“Find out what?” I squinted through the tinted windows of his car. “What are we doing at the airport?”
“I probably should have asked this sooner,”—Spike’s shoulders lifted into an exaggerated shrug—”but I’m guessing you wouldn’t mind seeing the honey bun babe again?”
“What’s going on?” I gripped the edge of my seat as Spike slowed the car in front of the arrivals terminal.
“I know I’m not much of a romantic.” Spike cocked his head and nudged his chin toward the door. “But there’s a woman with a pink bakery box standing on the curb if you’re interested.”
“What did you do?” My fingers gripped the door handle.
Britt stood on the sidewalk, a bag looped over her shoulder, a bakery box in her hands. Her lips spread into a smile as her gaze met mine. The heaviness that had been weighing on my heart dissolved.
I swung the door open and stepped onto the curb. Though I wanted to wrap my arms around her, pull her into me, and make promises I fully intended to keep, I needed to hear from her first.
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
She handed me the bakery box. “You left without your honey buns.”
“You flew all the way to Nashville to bring these to me?” My hands covered hers and we held the box between us.
“I know how much you like them.” She bit her lower lip, tugging it into her mouth.
“They’re really good buns. Not gonna lie, I’ve been thinking about them since I left. Sure wouldn’t mind having them around.”
“Well, you’ve got them now.” Her head dipped, her chin tucking against her chest. The late afternoon sun sparkled against her hair.
“Wouldn’t mind having access to them all the time.”
“Oh yeah?” The hint of a smile tugged the corners of her mouth up. “You don’t think you’d get sick of them? Maybe I should ship you a bakery box every week.”
“I’d never get sick of them.” I took the box in one hand and held it out to the side. Then wrapped my other arm around her and pulled her against me. “Does this mean you want to give us a try?”
Her arms went around my neck and she nestled her cheek against my chest. “What about your son?”
“We take it slow? I don’t have all the answers. But I’ve never felt the way I do when I’m with you. And I don’t want to give that up.” I cupped her cheek with my palm. “I’m saying I want to be with you. To see where this might lead. However we have to make it work. I just want you in my life, Britt.”
My heart stopped beating while I waited for a response. This was it. I’d never put myself on the line like that before. She had the power to break me or make me the happiest man alive.
“Okay.” The word came out on a whisper.
“Okay?” I prodded. “Okay to what?”
Her chin tipped up and I lost myself in those baby blues. “Okay to this. To figuring out what’s between us. Okay to taking things slow and meeting your son. Okay to everything. Okay to you.”
“Baby, you’re not going to regret this.” I forgot about the box in my hand as I crushed her against me. My lips sought hers and a kind of happiness I’d never known exploded in my chest. Maybe I deserved a shot at happiness. Maybe both of us did.
EPILOGUE
BRITT
“Everyone all set?” I set a cupcake on the plate Liam held while Shane adjusted the angle of his phone. We were on a video call with his foster mother and my mom and grandma on the west coast. I would have preferred to share our news in person, but we only had a couple of days before our little family of three joined the band for the second half of their current tour.
Shane joined me on the other side of the counter. “Everyone’s got their cupcakes?”
The screen looked like the opening scene from “The Brady Bunch” with all of our family and friends’ faces appearing in their individual squares. We’d sent everyone a cupcake via overnight delivery so they could all share in our big announcement.
Shane put an arm around me and drew me against his side with Liam squeezed between us. My wedding ring sparkled as I rested it on the bulge in my belly, a glittering reminder of how far we’d come over the last two years.
“You want to do this on three?” Abby asked. She was the only one who knew what color frosting would be inside the cupcakes. And she’d surprisingly kept that secret to herself.