BLAINE
“When does Talon get here?” Theron asks, reaching for a breadstick and dipping it heavily in marinara.
Charmane insisted the group meet for dinner at the Three Rivers Pizzeria tonight, and I can’t stop glancing at the door for her. So far, it’s just us guys. Two of us married, and one of us—Jensen—convinced he’ll never get married. It’s all we can do to talk the guy into joining us in town for the occasional meal. He likes his seclusion and lives further up in the mountains than any of us. Almost as remote as Harvey, but not without means to leave when he wants to.
“Next week I think?” Jensen answers, making me realize I forgot the question. My mind keeps wandering to the conversations Charmane and I have been having about starting a family in the recent weeks. I’ve been ready since that first night we made it back to town after being stranded. She insisted we do everything in order.
We got married two weeks ago because she wanted to wait for spring. I still remember the night she confessed her fantasy of getting married on the rocky beach along the river at the north edge of town. One with a view of the mountains when the clouds are kind enough to part.
Our special day was perfect. Simply seeing the radiating glow on my wife’s face made it all worth the wait.
“He going to bounce at the bar, too?” Theron asks, pulling me back to the present yet again.
“Not a chance,” I jump into the conversation.
“Even I did it when I first moved here,” Jensen says before emptying the last swallow of his beer. “What’s Talon’s excuse?”
“He wants to write a book or something.”
“A book?” Theron repeats. But any questions that follow are drowned out the moment my wife walks through the door. Isla, Theron’s wife, follows, baby in arms.
“Sorry we’re late,” Charmane’s silky hands drop onto my shoulders, teasing the base of my neck. Pizza no longer seems important. I’d rather just take her home.
“My fault,” Isla says as Theron takes their son into his arms. I never thought I’d want a family as badly as I do, but seeing the three of them so happy makes me want the same thing. “Dora just got in new baby clothes. She let us raid the selection before she opened it up to the public.”
“You mean all the tourists,” Charmane says, sliding into the seat next to me. I slip my hand onto her knee and squeeze possessively. She leans against my shoulder. It’s only now that I notice a shopping bag at her feet.
“What’s the special news?” Jensen asks as a server carries a specialty pizza to our table.
“My sister’s coming!” Isla erupts. “You know, Nova. The one who swore she’d never come to Alaska?”
“Babies have a way of persuading even the most stubborn people,” Charmane says, our eyes locking. The twinkle that dances there promises she’s closer to giving in to starting our family. Dare I hope tonight is the night?
“Hands off,” Isla says, pointing a breadstick to Jensen. “The last thing my sister needs is to get tangled up with some Alaskan guy who changes all her plans.”
The table bursts in laughter. Out of all the guys I’ve ever served with, Jensen is the only one who could swear off women and stick to his guns until the day he dies. I’ve never met a man more loyal to his resolve.
“You have nothing to worry about,” Jensen says, a hint of irritation in his tone. Though he hates how we give him shit about women, he never loses his temper. He’s the most even keel of any of us.
“You just haven’t met the right woman yet,” I chime in. “Once you do, you’ll be just as hopeless to fight it as I was.”
Charmane leans in for a soft kiss. One that ignites a fire inside me, begging me to take my wife home, dinner be damned. When her tongue slides against my lips, I suck in a breath. “Tonight’s the night,” she says in a throaty whisper.
“Yeah?”
She tugs at my earlobe with her teeth. “I love you, Blaine. I’m ready to start a family. I’m ready for you to put a baby in me. Tonight.”
* * *
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