Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“What if you have twins?” Monroe asks.
“I think if anyone is having twins, it’s us,” Brogan speaks up, and immediately slaps her hand over her mouth.
I hug her tighter, because my fucking wife, she’s a fighter, and it’s so damn good to see her living this life with me, and not fearing what-ifs. “Yeah,” I say, backing her up.
“What if we’re having twins?” Forrest asks.
Brogan gasps. “Are you?”
“No.” Briar shakes her head. “Not that we’re aware of.”
“I need to call my parents,” Legend says, playing with Monroe’s hair where she sits in his lap.
“Why?” Monroe asks him.
“To see if there is a long-lost chance that twins run in our family. We can’t let them win, baby.”
We all crack up laughing, and a rightness I’ve never felt washes over me. I love my friends and their wives, but having mine here makes nights like these even sweeter.
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
Brogan
Six months ago today, I woke up in Vegas realizing that I was married. Married to a man who I’d wanted from afar but was too afraid to tell him. It was more than just the fear. It was me not thinking I was worthy enough to have him in my life as more than just one of my brother-in-law’s best friends.
Six months ago, Maddox asked me to give him a shot. To give him six months to prove to me what he claimed he already knew.
That we belonged together.
So much has changed in those twenty-six weeks. I’ve changed. Some might say it was the therapy, which I know was part of it, but I also know I never could have seen the growth that I have without my husband.
He’s the greatest man I’ve ever known, and no matter what hurdle we faced, he was next to me, cheering me on, telling me that we’ve got this.
One hundred and eighty-two days ago, I didn’t believe him. I never thought we would be here, but we are. I still have moments where I’m insecure about deserving this much happiness, but Maddox is always right there to remind me that I am.
And I believe him.
I believe in his love.
I believe in my love for him.
I believe in us.
The patio door opens, and Maddox walks out. He’s in a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a tight-fitting Everlasting Ink T-shirt. It’s summer in Tennessee, and the weather is beautiful, so we decided to have dinner out here tonight.
“Are you ready for me to toss the steaks on the grill?” he asks.
“I’m still full from lunch.”
He nods. “Me too. That pan crust is filling,” he says, of the large meat lover's pizza we had from Dough Daddies on our way home from the grocery store. We’ve settled into a routine, as an old married couple, if you will, and I love it.
“What’s bringing that gorgeous smile to your face?” Maddox asks. I scoot over on the double lounger to make room for him to join me.
“I was just thinking about how we have a routine. If neither one of us works, we do our grocery shopping on Saturdays, and clean on Sundays.”
“We’re very domesticated,” he says, laughing. “I love our routine.”
“I do too. I was just thinking we’re an old married couple already.”
“It’s fucking perfect,” he says, wrapping his arms around me as I settle on his chest. “I love it here.”
“Yeah?”
He nods. “I always loved this house.”
“So, you think this is where we’re going to stay?”
“Do you not want to?”
“No, I do, but I wasn’t sure what you wanted.”
“Baby, we could live anywhere. You are what makes it a home. The love we share, but this is your family home, and I just assumed this is where we would settle. We can do some updating, and over there is the perfect spot for a swing set.” He points to the corner of the yard. “It’s in perfect view of the window over the sink to watch the kids play.”
“Yeah, and maybe we could update the primary bathroom,” I say, thinking about our shower habits. It’s nice that we’re forced to be so close since we usually can’t keep our hands off each other, but a little more room would be nice too.
“We can do that. There’s a lot of open space not being used in the current layout.”
“What about you? Anything you’d like to change?”
“Maybe build a garage that my truck will fit in,” he says, laughing.
“What about your house?”
“I say we put it on the market, unless you want to live there.”
“It’s small,” I say, wrinkling my nose. “I can’t see us raising kids there.”
He nods. “I’ll call the realtor tomorrow.”
“Will it always be like this?”
“Like what?”
“You agreeing with everything that I say or suggest.”
“I’m sure there will be times we disagree. When that day comes, we’ll talk it out. But I’m an easygoing guy for the most part. I need you, and when we have kids, I’ll need them. I want my friends who are my brothers to always be involved. My parents, too, and other than that, I don’t care. I don’t care where we are, whose house we invade, or what we have to eat while doing it. That’s all just noise.”