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“Same. Holland tells me all the time that I’m a pushover when it comes to our kids, but I don’t care. I live to spoil them.” Reed chuckles.
Emery walks over, Mark fast asleep in her arms, and asks if one of us will hold him so she can get a drink.
“Chaney has been dying to hold him all night, Em,” I tease.
She turns to Chaney, whose face has completely gone ashen. “What? No.”
“Take the baby, Chaney,” I tell him. “Right now.”
He’s shaking his head adamantly as Briggs takes the eggnog from his hand, and Emery places Mark gently into Chaney’s arms.
I’m fucking dying. The kid looks like he’s about to shit his pants, his arms stiff like a fucking statue.
“See, Chaney? Not so bad. You look like a natural,” Graham tells him, clearly picking up on the fact that we’re fucking with him.
“No, take this thing out of my arms. Oh god, it just farted. I just got farted on by a fucking tiny child. Take it.” He turns toward Briggs, who steps back and holds up his hands, as does everyone else he tries to hand the baby off to.
Finally, Em walks back over and takes him from Chaney, and his relief is palpable.
“I swear to god, I am never having kids. Never,” he says. “I need a fucking drink.”
Once he’s gone, Graham smirks. “You gonna tell him, or should I?”
“Nah, he’ll find out on his own.”
We all laugh, sharing a secret of our own since every single guy in this group has had their world flipped upside down by one of the women in this room, and generally, babies come shortly after.
My gaze drifts to Caroline as she laughs with the girls on the couch in front of the fire, Quinn perched on her lap, and despite Quinn’s reservation when she first arrived, she’s burrowed into Caroline’s neck, twirling a piece of my girl’s blonde hair around her finger affectionately.
Fuck, she’s going to be the best mom. It might be a while from now, much later down the road for us, but I can’t wait for that moment. I can’t wait to have this girl by my side forever. To share all of these moments with her that my friends have had with their families.
“I know that look,” Reed says, “You deserve that happiness, Hudson. I’m glad you found your purpose in her.”
He’s right. I did find my reason in her. I was lost, drifting along, unsure of my place, never truly feeling like I was at home anywhere. Until her.
Until I realized that Caroline Evansishome.
And she will always be the bestplayI ever made.
EPILOGUE
Caroline
9 months later
“I’m not ready for you to leave again,” I mumble against Hudson’s chest, burrowing further into the warmth of his body. It’s starting to get chilly in Chicago at night, so he’s got the fire pit set up in front of us and a projector screen in the back yard so we can watch a movie under the glow of the stars.
It’s romantic, and simple, and everything I’ve come to love about this man.
“I know, Bubblegum, but I’ll only be gone for a few days, and it’ll give you time to get settled in.” I feel his lips press against my hair and his arms tighten around me.
After nearly nine months of renting my apartment near campus, I’ve finally moved out and officially moved in with Hudson.
We took things slow, at first. We didn’t let anyone set the pace for us. We were a new couple, exploring what it meant to be together, and we didn’t want to rush anything. Plus, after everything happened with the media, my dad felt more comfortable with me in a gated apartment complex with around the clock security so I stayed there until now.
It definitely takes getting used to… being with a man who’s constantly in the public eye, but honestly? We keep our relationship as private as we can, and we’re happy.
“I know, I just hate sleeping alone. You know how cold my feet get.”
