“Yay!” Josie exclaims, and our family jumps to their feet, applauding.
Jules and Natalie are wiping tears. Leo is whispering in Sam’s ear and then places a sweet kiss on her neck, making her grin softly.
“Let’s eat!” Will announces right before he gathers me up in a big hug and twirls me about. “It’s about time,” he mutters with a wink.
Before I know it, I’m passed about from brother to brother, caught up in hugs and kisses.
“Congratulations, sweetheart,” Luke murmurs and kisses my cheek.
“Thank you,” I reply with a grin.
This is more male attention than I’ve ever had in my life.
Dominic gathers me close for a hug. In the three months that Caleb was gone, Dom has worked hard to get to know all of us, and he’s been a welcome addition to the family.
“You deserve to be this happy,” he whispers to me.
“Hey, get your own girl,” Caleb growls and pulls me out of Dom’s arms with a mock glare.
“You’re the one who left your new wife all alone minutes after marrying her,” Dom taunts him, and I can’t help but smirk.
“I will cut you. Wedding or not,” Caleb threatens, but Dom throws his head back and laughs hard.
“Yeah. You scare me, brother.” He pats Caleb’s arm and smiles warmly. “Congratulations. Oh, I brought this.” He raises a bottle of wine from next to his chair and smiles. “For you.”
“Oh, thank you so much!” I accept the heavy bottle and admire the pretty label. “Yours?”
“Of course.” He smirks.
“Alecia.” I catch the event planner’s attention as she passes by. “Dominic brought this. I’d like to use it for the toast, please.”
The pretty blonde takes the bottle from me, and her eyes go wide when she reads the label. Her wide brown gaze finds Dom’s.
“This is a rare bottle of wine. You have good taste.” She smiles at me and walks off toward the house. “I’ll see to it.”
“I love her.” I sigh as I watch her walk away. I would never have been able to pull off this wedding without her.
Suddenly, When the Stars Go Blue begins to play through the sound system, and Caleb kisses my hand and then searches the yard. “Well, Maddie and Josie Montgomery, I think it’s time we dance.”
The girls giggle as Caleb lifts them both, one on each arm, and takes them out into the grass, where he sways around, talking and laughing with our daughters.
“I’ve never seen him this happy,” Jules murmurs as she and Natalie join me, one on either side of me.
I grin and continue to watch the three most important people in my world.
“He’s gonna be an amazing dad,” Natalie agrees.
Suddenly, it occurs to me that they’re both sniffling, and I look back and forth between them, laughing. “You two are so sappy!”
“I can’t help it!” Jules wails and wipes her cheeks. “It’s these damn hormones.”
“I hate being pregnant,” Natalie grumbles, but smiles when she rubs her round belly. “He’s making me all emotional.”
“It’s a boy?” I ask excitedly.
Natalie smiles and nods happily. “We just found out yesterday.”
“Oh my God, that’s so exciting!” I wrap my arms around her in a big hug.
“I need a hug, too!” Jules exclaims and hugs us both.
“What is happening over here?”
We pull apart to find Nate, Luke, Will, Matt and Dom watching us with confused looks.
“We’re happy,” I respond with a shrug.
“Why do girls always cry when they’re happy?” Mark asks as he approaches with a loaded plate.
“Dude, you got food?” Will asks and takes off running toward the house.
“We won’t see him for a while.” Meg smirks and hands me a glass of champagne. “Have you seen your cake?”
“Yes, it’s so pretty!”
“Did the owner of Succulent Sweets downtown do it?” Sam asks, her blue eyes excited. “’Cause if she did, I may eat it all.”
Leo laughs at her and shakes his head. “We just had cupcakes from there this morning.”
“Don’t judge me,” she responds with a scowl. “That woman is really talented. Baking is an art form, you know.”
“What’s your favorite flavor?” I ask her and glance over to where Caleb is still laughing and dancing with the girls. Now Bix is barking and bouncing around them in his black bow tie, getting in on the action.
That dog is never far from the girls.
“Chocolate,” Sam responds automatically.
“I went with chocolate in one tier and lemon in the other,” I respond.
“Yes!” Leo pumps his fist and high-fives Sam. “Lemon is our other favorite.”
“You guys are a hot mess.” Jules shakes her head at them and then seems to reconsider. “Wait. There’s chocolate? You can’t hide chocolate from the pregnant chicks!”
“It’s over there.” I point to the table under the patio where our beautiful two-tiered cake is set up, and the baker, Nicole Dolan, is fussing over it. “Have you guys met Nic?”
“No, get her genius self over here,” Sam responds.
I wave to Nic, and she grins and joins us in the grass. She’s a petite brunette with her hair in a short asymmetrical bob. Her eyes are bright green.
“Congratulations, friend!” She raises on her tiptoes and wraps her arms around me to hug me tight. “Where is your man?”
“Right here,” Caleb murmurs and grins at us as we pull apart. “The cake is beautiful, thank you.”
“My pleasure.” Nic beams.
“You make the best cake in the whole world,” Sam gushes, but Nic’s gaze is stuck on Matt. She’s gone pale and takes a step back.
“Holy shit,” she whispers.
“Do you know each other?” Caleb asks.
Nic recovers with a shake of her head and forces a fake smile. “I’m so happy that you like the cake. It’s ready to go for you. Congratulations again.” She turns to go, but Matt interrupts her.
“Stop,” he commands, his voice deceptively soft. Everyone watches in awe as Nic stops talking and folds her hands in front of her, watching Matt warily.
I glance at the men, and all of their eyebrows are high on their foreheads as they watch the exchange.
Matt walks forward and gently takes Nic by the elbow and leads her a few feet away, where he leans in and whispers something in her ear. She blushes furiously, but her eyes flash in anger as she pulls her arm out of his grasp. She says nothing as she turns her back on him and stomps away.
“Spank her ass,” he whispers angrily and marches after her.
“I guess they know each other,” Will observes while stuffing a dinner roll in his mouth.
“Do you know anything about this?” Isaac asks Caleb, who shakes his head in bewilderment.
“Not a clue.”
“You know, I know it’s hard for you all to believe this, but you don’t know everything there is to know about each other,” Meg reminds them with a smug grin.
The brothers frown at Meg as Nate smirks.
“Don’t know why you’re smirking.” Will elbows Nate. “We know you have your cock—”
“Daddy, dance with us again!” Josie interrupts as she skips up to Caleb.
“I will in a little while, sugar.” Caleb smiles at her as she skips away and then scowls at Will. “Dude, watch your language.”
“It’s true.” Will shrugs.
Dom scowls at all of us. “What am I missing?”
“Nothing,” Nate hurries to assure him and glares at Jules. “You’re getting a spanking of your own later.”
“Don’t tease me now, ace,” Jules purrs.
I laugh as I lean my head on Caleb’s arm and gaze lovingly at the people surrounding me.
“I love this family.” I chuckle.
“I love you,” Caleb whispers in my ear and kisses my temple. “Mrs. Montgomery.”
Epi
logue
~Caleb~
I pour some cream in Bryn’s coffee and carry it out onto the patio. She’s lounging in one of the many plush chairs that sit on the massive space just outside the home of my half brother, Dominic, in Tuscany.
This is the last day of our honeymoon, and I’m determined that she relaxes while I make love to her at least a hundred times today before we head back to real life tomorrow.
Although, I admit, I’m excited to see our girls. Two weeks away from them has been too much.
“Thank you, babe,” she mutters and sips her coffee as I sit in the chair beside her.
It’s very early morning. There are rows and rows of grape vines for as far as the eye can see, covering green and brown hills that are just waking up under the soft light of the morning sun.
“It’s beautiful here,” I murmur.
“Mmm,” she agrees and concentrates on her phone.
“It was nice of the family to pitch in and charter the plane for us to come here. I had no idea when Dom said he has a house in Italy that it’s this huge mansion with a few thousand acres of vines.”
“Mmm,” she agrees again, not looking up from her phone.
“What are you doing?” I ask with a laugh.
She lowers her phone to her lap, tucks her hair behind her ear and takes a sip of coffee, then looks over at me. “I’m late.”
“We’re on vacation, Legs. We’re not late for anything.”
“No.” She shakes her head and giggles and then gives me a pointed look with those big brown eyes. “I’m late.”
I stare at her for a long moment and then it hits me.
She’s late!
“You mean…”
“I think so.” She smirks and nods. “I went off the pill a month ago, and here we are.” She shakes her head and shrugs. “Crazy.”
“We need a test!” I jump up out of the chair and pat my body down. “Where’s my wallet?”
“In your pocket,” she replies drily.
“I’ll be back!” I race out of the house and drive the short distance between Dom’s estate and the nearest village. After I find a drugstore and buy one of each kind of pregnancy test they have, I race back to my hopefully pregnant wife.
“That was fast,” she murmurs with a grin. She’s still sitting in the lounge chair, sipping her coffee.
“Should you be drinking coffee?” I ask.
“Let’s not get crazy,” she responds. “I need coffee.”
“I got one of each kind,” I announce and upend the bag, sending small white and blue boxes scattering.
“Uh, Caleb, we only need one.”
“What if we can’t figure them out?” I ask and pick one up to examine it. “All of the instructions are in Italian.”
She laughs hysterically and then stands, wiping her eyes.
“It’s not funny.”
“Yes, it is. Pregnancy tests are pretty universal, Caleb. You pee on it and a line either appears or it doesn’t.” She rubs my arm sweetly and kisses my shoulder before plucking the box out of my fingers. “I’ll be back.”
“I’m coming with you.” I begin to follow her, but she turns quickly with her hand out to stop me.
“Oh no, you aren’t. You are not going to watch me pee on this stick.”
I scowl down at her and cross my arms over my chest. “I helped you bathe and dress and every other damn thing when you were hurt. I can handle watching you pee.”
“Absolutely not.” She shakes her head but then leans in and kisses my chin. “But thank you for helping me when I was hurt.”
She turns and runs for the bathroom, and it feels like an eternity before she comes back out, white stick in hand.
“Well?” I ask.
“It takes about three minutes, babe.” She sits in the lounge chair and stares out over the vineyard. “Are you sure about this whole having-another-baby thing?”
I lean down and pick her up, sit in her chair and settle her on my lap.
“I want more babies,” I whisper and kiss her cheek.
“Okay,” she whispers back and smiles shyly.
God, she can destroy me with just a look. I’ve faced horrors that no man or woman should have to see and faced them without qualms, but this woman and her two daughters bring me to my knees.
“I love you, Legs.”
“I love you, too, sailor.” She grins and kisses me, wraps her arms around my neck and turns her body until she’s straddling my lap.
“Hold up. Check the stick,” I interrupt before we’re both naked and sweaty and the stick is a distant memory.
She glances down. “It’s not ready yet.”
“Go pee on another one,” I instruct her. “This one is taking too long.”
“I don’t have to pee anymore!” She laughs. “You pee on one! They say we’re pregnant, so it should work just fine.”
“Smart-ass,” I mutter and pull her face to mine so I can kiss the fuck out of her. God, she’s so amazing.
Finally, she pulls back and offers me a lazy smile.
“Look again,” I whisper and lean my forehead against hers.
“It’s positive, babe.”
My heart stops as I gaze into her deep chocolate eyes.
We’re having a baby.
“Really?” I ask.
She nods as tears gather in her eyes.
“Oh baby.” I sigh and gather her to me, rocking us back and forth and clinging to her. “Thank you.”
“You’re such a good daddy,” she murmurs.
I grin and tip her chin back so I can see her face.
“I’m so honored to be your husband, my love. To be the father of our kids. When I left the Navy, I thought I was losing everything that mattered to me, but now I know that it was leading me to you. I wouldn’t change anything. I love you.”
She grins and pulls my face down to hers, presses her body closer to mine and nuzzles my nose. “I love you, too.”
The End
A Safe With Me Halloween
“Bix is a pirate!” Josie exclaims in delight as Brynna pulls the black eye patch over Bix’s bad eye and ties a red bandana around his head. His eyebrows both raise up and down as he looks between Bryn and myself, wondering what in the world he’s getting himself into.
“Really, Bryn, he’s a war hero and you’re dressing him up like a pirate?” I slip my arms around her waist as she stands, rest my hands over her ever-growing belly, and bury my face in her neck, inhaling her sweet scent.
“He’s adorable like this, Montgomery,” she chuckles and adjusts her witches hat on her head as she pulls away from me. “And you are very handsome.”
“I don’t know why I’m wearing this,” I grumble and glance down at my Navy dress uniform.
“Because it’s hot, sailor,” Bryn grins. “And the girls begged, and they have you wrapped around their little fingers.”
I grin down at her, gliding my thumb down her jawline. Fuck yes, they have me wrapped around their fingers. All three of them do.
“Let’s go trick-or-treating!” Maddie exclaims excitedly, jumping up and down in her green and blue cheerleader uniform. Both Josie and Maddie chose to go as Seahawks cheerleaders this year. Bryn put their long dark hair up in high ponytails and put pink goop on their lips, making them look far older than I’m comfortable with.
“They don’t need the fucking makeup,” I growl at Bryn.
“It’s Halloween, Caleb,” she smirks. “I don’t even want to think about how you’re going to be when they’re teenagers.”
Just the thought sends me into a panic attack that has absolutely nothing to do with my PTSD.
I’ll kill any teenage fucker who dares look at them.
“Where are we heading first?” Bryn asks as we all pile into our new minivan. I never thought I’d see the day that I’d drive a fucking minivan, but with the twins, another on the way, and Bix, we needed the space.
“Might as well hit up Nat and Luke first,” I reply and set off down
the street to Nat and Luke’s place.
“I hope I get lots of peanut butter cups tonight,” Maddie informs us.
“I’m praying for some Almond Joy,” Brynna whispers next to me and rubs her belly.
“Gonna raid the girls’ candy tonight?” I ask with a smile.
“Hell yes. As soon as they go to sleep, I’m so digging into those plastic pumpkins.”
I pull up to Luke and Nat’s Alki Beach home, and the girls and Bix are out of their seats and running up to Luke’s door before I even cut the engine.
“I think they’re excited,” I laugh as Brynna and I follow our girls.
“Trick or Treat!” the girls yell in unison as Natalie pulls the door open, a beautiful smile spread over her face.
“Oh, wait until Uncle Will sees you guys later! You both look so adorable!”
“Maddie!” Livie exclaims as she claps her hands from her perch on Luke’s arm. She’s dressed as a little ladybug, her pixie face bright with wonder at the costumes we’re wearing.
“No costumes for you guys?” I ask with a raised brow.
“It took me two hours just to talk Liv into wearing hers,” Natalie replies with a sigh. “I’m good.”
Luke kisses Nat’s cheek and runs his hand down her dark hair. “Are you feeling okay?” he murmurs.
“I’m fine,” Nat responds and rubs her own round belly.
Our family is full of knocked up women.
My parents couldn’t be more excited.
“I don’t think your treats will fit in your pumpkins,” Luke informs my girls with a sober face. “So maybe I shouldn’t give them to you.”
“Please! Please!” They jump up and down, giggling, making Liv laugh with them.
“I don’t know. What do you think?” he asks Nat.
“Oh put them out of their misery already,” she laughs and reaches inside for two big black gift bags and hands one to each of them, then throws a treat for Bix, which he catches out of the air and crunches on happily.
“You didn’t have to buy them gifts,” Brynna scolds them.
“They’re my nieces. I can do whatever I want,” Natalie replies with a smug smile. Brynna immediately tears up and sends me a helpless gaze. I just pull her to me and kiss her forehead as the girls dig into their goodie bags.