Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
My eyes meet his, and I find them burning with intensity, his jaw clenched. “I’ll handle it. I promise you. By the time I’m done with him and my dad, they’ll wish they never fucked with us.” He kisses me softly, tenderly. “Let’s get you showered, so we can go meet the little Blackwood princess.”
Once we’re both showered and dressed, we head to the hospital, stopping at the store to pick up a couple of little gifts on the way. When we get up to the room, Declan is there, holding the baby, but everyone else is gone.
“Where is everyone?” I ask, giving Layla a kiss on her cheek.
“You actually just missed them. They went downstairs to get breakfast. My mom and Felix are on their way. He insisted he make a card for the baby first, so she said they’ll be a little while.”
“Where’s Gage?” Braxton asks Declan.
“He must’ve fallen back asleep after we got off the phone. I knocked, but he wouldn’t answer. I’m sure he’ll be by later.”
“My turn!” I wiggle my fingers, indicating for Declan to hand the baby over. He rolls his eyes and steps toward me as the door swings open and in walks Kendall and—
“Oh, my God! Is that a ring on your finger?” Layla squeals, waking up Marianna, who starts to whimper. I glance at Kendall, who’s sporting a massive shimmering diamond on her left hand.
“It is!” Kendall gushes. “We’re engaged.”
Camden’s eyes go wide. Kendall has dated a lot of guys, but none of them, and I mean none of them, have managed to put a ring on her finger. She’s been proposed to a handful of times, but every time she’s said no, ending their relationship.
“Congratulations,” Layla says, giving her a hug.
“Thanks. He literally proposed this morning. I wasn’t going to say anything until later. I figured, with you having a baby and all, you wouldn’t even notice.”
“Not notice that ring?” Layla laughs. “You’d have to be blind not to notice that thing.” She takes Kendall’s hand and admires the ring. “It’s beautiful.”
“Thanks.”
“Congrats,” Camden says, giving his sister a hug. “Congrats, man.” He shakes her fiancé’s hand.
The baby whimpers again, and I glance over at Declan, who’s quiet, staring down at the baby. Everyone—besides Kendall, who has no idea—knows how he feels about her, and now she’s engaged.
“Hey, want me to hold the baby?” I ask quietly.
“Yeah.” He clears his throat. “I should get going. Congrats, guys,” he says to Layla and Camden, kissing her on the cheek and hugging him.
He walks toward the door, and I swear all of us—well, all of us who know how he feels about Kendall—are waiting with bated breath to see what happens next. He stops in front of Kendall, and she smiles, oblivious as hell. “Congratulations,” he says, his gaze aimed at her fiancé. “You’re a lucky man.”
Then without another word, he walks out the door. I notice Kendall frowns slightly, but she doesn’t comment on it. Instead, she walks over to see Marianna up close. “She’s beautiful,” Kendall coos, giving her a kiss on her head. “And she smells so good.”
“Right?” I say with a laugh, having just smelled her myself. “Want to hold her?”
“Oh, yes.” Kendall beams. “I can’t wait to have a cute little bundle of joy.”
“You’re pregnant?” Camden asks, not even caring about blurting it out in front of everyone.
“What?” We all look over and see Sophia and Easton standing in the doorway. “You’re pregnant?”
“What? No.” Kendall laughs. “I just meant one day...” She side-eyes Camden, who just shrugs. “But there is something I need to tell you...” She hands the baby back to Layla and shows her mom her ring. “We’re engaged!”
Sophia and Easton both blanche but quickly recover, congratulating their daughter and soon-to-be son-in-law.
A few minutes later, Layla’s mom and Felix arrive, and I tell her we’re going to get going so they can have some time with Felix. “Call me if you need anything,” I tell her before we go.
Since neither of us has eaten, we stop at a deli and pick up some food and drinks, then go home. We spend the day lounging around the condo, watching movies, cuddling, and kissing. When it’s dinnertime, we order in Thai and eat while we watch my favorite movie, Save the Last Dance. Braxton lets me know that Bailey handled the announcement that will destroy Justin’s and Michael’s reputations, but I stay off social media, not wanting to see anything being said about me.
Around ten o’clock, my eyes start to flutter closed, and Braxton says I need to go to bed, that I’ve had a long couple of days and need my sleep.
“You’re staying, right?” I ask, which is stupid since he’s been here every night, aside from when he had to fly to LA for that business meeting. But for some reason, I’m suddenly insecure even though he’s given me no reason to be.