I lean forward, setting my coffee mug on a coaster on the table before me, covering my mouth with the back of my hand in an attempt to prevent the spray of coffee that’s threatening to squeeze past my lips as I laugh.

I swallow hard, choking back a cough and looking between Brandon and his mother.

“He didn’t,” I deadpan, the shock evident in my tone.

Mari Ann Jeffers raises her right hand toward the ceiling, placing her left over her heart. “I swear to the big man upstairs. I’m pretty sure I have a video of it around here somewhere. I’ll have to track it down and show it to you next time you come out.”

“Over my dead body,” Brandon spits out through gritted teeth.

He’s trying to act put out, but I can tell he’s enjoying the conversation just as much as I am. Even if it is at his expense.

“Oh, sweetie, you were so cute, up there on the kitchen table in your Ghostbusters undies, belting the theme song at the top of your lungs.”

“If there’s something strange—” I tease, cutting myself off when Brandon shoots me an evil grin.

I know I’m going to pay for that later.

Hopefully in the form of his face buried between my legs.

A shiver of desire runs up my spine, but I quickly tamp it down. I’m sitting on his mother’s couch, for God’s sake.

Mari Ann is everything I could’ve hoped for and more. I didn’t know much about the woman before we arrived, but considering how important she was to Brandon, I felt like I needed to make a good impression. And I was nervous as all hell.

It was all for nothing though because, as soon as Mari Ann opened the door, she took one look at me before shifting her eyes to Brandon.

“It’s about damn time,” she said to him as she pulled me in for a hug.

I had no clue what she meant, but it didn’t take long for me to find out. I am the first girl Brandon has ever brought home. And, apparently, just knowing that I mean enough to her son to bring me here is enough for her to decide she likes me.

We’ve all spent the last hour on her couch. Brandon and I told her about how we’d met. We left out the less than savory details though. Given her son’s reputation, I’m sure she could probably figure it out.

When Brandon just blurted out that I was pregnant, I wanted to sink into the couch and disappear. I hadn’t been expecting that at all. I thought this was just a getting to know you type of thing. But I should’ve known better. Brandon never does anything halfway.

I’d expected his mother to think poorly of me, considering we hadn’t known each other long. I’d expected some sort of accusation about me being after his money. But, instead, I was met only with silence. When I finally took a chance and looked up to her face, I found only sheer happiness. Well, sheer happiness and a shit-ton of tears.

After hugging us both and telling us at least a thousand times how happy she was, she immediately launched into the questions.

“When are you due?”

“How big is the baby?”

“Have you thought about names?”

“Is there anything you need?”

And, most importantly…

“Do you have any pictures?”

Lucky for her, I’d taken to carrying my ultrasound photos around with me everywhere. She gushed over the black-and-white images, which in turn led to her telling me about Brandon as a baby. Then, as a toddler, and now…

“You were the cutest little Ghostbuster I’d ever seen,” Mari Ann coos at him, reaching over and squeezing his cheek like he’s a chubby toddler instead of a nearly thirty-year-old man.

Brandon takes it in stride, however, smiling at his mom and taking her hand in his. “What can I say? That movie was the shit. Plus, Sigourney Weaver was a babe back then.”

Mari Ann rolls her eyes. “Yes, I know. You have no idea how many years I worried I might actually end up with Dana Barrett as my daughter-in-law. Your obsession with that woman knew no bounds.”

Brandon shrugs innocently. “I’d be her keymaster any day. Well, eighties Sigourney. Not 2018 Siggy. Eh, who am I kidding? I’d still take her.”

I shove at him, pushing him over onto the throw pillows on the side of the couch.

He chuckles. “Jeez, babe, only joking. You’re much cooler than Zuul. Too cool for Zuul—that’s what you are.”

He laughs at his own joke, and even though it was lame as hell, I can’t help but smile with him.

“You’re hopeless. I don’t know what I’m going to do with you,” I tell him, shaking my head.

Mari Ann reaches over and squeezes my knee. “Oh, honey, I’ve been trying to figure that out for twenty-eight years. It’s best just not to think about it.”

My phone vibrates in my back pocket, and I lean forward as I laugh, pulling it out so that I can glance at it.

I don’t recognize the number, so I silence it and set it on the couch beside me, turning back to ask Mari Ann another question about Brandon. But, before I can get more than two words out, the ringing starts again.

Same number. I don’t know it, but upon closer inspection, I realize the area code is from Grover.

Who would be calling me from Grover? Nobody even knows I’m here, except…

Charlie.

“Excuse me,” I mutter, standing and moving to the front door so that I can go outside to take the call.

I press the phone to my ear as I pull the door closed behind me.

“Liv Hunter.”

“Miss Hunter, this is Leslie Bates. I’m a nurse over at Grover General. I’m afraid there’s been a bit of an accident regarding a Charles Price. You are listed as the emergency contact on his file.”

My heart drops as soon as she utters his name, a million different scenarios rushing through my head. My mouth is dry, and it feels like my tongue has swollen to the size of a melon, but I somehow manage to squeak out the words, “Is he okay?”

“He is,” she starts.

I let out a huge rush of air. I didn’t even realize I’d been holding my breath, waiting for her next words, until that moment.

“But he’s going to have a few months of rehab ahead of him. Mr. Price apparently fell from a ladder. As a result, he suffered a fractured hip and a few cracked ribs. The ribs should heal nicely on their own. The hip, however, will take some time.”

I don’t even have to ask where he was at the time. I already know. The bookstore. On the ladder, like I’ve told him not to do at least a hundred times over the past year.

“Tell me what I need to do next,” I say, needing to know where we go from here.

“Well, we’ll keep him here for another day or so, just to keep an eye on him. It’s a pretty clean break, so we don’t expect any complications. The doctor has suggested he enter a rehab facility, as he won’t be able to walk on his own for quite a while. We’ve started the authorization process with his insurance for that. So, for now, all we can do is wait until he’s released. He’s been moved to a regular room, so you’re welcome to come see him whenever you’d like.”

She has no clue I’m hundreds of miles away in Seattle. And I’m not about to tell her.

I should’ve been there for him. I should’ve never left him alone. I should’ve been there to yell at him to stay off the damn ladder like I’d done a zillion times before.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I tell her, hanging up the phone.

Brandon’s face falls as soon as I step back into the room. “What’s wrong?”

“Charlie.”

It’s all I have to say. He apologizes to his mother, telling her we’ll call later. Within seconds, we’re in his car, on our way to the airport. He doesn’t even ask if I need to go back to his place to get my things first.

It’s as if he knows the only place I want to be right now is with Charlie.

God, I love this man.

Now, if only I could say the words.

“I don’t know why you rushed all the way back here. I’m fine, Livvy,” Charlie mutters up at me as I smooth his hair back from his forehead.

I raise a brow at him. “Fine, huh? Looks to me like you’re lying in a hospital bed, Charlie.”

He looks around himself. “Maybe I just wanted a vacation. And wanted my insurance to pay for it.”

He cracks a smile at me, and I grin back, looking over at the tray of hospital food beside his bed.

“Well, I can’t say I blame you. That runny Jell-O looks positively scrumptious. And those wilted green beans? To die for. How do I land myself in this joint? Oh, I know. I’ll go climb the ladder I’ve been specifically told not to and take a swan dive off it.”

“It was more of a belly flop than a swan dive,” Charlie mutters, looking down at his blanket-covered feet.

“Should’ve gone with the cannonball, Mr. P. If you’re going down, might as well go down with a splash,” Brandon chimes in from the corner.

“Yes, because a busted tailbone sounds so much better,” I quip with a roll of my eyes. “Don’t give him any ideas, Jeffers; otherwise, I might put you in the bed next door.”

Brandon laughs heartily. “Damn. You’re getting mean in your old age.”

I pick up a grape from Charlie’s tray and chuck it at him. Bastard has the audacity to catch it in his mouth.

He might be driving me crazy at the moment, but I’m glad he’s here. Holding my hand as we drove to the hospital from the airport, he was the only thing that kept me together.

When I think about what could’ve happened…

If Charlie had landed just a little differently…

If the fall had happened after-hours and somebody hadn’t found him until the following day…

I was a wreck by the time we pulled into the parking lot, Brandon’s strong, reassuring presence the only thing holding me up when all I wanted to do was fall apart.

Seeing Charlie though, watching the smile cross his face and dance in his eyes, I knew he was going to be okay. He got lucky. And I was going to make damn sure he was never in the situation again.

“Ahem.” I clear my throat, stopping the banter that’s broken out between the two of them. I have no clue what they’re talking about, having been too lost in my own thoughts. But I know, whatever it is, it isn’t nearly as important as what I have to say.

“There’s something we need to discuss. And there’s no easy way to put this, so I’m just going to come right out and say it. You’re officially retired, Charlie. Effective immediately.”

I expect him to protest, to argue and tell me all the reasons he’s going to come back to work after his rehab is over. But, to my surprise, he nods.

“I figured this was coming. And, truth be told, I’m relieved. I didn’t want to admit to myself that I was getting too old. But I was a fool. I had no business being up on that ladder this morning. I know that, Livvy. It’s just hard, getting old. You start to feel…useless.” His tone is so defeated; I can’t help the tears that spring to my eyes.

“Oh, Charlie. You are far from useless. And, even if you never step foot in that store again, you still could never be useless. Not to me. I need you, Charlie. Every single day. Don’t you know that by now?”

Brandon slips quietly out the door, letting us have this moment to ourselves. I’m grateful to him. Brandon means the world to me now, but there are some things that are better left between a father and daughter.

I move from my chair at the side of his bed and sit down on the edge, running my hand over his face. “I will never not need you, Charlie. Not today, not tomorrow, not in twenty years. You’ve taught me so much over the years, and you continue to do so every single day. You will always be important to me. Because I love you.”

I’ve done plenty of things over the years to try to show Charlie how much I love him and appreciate everything he’s done for me. But this is the first time I’ve ever actually said those three words aloud.

To anyone.

Charlie’s eyes fill with tears, and he reaches up to cover my hand with his own.

“Oh, Livvy. I love you, too. So much. I always wanted a daughter; you know that. But what I didn’t expect was for one to stumble into my life when I was least expecting it. But I can tell you what. I thank God every day that you did. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me, right up there with the day I met my beautiful wife. I couldn’t have asked for a better daughter than the one I got in you.”

I lean down and hug him, resting my head on his chest as his fragile arms circle my shoulders. We lie like that for a while—a father and daughter, content to simply hold each other in times of hardship—until I feel his breathing even out. Slowly pulling myself from his grasp, I press a gentle kiss to his forehead before stepping out into the hallway.

Brandon is slumped down against the wall, his legs bent and his arms resting on his knees. His phone is in his hand, and judging from the pissed off look on his face, I’d guess he’s playing a game. And failing.

His gaze flicks up to me when he sees me step out into the hall though, his phone immediately forgotten as he clambers to his feet. “How is he?”

“Asleep,” I say. “I have a feeling he’s going to be doing a lot of that in the coming weeks. He never admitted it, but I don’t think he’s slept well in years. Maybe, now, he can finally rest.”

Brandon nods. “Dude could use a break. So, what does this mean for you?”

I sigh. “It means I’m taking over. It’s not exactly a surprise. I’ve been trying to get Charlie to retire for months. But, now, with the baby coming and everything…it’s just going to be a little tougher; that’s all. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“We,” he says, taking my hand in his and pressing it to his lips. “It’s nothing we can’t handle. I’m going to be right here, Tink. Every step of the way.”

I smile as I lean into him, inhaling the intoxicating fragrance of his chest. It smells of grass and a spring breeze with just a hint of musk and smoke. It’s heady and overwhelming and one hundred percent Brandon.

I have a lot of work cut out for me over the next few months. My long-term goals just got pushed to the forefront, and adding a baby into the mix is only going to complicate things further.

But, with this man by my side, I believe anything is possible.

It has to be.