I had watched Darcy wrap her sister up in a big parting hug before closing the door behind her. When she spun to face me, our son nestled snugly in her arms, the breath caught in my throat. The way she stood in my house, barefoot in sweatpants and a baggy T-shirt, her hair in a messy knot on the top of her head, screamed home. I never wanted to stop staring at her.
Which is what I was doing now, surrounded by family and friends at our son’s baby shower. Linnea had been insistent on still having it, claiming people had already bought us things, and from the looks of the boxes and bags overflowing the gift table, I’d say she was right. And while it was a little unconventional, it was nice having Casey there too—it was his party after all. Plus, it would’ve been a shame for all of Linnea’s hard work to go to waste, because she reallyhadput in a lot of effort. If she ever wanted to quit being a nurse, she could have a successful career as an event planner.
There was a sign at the entrance to the back room of the restaurant that read “Casey’s Baby Shower,” which had to have been a last minute alteration on her part, but was a sweet touch. Gigantic, clear blocks were filled with blue balloons and stacked on top of one another to spell out the word “baby,” and an arch of balloons sat behind it, framing a wall of book pages. The theme was “A New Chapter Begins”—at least, that’s what I had gleaned from the bookmark favors. It was the perfect blend of honoring Darcy and Casey.
“Can I?” Garrett approached from my right, pointedly glancing at Casey, who was happily drinking a bottle in my arms.
“Of course.” I carefully maneuvered him until he was in Garrett’s arms, then passed him the burp cloth I’d draped over my shoulder.
“Hey there, little buddy.” Garrett smiled down at my son. “It’s your Uncle Garrett. Remember me?”
I snorted a laugh. “Not by that name. We exclusively refer to you as Uncle Gar-Bear in our house.”
That earned me a sideways glare, but one that didn’t pack any of the punch it was trying to deliver. How could it when he was feeding a baby and holding a burp cloth covered in dinosaurs?
“You two were bad enough individually, let alone together. I don’t stand a chance, do I?” Garrett asked.
I pressed my lips together in a hard line and shrugged. “Afraid not.”
We slipped into a contented quiet for a couple of minutes, him watching Casey, and me watching Darcy as she chatted with Cory and a girl who looked like the real-life version of Barbie. Kinsley, I believe.
“You two are good for each other, you know.” Garrett broke the silence between us.
“Didn’t you just say we were bad together?” I questioned, unable to keep the skepticism from my words. Garrett and I had come a long way since we had our talk at Christmas, but everything with him still felt tentative, as if we were trying to pave whatever path we were on as we drove it. Jumping into friendship with him felt like too much, but I no longer felt as on edge around him either, which had us taking it as it came.
“No. Well, I guess yes, but that’s not what I meant.” He shrugged, then lifted Casey to his shoulder to burp him. Where he learned to do that I had no idea, but I was jealous of how natural the act seemed when he did it. “I’ve never seen my little sister as happy as she is. Linnea, sure—she’s happy all of the time, but Darcy? She’s always been a bit of a thundercloud, and you might not be a ray of sunshine, but I think your own storm lights hers up and vice versa.”
“Did you by chance get that from a slip of paper inside your Chinese takeout?” I taunted, not knowing what else to say. Itfelt like he was about to take a dive into the “deep conversation” category, and I was still working on how to handle that.
Garrett glared at me. “Ha ha. I’m being serious. I think you two are good for each other.”
I gave him a sincere smile. I sure as shit didn’t need his approval, but it was nice to have it all the same. “Thank you.”
“And you know I have to say this, but if you ever do anything to hurt her, I’ll—”
I cut him off. “Yeah yeah. You’ll do something very un-cop like. I got you.”
Garrett shrugged, lifting Casey from his shoulder and cradling him in his arms again. “I had to say it, for the record.”
I nodded, and took a sip of the beer that had since gone warm sitting around. “I’ll do you one better. If I ever do anything to hurt her, to hurt either of them, I’ll come find you myself.”
Merely thinking about it made my stomach churn. It was crazy how fast Darcy went from being a random hookup in a dive bar bathroom, to being the center of my world. Because the reality was that our night at The Crooked Quill happened nine months ago. It only felt fast because I’d denied it for so long—we had slapped the “fake” label onto the connection between us, despite the fact that it was anything but fake, simply because we were scared of it.
Garrett’s mouth turned into a downward smile of respect, as he nodded. “You’re nothing like I thought you were.”
I laughed. “Do I want to know what you thought I was?”
“Probably not.” The smile on his face was somewhat sheepish. “One more thing before we never have to be this serious again.”
“Okay, shoot.”
His icy eyes met mine, and he gave me a look he probably gave to his friends a lot, but never to me. “I don’t know anything about your past—Darcy didn’t say anything—but if you ever need to get shit off your chest, I’m here.”
My chest tightened at the offer. Darcy was right; the Adlers were almost too caring, because before Christmas, I was certain Garrett hated me. And up until now, I was certain he merely tolerated me because I was his nephew’s father. But you didn’t offer just anyone to unload their problems on you. Or at least, I didn’t, but I wasn’t the best societal example.
“Thanks, Garrett. I’ll let you know.”
He nodded, then passed Casey back to me, slapping me gently on the shoulder before heading off toward his family. I watched as Jack wrapped an arm around his son, pulling him into his side briefly before releasing him, a proud and loving smile on his face. It was a simple gesture, one they’d probably done a thousand times, and I wanted that.
