This sent the entire table into a round of laughter.
“Thirty’s no big deal,” Mark said, shrugging. Truthfully, he’d never been all that hung up about age, and while thirty did seem like a milestone, he didn’t mind it.
“Here, here.” Ethan lifted his beer mug in the air for a toast.
“I don’t know.” Jess gave him a teasing look. “I’m glad I have a few years before I cross over to the dark side.”
“Ooh.” Ryan laughed, elbowing Mark in the ribs. “Your girlfriend’s feisty tonight.”
Mark glared at him. “You’re just pissy because you’re the oldest. Wait until we’re back here in a few years, cheering for you when you turn forty.”
Ryan jeered at him good-naturedly. “Yo, we’ve got nine years before that celebration, and who knows how many kids will be at the table by then? Can’t fuckin’ wait.”
“Me either,” Emma said, giving her husband a kiss.
It was strange to think about. Mark had once been so sure he’d stay in the Army until they shipped him home in a flag-draped coffin. But now…well, the thought of sitting around the table with these guys and their kids in nine years sounded pretty damn okay.
Even better if Jess was still beside him.
They kept talking long after the table had been cleared, laughing and joking and reminiscing about their adolescent misadventures. Hell of a thing, having all these people around who’d known him since he was a kid. Felt an awful lot like what he imagined family might be like.
Jess bent over to reach for something in her purse, revealing a flash of red lace beneath her top that set Mark’s blood on fire. He’d copped a feel of that lace earlier, and whatever she was wearing under her jeans tonight was killing him in the best possible way. He could hardly wait to get his hands on her later. He was going to get to know every inch of that lace in intimate detail…
“How’s construction coming?” Emma asked Jess.
“They’re starting to look like cabins,” she said, a sparkle coming into her eyes. “It’s coming along really well.”
“Well, you can reserve the best one for us sometime next fall when we’re ready for our first night away from the baby.” Emma rubbed a hand over her belly affectionately.
“Oh yeah?” Ryan gave her an amused smile. “And who’s going to watch her for us while we spend the night in a spa cabin?”
“Me,” Gabby said, practically bouncing in her chair.
“Say what now?” Ethan raised his eyebrows.
“I volunteered us to watch Lily while they take a night off,” Gabby told him.
“Uh.” Ethan looked slightly horrified at the thought.
Mark laughed under his breath at the look on his buddy’s face.
“So, the baby fever has hit, huh?” Jess winked at Gabby.
Gabby blushed. “Maybe a little.”
Baby fever? Mark had never heard the term before, but he thought he could guess what it meant. Was this something women talked about? Getting married and then lusting after babies? Did Jess want that too?
He glanced at her. She was whispering something in Gabby’s ear, and they were both giggling. Marriage. Babies. They weren’t things Mark had ever thought about. Not things he’d wanted or imagined for himself.
But he wanted Jess, wanted her more than anything in the world, and the idea of his ring on her finger or their baby in her arms didn’t exactly send him into a cold sweat. In fact, it felt like something he might want…someday.
He lifted his beer and took a long drink. This milestone birthday must be going to his head.
“You’re quiet tonight,” Jess murmured in his ear. “Still thinking about your present?”
Hell.He’d actually forgotten about it for a few minutes with all the talk of babies, but now…“Yes.”
“I think I’m ready to be unwrapped.”
