Unexpected Love

He peered down at the two pink lines on the display screen, his lips curving up in a big grin. “You’re carrying my baby.”

I nodded. “I am.”

He shifted me on to the cushion before sliding off the couch to kneel in front of me. After tugging my shirt up, he pressed his lips to my belly. I ran my fingers through his dark blond hair and shivered at the feel of his scruff rubbing against my soft skin as he whispered, “Hey, baby girl. It’s Daddy.”

“There’s no way to know the gender yet,” I reminded him, feeling a little misty-eyed over how emotional I felt seeing Jonah’s reaction to my pregnancy.

His thumb stroked across my skin, and I felt his lips move as he answered, “It’s going to be a girl.”

I tilted my head to the side as I grinned down at him. “You sound very sure about that.”

“Because I am, angel.” Butterflies swirled in my belly when he winked at me. “I’ve been dreaming about knocking you up since we met. Our first after Tucker was a daughter each and every time. I figure it’s got to mean this one’s a girl.”

Once I turned eighteen, Jonah had stopped hiding that he’d been as drawn to me as I’d been to him all along. Being with him made every day of doubt before my birthday well worth it. “I hope you’re right.”

“No worries, baby,” he reassured me. “If this one’s not a girl, then we’ll just try again until I get one with her mommy’s auburn hair and blue eyes.”

I’d be more than happy to keep on trying since each attempt was bound to come with as many orgasms as I could handle…and then some.

Epilogue

Jonah

Twenty-one (ish) years later

“Tucker.” I greeted my son with a clap to the shoulder as I stepped out onto the back porch of Jamison and Hazel’s country home. I smiled at the hustle and bustle filling the yard, happy to see all our families here for our traditional Fourth of July barbecue. It was the one time of year when all seventeen kids made sure to be home. Tucker grunted in response but kept glaring off in the distance. I followed his line of sight and knew the moment I’d spotted the source of my son’s dark mood.

“Who invited that punk?” he growled.

“He’s Jackson’s best friend,” I reminded him.

The “punk” he was referring to was my youngest son’s friend Sailor, and I was pretty sure Tucker’s objection to the good-looking boy-next-door type was the attention he was showering on Eva; Blair and Justice’s almost sixteen-year-old daughter.

Tucker had always had a soft spot for her, treating her and protecting her the same way he did his own sisters. But over the last year, as Eva began to mature, I’d seen the growing shock in him as his view of her began to shift.

“She’s young, Tucker,” I warned.

His whole body stiffened, and his hands clenched into fists. “I know,” he gritted through clenched teeth. “But I swear, Dad, if he fucking touches her again, I’m going to knock out some of those perfect, fake teeth.”

Luckily, Eva’s eldest brother Trevor stepped in at that moment, saving Sailor from some major cosmetic surgery. After having a word with the kid—whose face had turned white as a ghost—Trevor made his way across the yard to where we were standing. He stopped when he was standing next to Tucker and glowered, shaking his head. “Who invited that asshole?”

“Language, Trevor,” Blair scolded softly as she appeared on the porch with my wife close behind.

“Sorry, Mom,” he muttered as he walked over to kiss her cheek. He glanced back at Tucker and lifted his chin toward the sliding glass door that led to the back kitchen. “Feel like a beer and a game of pool?”

After throwing one last brooding look toward the group of teenagers, Tucker nodded and followed Trevor into the house.

Penelope raised her eyebrows and sidled up next to me, looping her arm through mine. Her soft breasts pressed against me, and even after over two decades together, it still made my heart rate speed up and my cock harden.

“Is everything okay with Tucker?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah, angel. He’s just a little too much like his old man.” She eyed me with curiosity, but I just smiled down at her before lowering my head to take her mouth in a deep, lingering kiss.

“Ew! Dad! Stop mauling Mom!” Our daughter Faith complained loudly before making an exaggerated gagging sound.

Penelope jerked away, and her face heated adorably, which only served to make me want her more. I barked a laugh and gave her a wink.

“Yeah, get a room,” Jamison teased as he meandered over to the grill at the bottom of the steps.

My lips spread into a wide grin. “I believe we have one of those here,” I drawled. Penelope’s blush began to spread down her neck to her cleavage. However, she didn’t utter a peep when I scooped her into my arms and stalked into the house.