I hadn’t been paying attention to those things. In fact, it hadn’t even occurred to me that my grandmother might be feeling that way. But it made sense. She wanted me to be happy. She worried about me all the time growing up and I doubted that worry ever went away. Now she got to see with her own two eyes that there was someone else in the world who would stick by my side forever. Who would have my back no matter what.
Who would stand up to mean girls at swimming pools for me.
Holly and I sat down at the kitchen island and nursed our glasses of wine.
“Nana is happy for you and so am I, Max,” Holly said. “Seriously. You and Janie… you’re meant to be. I thought it from the first moment I met her and I’ve never changed my mind. And if I’m not in one of your bridal parties, I’m going to throw myself off a bridge.”
I laughed.
“I mean it, Max.”
I laughed harder, and my sister shoved me playfully, nearly sending me teetering off my stool.
The laughter felt good, and the way Janie and my grandmother peered over at us felt even better.
“What are you two hooligans doing over there?” Nana called.
“Nobody says ‘hooligans’ anymore, Nana,” I said.
Nana rolled her eyes. “That’s something only a hooligan would say.”
Epilogue
Janie
Two Months Later
Piper led me down the hallway on the second floor of the old farmhouse. I’d been here several times before but I’d never seen the bedroom at the far end of the hall, which she and Wyatt had just finished converting into a nursery.
A wooden plaque hung on the door. Piper tapped it with her knuckles. “When we decide on a name, we’re going to get it written on here.”
“Open the door, woman,” I said. “I can’t contain my excitement.”
Piper twisted the handle and pushed the door open. It creaked softly, just like all the doors in Wyatt’s old generational home, and unveiled a dreamy nursery with soft white walls, pine window trims, and forest-green accents. Gold accents added contrast and texture, and the closet, which was doorless, boasted an adorable collection of gender-neutral clothing. Piper and Wyatt wanted to be surprised the day their baby was born.
I picked up a pair of tiny white sneakers as my ovaries screamed. “I can’t with these.”
“Adorable, right?” Piper gushed.
Her tummy was beginning to show. She was only four months along and hadn’t popped until about two weeks ago, when all of a sudden her belly was round and she claimed some of her pants no longer fit. She’d sent me a dozen pictures of her in front of her bathroom mirror until Wyatt photo-bombed her and the messages promptly ceased.
Apparently, he was even more insatiable than usual and found her even sexier now that she was pregnant.
I couldn’t help but wonder if Max would be the same way one day.
The men were downstairs sipping beers while Wyatt barbequed dinner. While they caught up and talked about dude things, Piper and I checked out the nursery. Max and I had only just arrived this afternoon in Austin. We still had three nights ahead of us and Piper had planned out all of our activities for the three days.
One of them was attending a neighbor’s shindig that consisted of dancing and good food. When I tried to opt out of it by saying I didn’t think a farmer’s backyard party was my scene, Piper insisted.
Apparently, she’d gone to this very party when she spent the month with Wyatt during her time as the Casanova Bachelorette, and it was a highlight.
Minus the barn fire that promptly followed and nearly burned her now husband alive, of course.
She’d picked out a dress for me to wear and everything. Saying no was not an option.
Piper showed me out of the nursery and down the hall to the room where Max and I would be sleeping. She nudged the door open. Wyatt had already brought our bags up, which sat on the end of the bed. The room smelled like lavender and hay. The pine bed matched the nightstands, and we had our own bathroom complete with a soaker tub and rain shower. The skeleton of the house was still old, but Wyatt had spent a lot of time making thoughtful upgrades.
“This is the room I stayed in when I first met Wyatt,” Piper said as she absentmindedly ran a hand over her belly. “Well, I suppose at the end of the month I’d spent more nights in his bed than in this one.”
“Thatta girl.”
“Let me know if you guys need any extra blankets or pillows or anything.”
“Pipes, this is perfect. Seriously. Should we go make sure the boys haven’t lost sight of dinner and gotten distracted by something dumb?”
Piper nodded and her hand stilled on her belly. “Good call. I’m starving.”
My best friend and I made our way down the stairs to the main level of the open-concept farmhouse. We spotted Max and Wyatt out on the porch, where smoke gently rose from the back of the barbeque. The table on the porch was set. Sunflowers sat in silver pitchers and candles flickered in mason jars.
Piper had really made this country life suit her.
I grabbed my spiked iced tea off the kitchen counter as we passed through. Piper grabbed her iced water. We went out onto the porch as Max leaned against the railing. He grinned when he saw me.
“How’s the nursery?” Max asked.
“So charming,” I said.
He looked me up and down. “Charming enough where you feel ready to convert that empty bedroom upstairs into one?”
Wyatt turned from the barbeque and pumped his eyebrows. Piper moved up beside him and ran her hand across his shoulders before steering him down to her for a kiss.
“You guys have plenty of time to make babies,” Piper said.
I wasn’t so sure about that anymore. Max wanted babies now but he was willing to wait for me. I didn’t want to make him wait. He was ready to be a father, and truth be told, now that he was by my side, I felt ready to be a mother.
In fact, I felt called to it.
Wyatt opened the barbeque. Rich smells of sizzling meat and sauces overwhelmed me. My mouth started to water and Max straightened from where he was leaning against the railing to peer at the meat.
He whistled. “This is going to be a feast.”
“This is how we eat in Austin.” Wyatt grinned. “Ah, and here come our other dinner guests.”
Max and I looked out across the gravel drive that ran between the farmhouse and the barn. Several pickup trucks were parked there as well as some other farm equipment I couldn’t distinguish, aside from the tractor. Boone and Dodge, Wyatt’s two young ranch hands, were weaving through the vehicles, sniffing at the air like junkyard dogs.
“What’s for dinner, boss?” Boone called as he took the porch steps two at a time.
“Smells like ribs,” Dodge said as he rubbed his belly and clapped his hands together.
Wyatt swatted Boone’s hand away as he reached for the grill. “You can touch it when it’s on your plate.”
Boone shook his hand out. “Piper, are you really gonna let your man treat me like that?”
Piper gave Boone a sympathetic look. “Did he hurt you?”
Boone nodded.
She tipped her head into the kitchen. “Go get yourself a beer. It’ll fix you right up.”