Worth the Wait (McKinney_Walker #1)(53)
Mia was glad to see things going so well between Hannah and Stephen. There was a certain confidence that spoke of intimacy when she said Stephen’s name.
“Well, well, well.” A tall, dark, and incredibly handsome man stopped beside their table. “Look at all my favorite ladies in one place.”
If Mia hadn’t known right away who he belonged to, it wasn’t hard to figure out by the way Abby’s face lit up.
“Daddy!” Gracie stood and leapt for him.
Mary almost fell out of Abby’s arms, getting to the man who caught Gracie with one arm then took the baby with the other as if he did it a million times a day.
“Daddy!” Charlie stood, not to be left out.
“Hey, bud.”
“Mia, this is Stephen’s brother, Matt.”
“Hi,” he said, smiling. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too.”
Even with kids clinging to him, Matt leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on his wife’s lips. It was more than the casual kiss of a man who’d seen his wife hours earlier and would see her again in a few more. A kiss full of love followed by the kind of smile that said there was more to come.
“He belongs to Abby,” Hannah said.
“Yes. I got that.”
“How are you feeling?” he asked Abby softly, though everyone heard.
All female eyes were on the two of them. You couldn’t help but be sucked in.
“I’m fine.”
He continued as if the rest of them were invisible. Mia figured they were.
Matt was still focused on his wife. “Are you going home soon? I thought you were going to take a nap?”
“I will. Straight after this.”
Mary went for the sunglasses hanging on a lanyard around his neck. He let Gracie slide onto the bench seat beside Mia so he could pick up Charlie before he climbed through the pizza to get to his dad.
“I had pizza.” Gracie held up her half-eaten slice for Matt.
“Nice. I’ll keep these little rug rats occupied and pick up the big ones after school.”
“Thanks, babe.”
“You’re welcome. You can pay me back by taking that nap.”
He kissed her once more then gathered his charges and all the paraphernalia that came with them. A pink-and-white-checked quilted bag hung on one thick arm with Mary perched on the other.
Nick would look like that. Hot and confident and proud. They’d talked about the children they would have so many times she could see them. Could practically hear them calling out Daddy and see Nick turn to them smiling, gathering them up in his muscled arms. He’d be happy, his soul eased, his guilt gone. She’d dreamed of that, prayed for that, but life hadn’t followed.
“He’s not always like that,” Abby told her when Matt was gone. “He’s just a bit overprotective at the moment. We just found out we’re having twins.”
“What? Wow.”
“Yep.” She picked up her water, and Mia didn’t miss her other hand going protectively to her belly. “I just found out a few weeks ago.”
“That’s wonderful. Congratulations.”
“Thank you. We wanted a houseful, and that’s what we’ll have.”
“You already have that.” Hannah bit into her pizza.
“Right. Well, a fuller houseful then.” Abby was so happy she was beaming like her daughter had.
“Well, you look great. Pregnancy obviously agrees with you.”
“Thank you.”
Mia tried not to let herself think how much she wanted that. “I have a crib. If you need it. If you want two.”
A hush fell over the table.
Then Abby reached out and covered her hand.
“Thank you. That’s so generous.”
Maybe, but it was time. And somehow the catastrophe that being with Nick had been made moving forward that much more necessary.
* * *
NICK PROWLED AROUND HANNAH’S kitchen, helped himself to a bottle of water in the fridge. It was strange, this shift in their dynamics. For maybe the first time ever, he’d come to Hannah for himself instead of for her, because after the disastrous morning after with Mia, he needed…something. Hell if he knew what it was or how to ask for it. “So,” he said, twisting off the bottle top.
“So.” Hannah countered his grumpy expression with a smile.
He leaned back against Hannah’s kitchen counter, feet and arms crossed. “Is he like… your boyfriend now?”
“I think it’s gone well past that, and you know it, so you can stop grumbling like a pissed-off bear.” She grabbed a pot holder and pulled the batch of brownies from the oven. “You could be friends, you know. You’re a lot alike.”
“Don’t make me ill.” He took a drink and watched her cover the hot brownies with foil. “Why does he get brownies?”