The Resurrection of Wildflowers (Wildflower #2)(54)

What?

“I … like now?”

He nods. “I love being a dad, and I want to have more babies with you. I want to watch our kids grow up in this small town with its quirky traditions. I want to smell you baking cupcakes for school events. I want … I already told you I want everything with you, and I want that future to start now.” I can’t help it, I start crying. “Fuck, baby,” he wraps my naked body in his arms, “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“They’re happy tears, I promise,” I hiccup.

I didn’t expect to have this kind of talk this morning, and I know it’s fast, but it feels … right. My mom would be happy, she’d want this for me. She wanted both Georgia and me to understand that life’s short even if you die old and in your bed. You can’t let fear hold you back. You have to live.

He doesn’t look convinced as he brushes the wet droplets from my cheeks. “Are you sure? I know this is kind of out of left field, but I want everything with you, and fuck waiting. But I never want to push you if your timeline isn’t the same as mine.”

“Y-Yes. You want to have another baby with me?”

“Another and another and as many as you’ll let me.”

I laugh, my body shaking. “Let’s get through one more first before you start planning on kid number three and beyond.”

“Deal.”

His smile sets my soul on fire—it’s cheesy, but it’s true.

“I’ll stop taking my birth control today.” His smile grows impossibly bigger. “Don’t look so happy at the idea of knocking me up.”

He chuckles. “I already did that once with birth control, excuse me for being a little cocky.”

I poke his side. “Get off me. I need to shower and get dressed. Seda will be up soon. Lauren will probably sleep for half the day.”

He eases up and I start to stand but he scoops me around the waist, spinning me into his body. My hands land on his hard torso.

“Are you sure you want this?”

I roll my eyes. “If it wasn’t, I’d tell you.”

“This is all happening faster than I planned. I wanted to do things right, take it slow with you—”

I press my hand over his mouth. “This is our right. You can’t put love on a timeline. I’ve waited what feels like a lifetime to call you mine. I don’t want to waste a single second more.”

“Fuck, I love you.”

“I love you, too. Now, let me go. I smell like sex. and I have birth control to throw in the trash.”

He lets me go with a swat on my ass. I smile at him over my shoulder.

“Wait,” I pause in the doorway of the bathroom, “was that what you wanted to talk to me about? The baby thing?”

He opens another drawer on the dresser and pulls out a pair of cargo shorts. “It wasn’t, actually.”

“Oh?” I wait for him to elaborate.

He shakes his head. “Don’t look so scared. We’ll talk about it later.”

He swipes a shirt from the closet and heads out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him and leaving me no choice but to wait for that conversation, whatever it might be.





CHAPTER 35





THAYER





I raid my pantry for the ingredients to make homemade waffles for breakfast. I figure it’ll help soak up the last of the alcohol in the girls’ systems.

I didn’t mean to spring the baby thing on Salem, but it just kind of happened. I love her, I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and it seems like she wants the same, so what’s the point in waiting?

But as sober as she seemed this morning, I still want to bring up the conversation again when I know for sure she has a clear head and ask her about moving in.

I’ve just finished stirring up the waffle batter when Seda pads into the room in her footy pajamas, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

“I’m hungry.”

“I’m making waffles—do you want those or something else?”

Her brown eyes light up. “Waffles!”

“Do you want to help spoon it onto the waffle maker?”

“Yes, please.” She nods eagerly.

I lift her onto the counter and pass her a spoon. She ladles the batter on, and I close the lid.

“When the light turns green that means it’s done.”

“Can I have chocolate chips in mine?”

I chuckle. I should’ve known she’d want chocolate chips. “Yep. Let me grab them.”

It only takes me a second to swipe them from the pantry and set them on the counter with everything else.

“The light’s green!” She cries excitedly, pointing at the waffle maker.

“Let me do this part,” I tell her, grabbing a rubber spatula. “It’s hot.” I take the waffle out and set it on the waiting plate. “All right, time for more batter.”

We work together, finishing all the waffles by the time Salem and Lauren come down.

Salem’s freshly showered, her hair damp, and dressed for the day in her usual shorts and tank top. Lauren looks like she got run over by a car. Her hair is an untamed mess, there’s drool dried in the corner of her mouth, and she’s still wearing a pair of matching pajamas.