ded me my phone.
I looked down at the text; it did indeed mention Mom’s home cooking.
“Your parents are so precious.”
I rolled my eyes. “You just haven’t been around them long enough.”
She smacked me in the stomach, and I laughed.
“Come on, let’s get back to your place. You can try that nipple cream on me again.”
I shuddered, but soon let it go when Sydney looked at me with lust in her eyes.
I cleared my throat and said, “I bought new cream.”
“What? Why?”
“There is no way I am using nipple cream my mother purchased on my girlfriend. There are just some things I refuse to do.”
Sydney covered her mouth in an attempt not to laugh.
“Come on, Officer Murphy. I’m ready to be frisked.”
Four months later
When I walked out onto the back porch of my parents’ house, I came to a stop. My breath stalled in my chest at the sight before me. Sydney was holding baby Penelope in her arms, rocking ever so slightly back and forth.
My sister Karen and her husband had moved from Chicago to New York City right in time for the birth of their daughter, Penelope. Darrin’s two kids, Aaron and Lucy, were running around the yard with Maggie Maye and Princess, a golden retriever Sydney and I had adopted a month ago. Maggie and Princess were thick as thieves and loved each other so much. They loved my niece and nephew even more, though.
“I’ve seen that look before.”
Darrin’s voice pulled my gaze from Sydney to him. He was standing next to me, looking at Sydney, a beer pressed against his lips.
“What look?” I asked.
“That look that says ‘I want to see her holding our baby in her arms.’ ”
I laughed. “I do not have that look on my face.”
Darrin turned to face me. He lifted both brows. “Dude, you’re the fucking poster child for that look.”
“No, I’m not. Sydney and I aren’t even engaged yet. I’m not thinking about babies.”
He took another drink of his beer and started to walk off, saying, “Right. If you say so.”
I glanced back over at Sydney. She lifted her gaze from Penelope and looked directly at me. Her smile said a million things. All of them, I was positive, were reflected in my own dreamy gaze.
“So, are you going to do it?” Dad asked, next to me.