Page 145 of Daddies' Holiday Toy

Should’ve been stronger in resisting her when she first offered up the proposition.

We should’ve shut it down the first time any of us almost crossed the line.

But would I take back a single second I’ve spent with her?

Not a chance in hell.

She’s sunshine in human form, infuriating sometimes, but also…real.

She’s the kind of person you don’t think exists anymore until you meet her, and the thought of her carrying a child,our childeven if I don’t know for sure if it’s mine or not, does something to me.

It softens me in ways I didn’t think were possible anymore.

I can picture it clearly.

Her belly rounding out under one of those loose sweaters she likes, her cheeks a little fuller and rosy with that glow people always talk about.

I can see her holding a newborn, hair messy, eyes tired but bright with that fierce kind of love you can’t fake.

And I want it.

God help me,Iwant it.

I’d do anything.

The clang of a cell door further down jolts me out of it. A guard’s walking past, keys rattling at his belt.

Carson stops pacing to glare at him then at me. I meet his stare evenly until he mutters something and turns away.

Across from me, Liam shifts on the bench, elbows digging into his knees again while he runs his fingers through his hair for the seventh time since we arrived.

He’s been quiet since they brought us in, probably running through the same questions I am and asking himself if all of this was really worth it.

Eventually, footsteps approach again. This time, it’s the guard stopping in front of my cell.

“You’re being released,” he says, unlocking the door.

“What about them?” I ask, jerking my chin toward Liam and Carson.

“That one too.” The guard points to Liam. “Other one stays.”

Carson barks out a humorless laugh. “Figures. Fuck you both.”

The guard ignores him, swinging Liam’s cell open after I step out of mine.

I rub my wrists a few times, even though they didn’t bother with cuffs in here.

Liam falls into step beside me as we’re escorted to the front of the county jail, his eyes flicking toward Carson once as we pass by but not lingering.

We round the corner toward the release desk and stop short.

Reece is there, leaning on the counter like he owns the place, and beside him is Holly.

She looks small in the big, sterile waiting room, her coat wrapped tight around her, her hair tucked under her collar, pieces of it loose and framing her face.

The second her eyes find us, she’s moving.

She doesn’t give either of us a chance to hesitate before she’s throwing her arms around both our waists, holding on to us like she thinks we might disappear.