Page 99 of My Three Hometown Hard Hats

It isn’t that I don’t want to marry Hadley. I want to marry that girl so hard. I’m just nervous.Fuck.

Needing to distract myself, I grab some of the eggs from the basket, helping Con hide them around the house for Evelyn.

I bury one in the flowers Hadley put on the island, and one behind a picture of all five of us she had framed and hung in the living room.

Over the last six months that she’s lived here, she hasn’t drastically changed the house. Little things have shifted, though, making the space more her. More homey.

Having her here has been a dream, the last puzzle piece that we didn’t even know we were missing, finally clicking into place. With her, our little makeshift family is complete.

We’ve all already talked about how Evelyn is perfect, and we’re all on board to not have any more kids. But there’s onemore step that Austin, Con, and I want to take, and today we will see if she’s on the same page as us.

It isn’t like I think she’s actually going to say no, butfuck.What if she does say no? Shaking the thought away, I hide the last egg between the couch cushions.

A sleepy yet excited Evelyn walks down the stairs with Cash at her side. Austin and Hadley follow behind them, hand-in-hand.

Last night, Hadley slept in Austin’s room with him. Con and I agreed to get all the Easter stuff set up while he kept the girls distracted.

Sometimes, we all sleep together in Hadley’s room, and other nights she spends time with just one of us in our own rooms. On occasion, she just wants her space and sleeps in her room all alone.

Honestly, the thought of her sleeping by herself in that giant bed makes me laugh.

“Happy Easter,” Con tells Evelyn. She runs over, giving him a hug and grabbing the basket from his hand. “There are twenty eggs, kiddo. Go for it.”

She bounces in place before darting around the room like she’s already hyped up on sugar.

Hadley walks over, leaning up on her tiptoes to give me a kiss. Another round of flutters rushes through me. “Morning, baby.”

“Morning,” she says, yawning.

The four of us adults get coffee and settle on the sectional as Evelyn continues to buzz around like a bee. Hadley cuddles up with Con on the opposite side from where I am.

Austin plops down in the middle, groaning when he sits on the egg I put there earlier. When Evelyn has her back turned, he places it in the magazine basket on the coffee table.

Evelyn sets her basket on the coffee table, counting how many she has collected three times. “Con, how many did you say there are?” she asks with her hands on her hips over her pink fuzzy pjs.

“Twenty.”

“I only have nineteen. I can’t find it anywhere,” she huffs.

Inhaling deeply, I stand up. “I’ll help you look for it,” I say, holding my hand out to her.

As we walk toward the kitchen, I lock eyes with Austin and Con. A mix of nervous energy coils through us.

I bring Evelyn with me until we’re both crouching behind the far side of the island in the kitchen, where I know Hadley can’t see us or hear us if we whisper.

“I need your help with something, Evie Girl,” I tell her, pulling the golden egg from my pocket.

Her eyes widen in wonder. “It’s so pretty.”

“Wait till you see this,” I say, popping it open. With two fingers, I pull out the gold ring that’s hidden inside.

Evelyn gasps, her hands flying to her face.

“Shhhh…” I tell her with my finger to her lips.

“Sorry,” she whispers. “I love it.”

Evelyn knew we were going to ask Hadley to marry us, but she hadn’t seen the ring yet. Her eyes fly up to mine.