Page 160 of Daddies' Holiday Toy

She raises a hand to wipe mine away, a small, teary smile tugging at her lips. “You don’t have to forgive me. I’m not expecting you to. But I would love to help you with the baby if you decide to keep it. I understand if you don’t want me around?—”

“Stop,” I tell her, squeezing her arms. “It’s okay. I forgive you. I want you in this baby’s life more than anything.”

She chokes up again. “Really?”

“Really, really.”

She hugs me again, giving me a tender squeeze before pulling back again. When her gaze moves to somewhere over my shoulder, I know exactly who she’s looking at.

“Gentlemen,” she greets.

“Hey, Mags,” Liam responds softly.

She sighs, her shoulders slumping. “Are you… One of you is going to take responsibility, right?”

“We all are,” Reece says, surprising her.

She glances back at me, blinking a few times before looking at them again. “Allof you are going to take care of her and the baby?”

Jack nods, stepping forward. “Holly is all of ours, Maggie. We’re all going to make sure she wants for nothing. Thatourbaby,wants for nothing. You don’t need to worry. We’re going to take good care of her.”

A smile tugs at my lips when he reaches up and brushes a hand across my cheek.

The gesture warms me from the inside out, making my stomach flip pleasantly.

My mom lets out another soft sigh, though this one sounds far less upset than before.

“Alright…I’m trusting you all to keep your word.”

“We will, Mags,” Liam says, shooting me a soft smile. “We love her.”

My mom turns and hugs me again, squeezing me just as tight as she used to when I was little.

All those times when I was afraid of leaving her side and having to brave the world without her.

This is kind of like that, in a way.

“Okay,” she says.

My arm wraps around her, my head resting on her shoulder. “I love you, Mom. You’ll always be welcome here.”

Somehow, after everything that’s happened, between the fights, the gossip, the threats, the way that it all almost fell apart completely, we’re all still here.

I’mstill here.

For the first time since I saw that plus sign on the test and my life turned upside down, I’m not scared of what’s coming.

I’m ready.