I caught my breath and held it. He selected Having My Baby, which he sang directly to me. I melted into a chair as I watched him croon the old classic, making Mom, Fern and Dallas swoon.
At the end, he knelt in front of me for a kiss he deepened, whether the parental units were watching or not.
Then Gav took the microphone. “That was good, boss,” he said to Auggie. “I gotta upstage you, though.” He queued up a Bruno Mars tune. From the first note, I knew what was happening even before Fern did, as Gav sang the song directly to her. Dad and Mom jumped in to help preform Marry You, and by the end, Gav was on his knee in front of Fern holding out a blue box with a huge diamond solitaire ring.
“Fern McPhee,” he said. “I’ve literally searched the world for you. Now that I’ve found you, I’m never going to let you go. Marry me.”
Fern and I both burst into tears before she launched into his arms and he spun her around effortlessly. They managed to dance even when there was no music.
“I wanted to do this months ago,” he confessed. “But I had to wait till I met your folks and got their blessing.”
“Oh, my God!” Dallas squealed as she looked at the ring. “Does this mean you’re going to be a countess?”
Gav smiled before he kissed Fern’s hand. “She’s going to be my queen.”
“Are you going to move away, Fernie?” Dash asked, his big blue eyes filling with tears.
She picked him up into her arms. “There’s plenty of time to figure that out. We still have a tour to finish.” This seemed to appease my little brother, if only momentarily.
Gav managed to win the Karaoke party by a long shot, and even Auggie conceded gracefully.
I knew he wasn’t singing that song for them. He was singing it for me.
But Mom had questions when she finally got me alone. Mainly, “What’s going on, Pea?”
I sighed. “I wish I knew.”
She studied my face. “You’re in love with him.”
I nodded. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. It just sort of … did.”
She nodded. She didn’t seem at all surprised. “And what does this mean for the baby?”
I thought about it. “It means he has a father. One who loves him. One who can take care of him and protect him. One who wants him,” I added, knowing there was no way that would have ever been Christopher. “The other guy was a sperm donor.” I glanced to where Auggie stood. “Auggie is my child’s dad.”
Her eyes followed my gaze. “I hope that’s true, honey.”
I turned back to her. “What does that mean?”
She sighed. “I guess I’m just wondering where’s the catch.”
My lip quivered. “You don’t think he could fall in love with me for real?”
“No, honey, no,” she said, hugging me tight. “It’s just a little… neat, don’t you think?”
“Considering it was a mess before, I’m okay with neat,” I told her.
She caressed my face. “Just be careful. You’re not gambling with just your heart anymore.”
“I know,” I told her. “And I’ve thought about it.”
“And?”
“And I’m happy,” I said with a shrug. “Isn’t that enough?” She had nothing to say. “Trust me?” I asked.
She hugged me again. “Always.”
Archer, however, wasn’t quite as convinced. “None of this was planned, was it?”
“Nice. Thanks,” I quipped. “Are you saying I went hunting for a baby daddy?”
He shrugged as we walked along one of the trails. “Maybe he was hunting for a baby mama.”
I stole a glance. “What does that mean?”
“I looked over those contracts.”
He left it hanging. “And?”
“Did you know medical provisions were included?”
“So? He was my boss. Consider it a health benefit.”
“It also has provisions to protect medical records with NDRs,” he added.
“So does the government,” I added. “Why are you looking for something nefarious here, Arch?”
“Maybe it’s just the lawyer in me. I can’t accept anything on face value.”
I turned him to face me. “Can you take me at face value?”
“Of course,” he said.
“Then trust me,” I found myself repeating, which seemed odd given that the one thing all McPhees inherently did was trust each other.
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt,” he said. “Especially now.” He reached out to touch my tummy. “I’m gonna be an uncle now, you know.”
I chuckled. Then I hugged him. “The best uncle ever,” I predicted.
“Nah,” he dismissed. “That’ll be Dash.”
We laughed together before turning back towards the house, arm in arm. “Are you going to