in a couple days.
The pride I felt for her was immeasurable. She’d often tell me that if it wasn’t for the camera I bought her, none of this would’ve happened for her, but that was ridiculous. She was the talented one. Her success had nothing to do with me.
I wasn’t gonna lie and say that I didn’t have a little bit of a freak-out when I found out Morgan called in a bunch of models for Maddie to photograph over the course of a week, half of them partially naked guys. My woman didn’t bat a flirting eye at any of them, but it wasn’t her I didn’t trust.
She’d been sheltered her entire upbringing, then she was thrust into a den of evil on her first trip away from home. She didn’t have a clue how the world worked, going from one extreme to the next, and it was my job to keep her safe at all times.
I wasn’t nearly as overbearing as I was a year ago, but I pushed the limit sometimes. I was man enough to admit that. The thought of losing her crushed me, so I did everything I could think of to make sure that didn’t happen, and if I had to trample on a couple photo sessions, then so be it.
“He’s gonna be up past his bedtime,” Ryder grumbled beside me, his expression belying his tone. He loved his son to pieces, but I was sure having a toddler was exhausting, something I wasn’t planning on finding out for a few more years. If it was up to me, I would’ve gotten Maddie pregnant by now, but she wasn’t even twenty. I wasn’t gonna saddle her with a kid before she could legally have her first drink. On top of that, her career was starting to bud, as I had no doubt her upcoming show was gonna be a hit. That didn’t mean I wasn’t thinking about making things official between us, though. I’d already gone ring shopping, and while I wasn’t in a rush, I wanted to lock her down soon.
“You look like you’re gonna pass out now.” I laughed, tipping the bottle of my beer back.
“You have no idea. I’m too old to do this shit all over again.” Silas bounced on Ryder’s lap, giggling, and grabbing for his dad’s bottle.
“No choice in the matter now.”
“I love the little guy, but damn, I forgot how tiring babies are. Roman is just becoming self-sufficient for the most part. Now I have to wait another decade until this one is good to go.”
“I don’t think eleven is the right age for kids to go off on their own.” After draining the rest of my beer, I tossed it into a nearby recycle bin, the clank startling Silas. His bottom lip trembled, and I felt bad for scaring him. “Sorry, buddy.” A couple googly faces, and he was back to laughing.
“You’re good with him. Wanna take him for a night?”
“Nope.” My response was immediate.
“Fu…” He covered his son’s ears. “Fuuuuuckkk.” The bastard smirked. “That felt good.”
“Oh, Lord. You do need a break.”
Lost in the back and forth of some idle chitchat, mostly about the club, both of us turned our heads when we heard Braylen shout in excitement. She was standing next to Zoe and Brick, holding two glasses of wine, and staring at her stepdaughter’s stomach. Then Braylen turned cautious eyes on her husband, looking like she regretted her outburst.
“What’s goin’ on?” Ryder asked, as if I had any more of an idea than he did. Silas started to fuss, heightening his aggravation, his eyes pinned to his wife and daughter, and of course the mammoth of a man glued to Zoe’s side. “He better not have…. If she doesn’t stop lookin’ at me like that…. What the hell?” He rambled on but didn’t stay in his seat long, trekking toward his family. There was no way I was gonna miss this. I followed him, keeping a safe distance.
“Hi, Dad,” Zoe said, biting her lip in nervousness, looking to Braylen, then Brick, her eyes drifting back to Ryder in the following silence.
“What’s goin’ on?” Silas started to cry, smacking Ryder’s cheek, but the man wasn’t fazed. “Tell me right now what’s happening.”
“Don’t freak out,” his wife warned, reaching for their son, but Ryder jerked back. Her arms fell with a frown. “Zoe and Brick have some news.”
“Oh yeah, and what’s that?” He stepped closer to Brick, Silas in a full-on meltdown now.
Brick moved behind