Page 89 of The Trouble with Flings

“I can say the same about you,” Fitz says, extending his hand. Jared pulls him into a quick embrace, clapping him on the back, while Fitz juggles the cake box in one hand. “Wells is really enjoying working with you and Seth. He can’t stop talking about the grand opening.”

“It’s going to be wild,” Jared says. “Are you coming out for it?”

“My whole family is. We wouldn’t miss it.”

Jayla steps forward, pretty as can be in jeans and a blue sweater, her long brown hair cascading down her back as she pulls me into a hug, whispering, “Where have you been hiding him?” She steps back with an approving look and smiles at Fitz. “Hi. I’m Jayla, Jen’s sister, and this is my husband, Rush.”

“Great to meet you both,” Fitz says. “I grew up on Silver Island with Rush’s cousins. They’re all really proud of both of you. Practically everyone on the island watched you win your golds. What an incredible achievement.”

“I like this guy,” Rush says, then hauls me into an embrace. He’s all muscle, with dark brown hair and electric-blue eyes.

“Are you going to let them inside or interrogate them on the front step?” Mia asks from behind the group. Her eyes find mine, dancing with the delight she wouldn’t dare share in front of the others as she pushes past them in her high-heeled boots and skinny jeans.

She tugs me into her arms and whispers, “Nothing like diving in with both feet.” Her tone is light, but her eyes are sharp, searching for cracks, silently asking, Are you okay?

I don’t have an answer, because I’m not okay. Not really. I’m standing in my childhood home with a man who’s made it clear he’s all in, and all I can think about is how easy it would be to let myself fall into that and let him catch me.

Mia steps back, then hugs Fitz and says, “It’s nice to see you again. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Thanks,” he says. “I am, too.”

Jace lifts his chin at Mia. “You knew they were seeing each other?”

“I am a fountain of untapped knowledge,” Mia says, giving me an I’ve got you look. “Come on. The kids are out back with Dixie and Mom and Dad. Everyone’s excited to meet Jen’s mystery man.”

As they head down the hall for the living room, Fitz waits for me to step beside him. He leans in close and says, for my ears only, “You can breathe now, wild girl. So far so good.”

It’s a strange feeling, having Fitz by my side as I walk into my childhood home, where comfort and love are etched into the walls. His hand on my back is steady, his presence a quiet promise: I’ve got you. And that’s the problem. Because I know he means it. I’ve seen the way he looks at me when he thinks I’m not watching, heard the certainty in his voice when he talks about our future. It’s not just words with him. It’s a vow.

My throat tightens. This is what I wanted, isn’t it? Someone who doesn’t flinch, who steps up instead of stepping back. So why does it feel like standing on the edge of a cliff, knowing the only way forward is to jump?

I don’t have time to spiral, because Thane runs through the patio door into the living room, shouting, “They’re here!” and wraps himself around me.

Kyleigh is on his heels, a headful of thin braids bouncing around her adorable face as she launches herself into my legs. Maximus toddles behind her chanting something indiscernible.

Thane brings him into the fold with one arm, beaming up at me with his messy brown hair and eyes as blue as his daddy’s, and says, “We’re never letting you go!”

Kyleigh and Max cheer in agreement.

My heart is full to the brim. As Max tugs at my shirt, Thane chatters about being a race-car driver, and Kyleigh shoves her whole face into the bouquet of peonies. I realize in the not-too-distant future, I’m going to have a little one, too. The thought slams into me. We’re going to have a little one. Me and Fitz. A tiny human who will depend on us for everything. My fingers press into the kids’ backs, grounding myself in this moment.

I look up and find Fitz watching me. His expression is soft with amusement, affection, and something that looks suspiciously like pride. It’s the same look he gave me when I stood up on that surfboard in Costa Rica, when I nailed a joke at the casino, and when I let him hold my hand in public for the first time. He believes in me.

The weight of what’s coming presses down on me, but it’s not telling my family that’s consuming my thoughts. It’s that I hope with everything I am that I can be the kind of mother our child will never want to let go of, too.

The realization sends my stomach into a somersault.

I manage a smile and turn my attention back to the kids, because if I don’t, it might burst from my lungs.

“Your parents will be right in,” Dixie says as she struts through the patio door, her high-heeled boots clicking against the hardwood, red hair swinging as she sheds her sweater, revealing the colorful tattoos on her arms. She drapes her sweater over the arm of the couch and spots Fitz, boldly assessing him from head to toe. “So you’re the mystery man who’s got everyone aflutter tonight.”

“Guilty as charged,” he says with a smile. “Fitz Silver. You’re Dixie, right?”

“The one and only,” Dixie says. “Silver, as in Maddox’s family? Those Silvers?”

Jared claps a hand on Fitz’s shoulder and says, “That’s right. He’s Wells’s brother.”

Dixie arches a brow and says, “Handsome and wealthy. Well done, Jen.” Having grown up in a biker family, she never minces words.