“I need to tell you something,” she said.
Lucas’s smile faltered. “Is something wrong?”
“Well, that depends…”
“On?”
Paige looked up at him. She hadn’t thought it was possible to love him more, but in that moment her heart was so full, she felt as though it might burst.
“Do you think Maddie will mind not being an only child?”
Lucas’s brows knit together. Paige watched as the momentary confusion that lit his eyes changed to excitement as her words registered. “Are you…”
Not trusting the giant lump that had formed in her throat, she merely nodded. And grinned. Huge. No doubt she looked like a lunatic, but Paige couldn’t help it. She didn’t think she’d ever been this happy in her entire life.
“How?”
A laugh bubbled up from deep inside her. “How?” She laughed again. “You really need me to explain it?”
“Of course I know how, but I thought… I mean, we were careful, weren’t we?”
His words were a running stream of consciousness that was bouncing in six different directions.
“We were,” she said. “But these things don’t always work and—”
“And it’s amazing,” he said, cutting her off. Lucas tightened his arms around her waist and lifted her clear off the floor.
“What are you doing?” she shrieked with laughter. But he didn’t stop. Instead he swung her around in a full circle before setting her back on her feet.
“So this is good news?”
“This is spectacular news. And this day has turned out to be even better than I could have ever imagined, because I’m not only getting to marry you today, but I get to do it knowing you’re carrying our child.” His eyes were glassy. “I love you, Paige.”
“Stop, or you’re going to make me cry.” And Paige Parker was not going to cry. Not because she couldn’t, or because she thought it made her look weak—she’d come to terms with that months ago—but because she was terrified of what Sammy would do to her for ruining her makeup.
There was a knock on the door. “Paige,” Sophie said from the other side. “Maddie was wondering if you were ready for her.” Poor thing had probably been pacing the back of the church with her basket of rose petals.
“Should we?” Lucas asked.
Paige nodded.
He opened the door to find his sister and Maddie, each wearing a lavender dress, along with Leo, who was sporting a rather fetching lavender bow tie.
Sophie’s mouth popped open. “Lucas Lancaster Croft,” she said as she smacked him on the shoulder.
“You know that’s not my middle name.”
“And you know you’re not supposed to be in here. It’s bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony.”
“Hey, don’t look at me,” he said, nodding toward Paige. “Miss Bossy Pants insisted.”
“Soon to be Mrs. Bossy Pants,” Paige corrected.
Maddie looked up at her dad. “Does that mean that after the wedding I can start calling you Mr. Bossy Pants?”
He swung his daughter up into his arms. “It most certainly does not.” He tickled her until she giggled, something she’d been trying her best to fight lately since she was a mature woman of almost six years old, but as usual, she lost the battle. “I think you should do the honors,” he told Paige as he set Maddie back on her feet.
“Can you keep a secret?” Paige asked the little girl who had stolen her heart even faster than her father had.
Her expression turned serious. “Yes, I can. Five-and-a-half-year-olds are very good at keeping secrets, and I’m almost six.”
“How would you feel about being a big sister?”
Maddie’s eyes grew wide. “Are we going to have a baby?”
“Yes, we are,” Paige replied.
Lucas watched as his daughter threw her arms around Paige’s waist. “Is this okay,” she asked, looking up at Paige. “I won’t hurt the baby, will I?”
“It’s fine,” Paige said.
Lucas dipped his head closer, stopping just before his lips touched hers. “Is this okay?” he asked, echoing his daughter’s question as he attempted yet again to break tradition.
But this time Paige didn’t stop him. Tradition was overrated and life wasn’t always exactly how it was supposed to be.
Sometimes it was even better.
Acknowledgments
When I finished this book, it had been three years since I’d typed “The End” at the bottom of a page. Throughout that tumultuous time, the people in this community of readers and writers kept me going, even when they didn’t know it, which makes these acknowledgments even more important than any that came before.
To my agent, Pamela Harty, you’ve believed in my writing from day one and waited patiently for me to return to my laptop. I value your advice and am grateful for your friendship.
To my editor, Deb Werksman, when we met at Spring Fling, we said we hoped to work together someday. Six years and many conferences later, here we are, and I can honestly say it was worth the wait. Your notes and suggestions made this book infinitely better! And to the marketing team at Sourcebooks, especially Stefani Sloma and Katie Stutz, thank you for all your support. I hope we are celebrating various hashtag holidays for many years to come, if for no other reason than to have coffee with Freddie!
To my fellow authors, you are always ready with a text, call, or tweet of encouragement, and I’m so proud to call you friends. Jennifer Probst, Helena Hunting, Nina Bocci, and Melonie Johnson, thank you for taking the time to read and blurb my work. Abbi Glines and Julie Ann Walker, you have kept me sane (sort of), and I don’t know what I would have done without you. Loretta Nyhan and Ally Hayes, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your support and counsel. Andrew Shaffer, thank you for putting up with hundreds of stupid questions. I’d like to promise there won’t be any more, but we both know that isn’t true. Season Vining, Rachel Goodman, and Karen Carroll, I never could have navigated these winding roads without knowing you were there if I needed to whine…or wine, as the case may be. To Jana Aston and Jen Bailey, we might talk more than we write when we meet at Starbucks or Panera, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
To the readers and bloggers, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your messages and reviews are what keep me typing. Whether it be lusting after Hudson Chase, laughing at Olivia and Cole, or swooning over Prince Henry, you’ve made my world of make believe all the more real. Hopefully, Lucas and Paige will join the ranks of your all-time faves.