Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
Six weeks later
Vince stayed alert, refusing to let his guard down for a second. His woman called for reinforcements, and he was going to provide backup, even if it meant developing hives from the amount of sugar and sweetness…and wedding cake toppers.
Voices drifted into the main storefront from a room on the left. He followed them, stepping carefully to avoid being spotted prematurely. Penny, Elle, Rachel, and Charlie huddled around an open book, flipping pages and talking excitedly.
“You must be the groom!” came an unfamiliar voice.
Vince snapped to attention. The older woman’s white apron and SWEET TREATS name tag identified her as one of the bakery’s employees—and evident ninja-in-training as she’d taken him by surprise, something not easily done even by the best-trained soldiers.
“What?” He was slow to register her ear-to-ear smile and hopeful expression. “Oh. No. Not me.”
“This one’s all mine.” Charlie settled herself into his side, her wide grin pulling out his own reluctant one. “Took you long enough to get here.”
“It took me five minutes. You said it was urgent.” Dipping his head, he murmured for her ears only, “Although I don’t know what kind of emergency you can have at a freaking bakery, English.”
“It’s a matter of life and groom’s cake.” Charlie held a straight face.
Vince blinked, trying to tell if there was an underlying meaning—or alcohol involvement. But no one looked to be in distress, or inebriated. “A what?”
Charlie dragged him over the table where Penny pushed a book his way. Cake photos filled the pages, but unlike the elaborate ones he was used to seeing at weddings, these looked more…manly.
“A groom’s cake.” Penny tapped one of the many images. “I need to surprise Rafe with one, and I have no idea what to do. What do you think about this one with the boxing gloves? I mean, he’s Alpha’s trainer coordinator.”
Elle shifted her weight from one foot to the other, hands massaging her lower back. Using anything to distract himself from the question being asked, Vince brought over a nearby chair. “Sit.”
She flashed him a smile and slowly lowered her very pregnant self onto the chair. “Thanks.”
“You brought me down here to pick out a cake?” Vince turned back to the others.
“A groom’s cake,” Charlie clarified. Under her breath, she muttered, “It matters to them, so just go the hell along with it, okay?”
“Can’t they do a combat boot or something?”
Vince waited for the reaction—any reaction. Penny’s smile lit up her face as she glanced to the baker. “Can you?”
“Uh-oh,” Elle’s voice mumbled.
“We can do that.” The Sweet Treat employee nodded excitedly. “We could even make it look worn and dirty—scuff it up like it’s seen some action.”
“Um, guys?” Elle cleared her throat nervously.
“That would be incredible!” Penny clapped her hands. “What does everyone else think?”
“I think it’s an adorable idea,” Rachel admitted.
“I think it’s right up his alley,” Charlie stated.
“I think it sounds edible.” Vince received a wave of eye rolls.
“And I think that I’m going to have a baby.” Elle spoke louder this time.
Five heads swiveled toward the mama-to-be. Grimacing, she clutched her swollen belly and threw a nervous glance to the puddle beneath her legs. “And I think my water broke.”
Thirty minutes of intense cursing later—mostly from the pregnant one—Vince thankfully handed Elle over to the nurse at the Frederick Memorial Hospital labor unit.
“Father?” the nurse asked.
“Here!” Trey shouted from down the hall. He jogged toward them, Rafe, Chase, Stone, and Logan hot on his heels. When he reached his fiancée, he kissed her on the forehead. “How are you doing, baby?”
“About to pass a watermelon through my hoo-ha,” Elle hissed through clenched teeth.
“Now there’s a mental picture I never wanted in my head.” Charlie cringed.
The rest of them settled into the waiting room as the nurse wheeled Trey and Elle into the back. Hours, she’d warned. First babies took a notoriously long time. Vince sank into one of the chairs, losing track of time as he played with a lock of Charlie’s hair. Less than an hour later, the waiting room door opened again.
Trey stood in the threshold, the largest smile Vince had ever seen plastered on his face. “You guys ready to meet Alpha’s newest addition?”
“Wow.” Charlie glanced at her watch, chuckling. “Elle doesn’t waste time, does she? She must’ve really missed her cookie dough ice cream.”
They all laughed and joked around as they tromped to Elle’s room, but at the door, they all sobered. Elle lay in bed, her hair plastered to her head with sweat, cheeks flushed—and looking so damn happy.
“Guys.” Trey carefully took the bundle of blankets from Elle’s tired arms and proudly presented the sleeping baby inside. “Say hello to Violet Mae Hanson. Violet…meet all your aunts and uncles.”
A firm grip tightened around Vince’s hand. He looked down at a teary-eyed Charlie.
“What?” Charlie demanded of him, noticing his attention. Sounding watery, her words lacked any kind of heat. “I’m allowed to be happy. I’ve never been an aunt before.”
“From what I hear, it’s a lot of babysitting and presents.” Vince shrugged.
“I can do that.” Charlie wiped her face dry with the back of her free hand.
“You know what else you can do?” When she looked up at him with a question lighting up her eyes, he added, “Give little Violet there a cousin to play with.”
Charlie laughed until she realized Vince wasn’t kidding. “Wait. What?”
“Not right this second,” he clarified, in an attempt to stave off any panic. “Maybe not for a few years. But you’re eventually going to have to make an honest man out of me, English.”
He hadn’t realized it until he’d said the words aloud, but suddenly, Vince wanted Charlie harassing one of the guys about a goddamn groom’s cake for him. Maybe not next week, or next year. But he wanted to be able to put his grandmother’s ring on her finger, for real this time.
“Well”—Charlie cleared her throat, searching for words—“we do already have a ring handy,” she said as if reading his mind. “But little Violet’s going to have to wait a bit on the whole cousin front, because her Aunt Charlie has a whole lot of arse-kicking still to do.”
Vince laughed, bringing Charlie’s hand up to his mouth. “We have a whole lot of arse-kicking to do.”