Epilogue
Izzy yanked up her skirt in order to squat, dragging the twenty-month-old out from under her sister’s billowing dress. “What do you have, Thomas engines under there?”
Gaby laughed, fixing her skirts. “Nothing of the sort, and with the peeping nephew be glad I didn’t go for anything extra special for my soon-to-be husband’s eyes only.”
Izzy shifted Archie in her arms, her sister’s wide smile damn near blinding. “I guess I should thank you for that.” With her free hand she fired off an SOS text to Nolan: Toddler unable to be contained.
The original plan had been to let Gaby and Levi get married first, but as Archie’s first birthday approached, waiting seemed pointless. So in true Izzy fashion, they decided not to wait on a Monday, and had a courthouse wedding that Friday. Small, simple, and absolutely perfect.
Archie squirmed in her arms, and unable to hold him longer, she set him on his feet, where he baby ran over to the Thomas train he’d left on the floor. Izzy stretched, rubbing her aching back, as her phone vibrated.
She did a quick scan around the room, but everyone had been dressed for some time now, before opening the door.
Nolan’s wide smile greeted her. He gave her a quick kiss that never ceased to weaken her knees, before moving into the room. He squatted and held out his arms, and Archie looked up and spotted the newcomer.
“Daddy,” he yelled, voice only, and ran into his father’s arms. The kid was bilingual, but at this age switching between languages was a common occurrence.
Nolan scooped up the toddler and settled him on his hip. “When do you need him back?”
Izzy turned to Gaby, who checked the clock on the wall. “Twenty minutes?”
Nolan nodded and tossed Archie into the air, ringing peals of laughter from the kid, before sending Gaby a thumbs-up.
“And how are you doing?” he asked, brushing his free hand over Izzy’s stomach.
“Doing anything she can to get out of wearing that dress, including getting pregnant.”
Izzy rolled her eyes, not bothering to check if her sister had signed, but judging by the extra rub to her growing belly, she guessed she had.
“Not my fault you waited so damn long to get married.” She shot the parting words over her shoulder, but kept her gaze on Nolan and the smile on his face. They decided they wanted their kids to be close in age, and with Archie nearing his second birthday, the timing felt right. Nolan had come a long way from the man who believed himself to be a screw-up and worried about being too much like his father.
No, this man was hands-on with their son, and would be with their daughter. He gave Izzy everything she could have wanted in a family.
But today wasn’t about them, and with all the stress of planning a big wedding, she became more and more grateful for her little quickie union.
It matched her and Nolan, like this big affair matched Gaby and Levi.
“Go tire him out so he doesn’t run down the aisle and throw the pillow.”
Archie bounced in Nolan’s arms. “Throw!”
Uh-oh.
Nolan laughed. “You’ve done it now. Kid’s got good aim, too.” Then he flipped Archie over his shoulder and left the room.
Izzy smoothed down her dress, tugging it over her stomach. She’d planned everything, just forgot one simple fact—second pregnancies show earlier than first. The dress barely zipped, but it fit and she needed it to last only a few more hours.
Today she’d be happy for her sister, and in a few months she’d welcome her second child into the world. She didn’t quite know how she got so lucky, how that random one-night stand and failed condom worked out so well. But she’d take it.
Izzy rubbed her stomach at the soft little flutter. Lucky indeed.
Like FREE Books?! Download one of Entangled’s bestselling books here!