Page 85 of The Mistletoe Mix-up

“I get the picture.”

“What about settling down or having a family?” Clark asked.

Sam’s chest tightened at the thought of Wren and having a child with her. Of the two of them building a life. But he wasn’t sure if she would ever realize they should be together or if it was a pipe dream to stick around, support her, and always be in the background until she hopefully got over her fear.

“I’ve thought about that a lot lately, especially with Wren coming back to town, but there are a lot of factors to it,” Sam said.

“I thought you guys were hanging out a lot, and things were progressing?”

“They are, just . . . not in the way you think.” This was an awkward conversation to have with his little brother, but here goes. “I offered to help Wren have a baby.”

“Wait, dial that back for me again. What?”

“Wren wants to be a mom and was looking into insemination. I offered to be her Huckleberry.”

Clark’s jaw dropped. “Like . . . you father her child, but you’re not in the picture?”

“Yeah. It’s the way she wants it.”

“Are you—have you lost your mind?” Clark stood up, dragging his hands through his hair. “You are going to sign away the rights to your child and live in the same town as them? After having a relationship with Wren? Don’t you know how people talk? They will speculate all kinds of things, mostly about your character for abandoning your kid—”

“Whoa, buddy, calm down,” Sam said, holding his hands up. “Wren and I are friends. I’m just doing this because I want her to be happy.”

“Because you love her, but how does she feel about you? No one who truly cared about you would ask this.”

Sam’s temper pricked. “She didn’t ask, I offered.”

“Regardless, she should have said no.” Clark ran his hand through his hair. “This is not something people do—”

“Hey, news flash, little bro, I am almost forty years old, and if I decided to walk into a sperm donation clinic and give them my entire nut sack, that wouldn’t be an issue. I want to give Wren a piece of myself, like a kidney, and you’re flipping out?”

“Except this isn’t a kidney!” Clark argued, clapping his hands with each word. “It is a living, breathing kid!”

“Look, I appreciate your concern, but what happens between us is not up to you. I shouldn’t have discussed it with you.”

Clark shook his head. “I’m sorry, okay? I just don’t want to see you get hurt or put into a terrible situation where you regret your decision and have no recourse.”

“I know you’re worried, but I’m not. You never know how things are going to turn out. Maybe playing the long game will make her realize that I’m the man of her dreams and she can’t wait for me to be her boyfriend.”

“You know, this whole situation is kind of ironic.”

“And you’re going to tell me how that is?” Sam said, the tension in his shoulders dissolving as Clark picked up his beer and settled back into the couch.

“Well, for starters, you’re the guy who could have had any woman he wanted, but when you’re finally ready for a relationship, the one woman you want isn’t.”

“Yes, several people in my life have had a good laugh at that fact,” Sam grumbled. “My most pressing concern is how to convince her that she belongs with me.”

“I don’t know, man,” Clark said, his expression sympathetic. “When I was still on the fence about Merry, I did a lot of stupid things and almost lost her. It was only because of your great advice and meddling that I was able to repair the damage I had done.”

Sam smirked. “Was that a thank-you for your older brother’s genius relationship help?”

“Yes, that was a thank-you. I figured admitting that I wouldn’t be with Merry right now if you hadn’t meddled was thank-you enough, but if you need to hear the words, I appreciate you.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Sam said, finishing his beer and getting off the couch. “So, your advice is to be honest and not give up. Is that correct?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Clark asked.

“Just seems like a pretty simplistic strategy for convincing the potential love of someone’s life to let their guard down and be together.”