Page 47 of The Grump I Loathe (The Lockhart Brothers #3)

CONNOR

“ W e’re on the official countdown!” I called, watching the clock run down. It was six fifty-five.

Alterbot was officially going live with the distributor at seven tonight, which meant it would be available on all major retail sites. Tomorrow morning, the game would be on store shelves just in time to entice the post-Christmas crowd. “Eddie?”

“Just a second!” she called.

“Haven’t fallen in, have you?”

“No, no …I’m good.”

We were binging the latest season of Liam’s hit show, End in Fire , and Eddie had zoomed off to the bathroom as soon as an episode ended.

Grace was off doing winter break activities with Ali, and Alannah was with Valentina, so I’d offered to take her to a fancy restaurant tonight to celebrate the launch.

But Eddie had insisted on being home, just the two of us.

We’d squirreled ourselves away, and I’d ordered fancy Thai food and had a bottle of champagne on ice .

A regular night. That’s what she’d requested. My heart still lurched at how amazing that sounded. A regular night now consisted of us tucked up on the couch together after the dinner dishes were done and Grace was in bed.

It was Eddie in the crook of my arm, her head on my chest, her arm thrown over me, and my lips pressed to the crown of her head. It was feeling her giggle or gasp at something on the TV. It was spit balling ideas for a Shadow sequel. It was talking about whatever the latest fourth-grade drama was.

And it was perfect.

“Seriously, I need to know what happens to Cade!” I called. “If Liam kills him off, I’m going to be pissed.”

“Ha!” Eddie called. “You and half the women in America.”

“I’m starting the next episode!”

“Wait!” Eddie cried, rushing down the hall and into my arms.

“Guess that’s officially Alterbot gone live,” I said, kissing the top of her head. “Let me get the champagne, and we’ll really celebrate.”

“Umm…” When she pulled away, she wasn’t beaming the way I’d expected. Instead, she had an nervous look on her face, her lip caught between her teeth.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“Maybe you should sit down.”

My smile fell away. “Eddie? What are you…” She winced. My pulse skipped. “You’re worrying me.”

She reached into her back pocket, pulling out a thin white test, and my heart jumped into my throat as I flashed back almost ten years .

“I realized I was late,” Eddie said, breathless as she stared down at the test. “So I bought…” She swallowed hard.

“I didn’t actually think it would be…” Her eyebrows knitted together tightly.

“But I’ve done two tests now. I know they say the third time’s the charm, but it feels pretty…

well, certain.” She looked up at me, confusion and uncertainty and maybe even a little bit of hope written into her features. “What are we going to do?”

I rushed forward, catching her shoulders, staring down at those two pink lines. “Are you saying that we’re?—”

“Looks that way.” She lifted the test, giving it a little shake. “Whoo-hoo, right?” She blinked at me. “ Right? ”

“We’re pregnant?” I murmured.

“We’re pregnant,” she confirmed.

I gave a sharp laugh of disbelief. A giddy laugh. My heartbeat raced. “We’re having a baby!” I swept her up, twisting her around until she giggled into my ear.

Memories flooded me as we spun. I remembered this moment with Ali.

The moment all that weight of responsibility crashed down on my shoulders.

I remembered the panic that flooded my veins.

I’d loved Grace from the very second I knew she existed, but I’d worried, even then, about whether Ali and I could pull off being good parents.

I waited for a similar panic to set in, but it never came.

I want this , I realized with a quiet desperation. I wanted to be a parent again, and I wanted to do that with Eddie.

“You’re happy?” she asked.

“So, so happy,” I said, setting Eddie back on her feet. “You know how badly I’ve wanted to give Grace a sibling. ”

“She’s going to crush this big sister thing.” Eddie swept her hands through her hair. “I’m going to be a mom!”

“You are,” I said, taking her in. She was wearing a dazed look, as if she still hadn’t quite processed the shock. “And you’re okay with that? I know this wasn’t something we’d discussed yet. It’s okay if you’re scared. Or if you feel like you’re not ready.”

“Oh, I’m terrified as hell,” Eddie said, pressing her hand to her belly. “But it’s sort of an excited terror.” She glanced up at me, laughing. “Is that weird?”

“It’s not weird,” I said, tugging her closer.

“I’m going to be a mom,” she said, softer this time, awe on her face. “I really want to be a mom.”

“And you’re going to crush it,” I said, pressing my forehead to hers. “Because you’ve done a remarkable job looking out for Alannah.”

She smiled at that, tilting her head. “You’re really sure you want this?”

“I do,” I promised, a smile tugging at my lips. “I want to grow our family, Eddie. I want to do it all over again. The diapers and the late nights and the first steps. And I want…I’d been planning…” I rubbed at my face, laughing. “Christ, I always do this out of order, don’t I?”

“Do what?” she asked, frowning.

I darted to the side table, pulling out the ring box I’d stashed there before Christmas.

I’d thought about proposing a million times since then, but the timing never felt right.

Maybe I’d needed this moment. What moment was more perfect than the one when I’d learned I was going to be a dad for the second time?

I popped the box open, the sapphire winking at me as I sank down to one knee .

Eddie caught her gasp behind her hand. “Connor?”

“The streaks in your hair were the color of sapphires when we first met,” I said. “I’ve always thought blue was your color.”

Eddie’s jaw trembled.

“Edith Sheppard,” I said, clearing my throat. “The last time I did this, I was terrified. I wanted so badly to do the right thing, even though I had no idea what the right thing was. But I’m not afraid this time because I finally know what I want.”

“Connor,” she said softly.

“And that’s you and this baby and this perfect little life we’ve created together.

” I took her hand in mine. “We don’t have to get married now if you don’t want to.

We can be engaged for as long as you want.

We can get married tomorrow or wait until after the baby is born or wait twenty more years, if that would make you happy.

Big wedding, small wedding, Vegas wedding with a sequin-covered Elvis impersonator—whatever you want, because I love you, and all that matters to me is that I get to spend the rest of my life with you.

So,” I said, holding the ring out, “will you marry me?”

Eddie’s lips twisted, fighting off a watery smile. She wiggled her finger at me. “I think I will.”

I laughed, sliding the ring on her finger, then jumped to my feet, catching her face in a breathless kiss.

“Can we have retro video games at the wedding reception?” Eddie asked, pulling away slightly.

I nodded. “Give me a list, and I’ll get every last one.”

She grinned. “Maybe we should keep the pregnancy a surprise and roll the baby out at the reception? Oh my God, imagine how epic that would be! ”

“That…feels like a logistical nightmare,” I said. “Sooner or later, you’ll start showing, and I don’t know how we hide you away for the next however many months and plan a wedding.” I chuckled at the thought. “My mother would sniff us out immediately.”

Eddie hummed. “You’re right. Maybe we should do a cute pregnancy announcement instead. You know, like ‘new player loading.’” Her eyes widened. “Ooo, I’m definitely doing that!”

I laughed. “Deal. Maybe we can buy Grace a tiny game controller when we tell her.”

Eddie sank into the circle of my arms. “Love that idea.”

“I love you ,” I said.

“Love you more.”

“Not possible.”

“Now the big question,” Eddie said, “is do we name the baby Hot Sauce or Quesadilla?”

I snorted. “You’re not serious?”

Eddie flashed me a wicked grin. “You’ve got about eight months to convince me otherwise,” she said. “Or else Baby Dragon’s Exhale is coming to a nursery near you.”

“Not gonna lie,” I laughed. “That name does sound pretty badass.”

“I know.” Eddie beamed at me. “Look at us, already crushing this parenting thing.”

“We’ve gotta get all our practice in before we start planning for a sequel.”

“A sequel, huh?” Eddie tilted her head. “How many of those are you wanting? ”

“I’m open to suggestions,” I said, staring into her eyes. “But at least three.”

“In that case,” she said, tugging me toward the stairs with a sultry smirk. “We better get practicing.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth.” She giggled as I chased her up the stairs, and I smiled after her, knowing I’d spend the rest of my life making sure she had everything she ever wanted, because she’d given me more than I could have ever hoped for.