She grunted out a half laugh. “You’d never let our kid out on the town alone at eleven.”
“I’d like to think I wouldn’t, but who knows how I’ll feel about it by then? Maybe it’ll be easier to let them than fight with them.”
“Nah, you won’t fall for that.”
“I wish I could be sure.”
“I’m sure enough for both of us. You’ll be a great dad. They’ll adore you and do what you ask because you’ll show them that you know what you’re talking about.”
“If you’d asked me if Mike would let Ethan go out at eleven, I would’ve said no way.”
“After you told me that earlier, I was thinking that he and Tracy have been parents for a long time. Brooke is eight years older than Ethan. Maybe they’ve run out of steam with being strict parents.”
“But after what happened to Brooke, I’d think he’d keep Ethan and Abby under lock and key.”
“Which isn’t sustainable. Eventually, they’ll be old enough for some independence, which every parent has to acknowledge long before they’re ready to.”
“I had a lot of independence as a kid. My mom was a single parent, and my grandparents had me a lot, but they were easy to fool. Not that I ever did anything terrible, but I was out and about long before I should’ve been. My mother would’ve killed me if she’d known where I was and who I was with.”
Elin smiled. “Was my very good boy naughty sometimes?”
“Hardly. I was the one saying, ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ while the rest of them were telling me to shut up and quit being a dad.”
“I can so see that,” she said with a giggle. “You’re such a nerd.”
“Hey! That’s mean.”
“It’s only mean if it’s not the truth.”
“How did a nerd like me end up with a goddess like you?”
“That’s one of life’s greatest mysteries.”
Smiling, he raised his head to kiss her. “I’m the luckiest nerd who ever lived.”
“Yes, you are, and you’re about to be even luckier.”
“Is that right? Do tell.”
“Well, I know you’re determined to remain childless after what happened to Ethan, but alas, that’s not going to happen.”
His heart stopped. “It isn’t?”
She shook her head as her eyes brimmed with tears. “I’m terrified.”
“Aw, honey… It’s going to be fine this time. I know it.”
“How do you know?”
“What happened the first time was a sign that that baby wasn’t meant to be. This one will be different.”
“And you’ll not dress our children in Bubble Wrap and forbid them from leaving the house until they’re thirty?”
“Twenty—and that’s my final offer.” He rested his forehead on hers. “I love you so, so much, and I know every day how lucky I am that you love me, too.”
“Oh, Freddie, please. I’m the one who hit the jackpot here with the nicest, kindest, smartest, sexiest husband there is. All my friends are jealous that I got one of the good ones.”
“They are?”
