her head in disbelief. “Oh my God. This is like a fairy tale. This is like… magic. All this time. I mean we talked and talked about him and turns out, it’s my brother. It’s Con.”

“Yeah.” I shake my head too. “It’s crazy. It’s perfect. He’s perfect.”

Callie giggles. “This is the best thing ever. You’re dating my brother.”

I laugh. “I so am.”

Then she gets serious. “Is that why he’s been so happy? It is, isn’t it?” She swallows. “He smiles more. I’ve noticed that. And he has this lightness about him. Like he’s not so uptight and angry all the time. It’s you, isn’t it?”

I bite my lip. “I’d like to think so.”

“God, Wyn.” She hugs me again. “Thank you. Thank you so, so much for doing that for my brother. If anyone needed it, it was Con.” Then, moving away, she swats my arm. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. I could’ve known all this time. I could’ve helped you even.”

“I promise to tell you all the things from now on,” I say, chuckling.

“You better.”

With one last hug, we both get up and leave to rejoin the others in the living room. And as soon as we get there, my heartbeats jack up.

My skin breaks out in goosebumps. My thighs buzz and sting, especially where I decorated them last night. Under his heavy, intense, heated scrutiny.

Because there he is.

The man whose name is written on my skin.

And it’s not just the fact that he’s mine now – completely and utterly mine – that makes my heart go crazy. It’s also the fact that he has something in his arms.

Or rather someone.

Baby Halo.

Who’s sleeping on him, on his chest.

So Conrad has this magic touch. Whenever Halo is crying or fussing and Conrad is around, he takes her in his arms, sits down on the couch, all sprawled and lazy, and rubs her back in circles.

Five circles in, her big blue eyes start to droop. Her cute little mouth falls open and her fists go slack. And then she goes out like a champ and looking at her like that, all sleepy and flushed and so quiet, you wouldn’t even know that she was fussing minutes before.

Now as well, Conrad is on the couch and Halo is peacefully sleeping on his big chest, her small, chubby arms spread wide and sort of hugging her uncle. And her uncle has his gorgeous face dipped, his dirty blond hair hanging over his forehead and his cheek resting on Halo’s dark-haired head as he simply breathes.

But when he senses me there, at the threshold, he looks up.

I smile as soon as his jean blue eyes hit me.

Only so I can assure him that everything went fine.

Because he was worried on the way over. Not of Callie’s reaction but because I was going to be the one talking to her instead of him. Which is what he wanted to do initially. But I insisted that she was my friend and I wanted it to be me so he gave in.

Now he slowly stands, with Halo in his arms, who is then taken away from him by Reed. Actually, Reed jumps to take Halo away like he was looking for an opportunity to hold his daughter himself.

See? Totally gone for his baby girl.

As soon as Halo is out of Conrad’s arms, Callie says in a low voice so as to not disturb Halo, “You and me, we’re going to talk.” Pointing her finger at her oldest brother, she continues, “You’re a jerk, Con. Seriously. I never expected these things from you.”

Which makes Reed chuckle as he takes over the duty of rubbing Halo’s back. And also, Ledger who’s sitting on the other end of the couch, playing with his phone; he’s visiting from New York.

Callie glares at Reed. “You’re no better.” Then addressing Ledger, “You’re actually the worst, Ledge. At least these two had the guts to accept their feelings in the end. But not you. You can’t handle the fact that you’ve got feelings. For a girl.”

At this Reed covers Halo’s ears as he says, sort of in disbelief, “This asshole has feelings. For a girl. What girl?”

Callie shakes her head at Reed. “You’re clueless, aren’t you?”

Because Reed totally is.

The girl Callie is talking about is his own sister, Tempest.