Page 40 of Ruled Out

“We’ll see about that.” Walking over to his wife, he takes her left hand in his, and it’s then I notice the huge black diamond on her ring finger. “A couple of mojitos, and you’ll be into it. Or maybe even me if I can help it.”

Kate shakes her head, pats him on the shoulder, and then looks over at me and smiles. “These boys always think they havethe upper hand. What they fail to realize is, behind the scenes, we call the shots.” She checks her watch. “We’ll be home by ten.”

With a kiss to June and Will’s foreheads, they both make for the front door before Jensen stops and swivels on his heel, pointing over at the kitchen. “There’re snacks and drinks in the fridge if you want anything. Thanks for this.”

A few seconds later, I hear the soft click of the door closing behind them and then an engine firing up on the driveway.

Jessie turns to me, his left brow quirked. “I think Will might have already pooped.”

“Okay,” I say, rising from the couch and walking toward them. “How hard can a diaper be?”

He passes me June, and I take her into my arms.

“Not that hard,” Jessie confidently says, walking toward the hallway.

We climb the glamorous wooden staircase and make a right at the top. The nursery is a stunning sage color with light wood furniture and white decor. As soon as we enter, my eyes are immediately drawn to June’s and Will’s names on the wall above their beds.

“They’re really cute.” I point to the wooden name plaques as I bounce June in my other arm.

Despite me being a total stranger to her, she giggles and looks up at me with her big brown eyes.

Jessie looks over to where I’m pointing “Yeah, they were a gift from me. Brought them over the day Kate got back from the hospital.” He focusses back on Will, laying him on the changing table.

Maybe I should be surprised at Jessie’s thoughtfulness, but I’m not. Through the aloof exterior he tries to portray, I see him—the soft guy who, over time, has lost the ability to open himself up to show love and be loved in return.

“Nice names too.” I look down at June in my arms. “You’ve got a really pretty name, not one you hear too often either.”

Jessie doesn’t respond to the smell as he tears off Will’s diaper and quickly bags it before wiping him down and grabbing a fresh diaper from the side. “Kate chose June’s name, and Jensen chose Will’s,” he replies, still focused on changing Will, but has no issue with completing the task easily.

“You really didn’t need my help tonight, did you?”

He pops the buttons on Will’s pajamas, picking him up and then the diaper, ready to throw it in the trash. “Not with the diaper. I’ve changed a fair few in my time.”

“How? You’re an only child.” My question is definitely more of a statement.

Looking down at Will, he offers him a small smile and then the same to me. He opens his mouth, but hesitates, clearly thinking about what to say. I notice the pull within him—he wants to tell me more—but at the last second, I see him close off.

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

As we creepout of the nursery, Jessie bends down to flick on the nightlight and leaves the door off the latch, the baby monitor in his left hand.

I pull my phone out of the back pocket of my jeans, checking the time. “Right on schedule, Staff Sergeant.”

“Want to give me a little salute to go with that?” he retorts.

I look down the staircase toward the kitchen. “Nope, but what I do want is ice cream.”

We make our way into the kitchen, and I take a seat at one of the barstools as Jessie pulls open the freezer door.

“Okay, we have vanilla.”

I scrunch up my nose. “Nah.”

“Oreo?”

I wave a hand in front of my face. “Overrated.”

“Chocolate Fudge Brownie?”