Page 6

“Your dad outdid himself tonight. The food is delicious. I’ve been trying to convince him to take me on to promote the restaurant. Whenever I mention it, he talks in French and disappears.”

Rose laughed. “That sounds about right, but I’ll see if I can convince him to listen.” She sucked in a breath and clutched her stomach.

“The fuck was that?” Nick bellowed.

“The fuck was what?” Al asked, looking around the room.

“Talk to me, Rose.” Nick placed his hand on the back of her neck as she took several deep breaths.

“Holy shitballs, girl.” Jeannie reached up and clutched Al’s hand, still resting on her shoulder. “Are you fixing to have that baby right now? Like right fucking now?”

Rose bit her lip as she took a deep breath. “No, my contractions are only five minutes apart.”

“Oh hell yeah!” Al kissed Jeannie’s hand lightly before jumping up and stripping off his jacket.

“I’ve been a deputy for three years and haven’t delivered a baby yet. But don’t worry, hon. I watched the training videos, and I am so ready for it. Jeannie, go boil a pot of water. Hunter, get me some towels.” He unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves to reveal sexy as fuck forearms. “Take deep breaths and stay calm. Dr. Al is here for you and will catch that baby.”

“Not putting your hands under my wife’s dress.” If looks could kill, Al would have been a pile of ash.

“Ease up, Beast. This is strictly professional. How do you think they did it in caveman days?”

Snow snickered and buried her head in Hunter’s shoulder, who hadn’t moved to grab the towels.

“Enough!” Rose shouted. “I’ve already texted my midwife. We’re fine. I mean, we should probably head to the hospital now, but I’m not about to have the baby right here on the floor.”

“Bummer,” Al mumbled. “Maybe next time, yeah?”

Nick glared at him as he pulled Rose to his side. “Fuck off, pretty boy.”

“Do you want us to come with you?” Snow asked.

“No,” Rose answered. “You all stay, enjoy the reception. I only want Nick with me in the delivery room, which would leave you all waiting in the lobby. You might as well stay here and enjoy the food and drinks. We’ll call you when it’s time to visit the baby.”

Jeannie squealed and clapped her hands. Everyone at the table turned and stared. “What? It’s exciting. This is the first baby in our friend group.”

The DJ came over the loudspeaker and announced the first dance with the bride and groom. Rose groaned again, squeezing her eyes closed. “Okay, babe. That’s our cue. We’ll see you all later. Give Marina and Christian our love.”

Nick looked around the table and grinned. “I’m gonna be a dad.”

“Hell yeah, you are!” Jeannie shouted. “Go get that baby, big guy!” As they watched the couple leave the room, Jeannie raised her glass. “To an easy birth and a healthy mama!”

They watched as Marina and Christian finished their first dance as husband and wife to “At Last” by Etta James. As the floor opened up, Christian turned to dance with his Aunt June, and Marina danced with Mr. Bill.

“My lady.” Al reached out a hand to Jeannie.

“Oh, why thank you good sir,” she said and set her wine glass on the table. They’d danced plenty of times together. Nothing new to see here.

Except for some reason, this felt new. Different. The song was “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran. Of course it was. Falling in love before they knew what love was? Yeah, that sounded about right.

She stared up at him, her eyes drawn to his lips as he softly sang the words. Butterflies filled her stomach, and she couldn't blame the flush in her cheeks on the alcohol. Al’s body was hard beneath his tux. She’d seen him in his underwear more times than she could count. When they ran together in the mornings, he wore itty bitty shorts that left little to the imagination. But knowing what was under those clothes was different than feeling it. She pressed up against him, taking full advantage of the moment.

There was only one more thing that could make the night perfect.

Chapter 5

Al wasn’t Catholic. He was barely Presbyterian. If someone had asked him how a person was elevated to sainthood, he couldn’t have offered the first guess. But after tonight, he had a pretty good idea. Dancing with the hottest chick in the world and not taking her to bed? That had to be criteria for sainthood.

The song changed to a more upbeat tune. Jeannie’s body was plastered against his, grinding in time to the music. His cock swelled, and no amount of deflation visualization was going to help. Not when her body was separated from his by a thin wisp of fabric. He could feel her hard nipples against his chest.