Total pages in book: 188
Estimated words: 182255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 911(@200wpm)___ 729(@250wpm)___ 608(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 911(@200wpm)___ 729(@250wpm)___ 608(@300wpm)
“I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.” Seth captured her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Someone had to keep my bratty brothers in line.”
“You did an excellent job,” she announced before bending and planting a quick kiss on the top of Seth’s head. “And you turned into an amazing man.”
Seth stilled. Would she still think that come Monday, once he’d spilled the truth?
“Come on, my beautiful bride-to-be. Let’s go pack that suitcase for tonight.” Carl slipped his arm around his mom’s waist and guided her upstairs. “See you at the church.”
“Goodbye.” Grace blew them all air kisses.
“See you then,” Heavenly promised.
Seth stood, draining the last of his coffee and setting the mug in the dishwasher. Beck and Heavenly followed suit before Heavenly moved to his side, slipping her hand into his. “Ready? Do you have the paperwork?”
“I do. We should get going.” Seth tried not to let his nerves show.
What if Laura was so appalled by his life choices that she refused to sign the paperwork?
Fuck, he had to stop borrowing trouble. He’d cross that bridge when he was pushed off it.
Hudson returned, shoes on as he shrugged into his coat. Everyone else grabbed theirs, too, then they piled into his mom’s SUV as the morning sun climbed in the painfully blue sky.
Seth slid into the driver’s seat. Beck took shotgun while Heavenly and Hudson settled into the back. Once the engine turned over, Seth headed toward the highway, excitement and trepidation warring inside him.
If everything went as planned, Hudson would legally be his son within hours. If not…
He shoved the thought down and pressed the accelerator.
The ninety-minute drive felt interminable. Beck tried to lighten the mood, and Heavenly chimed in with bright observations about the scenery, but the forced cheer only underscored the tension thrumming through the car. Hudson stared out the window, lost in his own thoughts. Seth kept his eyes forward, his mind cycling through a thousand what-ifs.
As if sensing his anxiety, Beck squeezed his shoulder. “You got this.”
Seth wanted to believe that…but the final decision wasn’t up to him.
By the time they pulled into the diner’s parking lot, Seth’s nerves were a tight knot of tension in his gut.
He pushed the door open and ushered Heavenly in before him. Beck followed like a silent sentry watching his back.
Inside, the smell of coffee and bacon greeted them. Seth scanned the small crowd. There, at the big table at the back, Laura stood, looking tense and tremulous. She tried hard to keep herself together, but the second she spotted Hudson, her face crumpled.
She rushed forward, tears spilling down her cheeks as she pulled him into a fierce hug. “Oh, Hudson… I’ve missed you so much. You’ve gotten taller in the last month.”
Hudson hesitated for just a beat. Then he wrapped his arms around her. “I’ve missed you, too, Mom. Don’t cry.”
Seth’s chest tightened. Clearly, this separation had been hard on Laura. And maybe harder on Hudson than he’d thought.
When they finally broke apart, Ted rose, cradling a baby girl with Laura’s eyes and Ted’s chin against his chest.
Then Seth shifted his gaze to Laura, and for a moment, the world seemed to tilt. His past collided with his present, beginning to form a future he was desperately trying to shape.
Laura offered him a hesitant smile, her voice soft. “Wow. You look almost the same. Just…more grown up.”
Seth approached slowly, his own smile tentative. “You, too.”
Her hair had darkened, her hips had rounded, but her face—those eyes—they were achingly familiar.
For a split second, he was transported back to that summer, to the restaurant where they’d worked together, huddled in the dark after closing, driven to take shelter during a nasty storm. Now, here they were, seventeen years later, deciding the fate of the son Seth hadn’t known he fathered until a short month ago.
Laura closed the distance between them with an awkward little laugh and pulled him into a hug. Seth froze for a heartbeat, surprised, but then he returned it. They’d been friends before they’d been anything else, and that friendship had always been easy. This felt like an unexpected icebreaker. He hoped it was a good sign for what came next.
“Good to see you,” he murmured.
“You, too.” When they stepped back, Laura gestured to the man beside her. “Seth, this is my husband, Ted. And our daughter, Emma.”
Ted nodded, his expression stoic as he stuck out his hand. “Good to meet you.”
“Same,” Seth said as they shook.
Hudson gave Ted a quick wave, then leaned toward the baby, his face softening. “Hey, little Emma girl.”
She smiled. Then he made exaggerated faces at the infant that had her giggling and kicking her little feet.
Hudson’s grin widened. For just a moment, the kid looked like he’d missed his baby sister. Seth hoped like hell he was doing the right thing for his son. But Hudson wanted to be with him—had hopped on a plane as a fucking minor without telling anyone to find the father he’d never met. Since then, he’d insisted in every way possible that he didn’t want to go back to Connecticut.